Last week’s challenge on the Sew Weekly was music. I had dreams of something elaborate involving metres & metres of blue crepe, but the plans went awry (not sewing mistakes) and made me very blue indeed. So I needed something to chase those blues away, and what better than one of my favourite songs, a fix up of my Little Bit of Red dress (remember how I was never thrilled with it?), and some Besamé Red lipstick?
The song is Red Lips Kiss My Blues Away, and the cover artwork is adorable:
My Little Bit of Red dress is not a perfect match to the Red Lips Kiss My Blues Away cover art, but I thought with a bit of tweaking the Little Bit of Red dress could effectively capture the mood of the poster, and rescue my sewing week (plus get something off my UFO pile).
So I completely pulled apart my Little Bit of Red Dress, re-shaped the bodice, re-set the bodice ruffles, took in the skirt, cut hip ruffles, hemmed said hip ruffles, put the whole thing back together and tacked everything down on the inside with little-tiny hand stitches.. It took just as long as just making a whole new dress, but I don’t mind, because at least this means that I actually love this dress now.
And I do. It’s mad. It’s ridiculous. It’s preposterous. It has hip ruffles. It’s completely frumpy and dowdy and yet inexplicably charming, in the way only a late ’20s/early ’30s frock with hip ruffles can be.
For the photoshoot Mr D and I celebrated the return of my camera (Yay Canon!) and took advantage of an exceptionally warm day in winter to risk photographing me in a little silk dress. For the background we drove round the bays to a particularly picturesque portion of the waterfront for photos.
I paired the dress with a red ribbon and my newest addition to my vintage shoe collection: blue suede heels with bows. Swoon. They may be slightly OOP, but they go perfectly with the dress. Risking the suede at the edge of the water and in wet gravel was probably a bit naughty of me, but they survived just fine.
What you can’t see in the photos is that I am also wearing a silk slip, a silk camisole, silk tap pants, thick stockings (with seams up the back) and am still turning blue.
What you can see behind me is Miramar Peninsula, home to my favourite restaurant, the movie theatre from the Little Bit of Magic photoshoot, and Weta Workshops. Also lots of boats, the occasional kayaker or seagull, and just off to the left in the widest angle shots, Wellington International Airport, which you will be flying in to when you come to visit me. Right?
Just the facts, Ma’am:
Fabric: 3 metre of 1930s inspired silk chiffon. $30
Pattern: Excella E3137
Year: 1932
Notions: thread
And the insides? Erm. Not my best effort. A combination of french seams, pinked seams, and plain-old-mess where the skirt meets the bodice. That’s OK, it will only ever be hand-washed.
Hours: Another 4.5 hours (for a total of 9 on this dress)
First worn?: Saturday 10 August, just for the photoshoot (cold. winter. cold. brr.)
Wear again?: Yes, when summer comes
Make again?: Nope. At least not until I’ve tried all my other ’30s patterns.
Total cost: $30
I had fun showing you my 1930s patterns (here, and here, and here), and I’m about to teach a class on 1940s sewing (so exciting!) so I thought I should show you my 1940s patterns, to give my students some inspiration, and the rest of you some vintage eye candy for the day.
These are my day dress patterns. I love 40′s day dresses – they are so very wearable today, and came in so many different silhouettes that there is a look to flatter every shape.
Half of my ’40s day dress patterns are from my Grandmother, and are tiny. The other half I picked up in NZ, and are actually quite large. It’s quite unlikely that any of them would fit me without alteration! That doesn’t mean I’m not planning to make them up. 
Butterick 8905 fascinates me. It’s like the original wrap dress pattern – the ’40s version of the ubiquitous (and in my opinion, notorious, since it doesn’t seem to fit most people well) Butterick B4790. It’s also fascinating because the pattern is basically for 3 different dresses that don’t actually have a lot in common. Finally, it fascinates me because I have this idea that view A could be a stunning evening gown in a longer length. What do you think?
Butterick 8905 – wrap dresses
Butterick 8905 – 1940s wrap dresses
Far more outwardly glamourous is McCalls 4806. The envelope is gorgeous, isn’t it? I mean, the picture, not the damage. And now that I look at it, it would also make a beautiful evening gown in a longer length. Hmmmm….now I’m stuck on evening gowns! Don’t worry, I’ll show you those soon.
McCalls 4806, 1940s day dresses
McCalls 4806, 1940s day dresses
From glamourous to über-sweet and cute, Hollywood 1789 (which dates from either 1939 or 1940) does a charming job of channelling the vogue for Austrian fashions in the late ’30s & early ’40s (incidentally, I’ve just been reading a book on that). It is indeed the pattern of youth!
Hollywood 1789 – ca. 1940 teens dress and bolero
Hollywood 1789 – ca. 1940 teens dress and bolero
Also sweet and youthful, but of dubious flattery-ness is Simplicity 4635. It’s basically a sack with ruffles. There isn’t a lot of shaping in those panels. The sandals in view 2 are adorable though, as is the cherry fabric in view one. Maybe it’s better made up than I’m imagining it.
Simplicity 4635 – 1940s dress
Simplicity 4635 – 1940s dress
Simplicity 4635 had adorable cherry fabric, Hollywood 1153 has adorable strawberry fabric. Anyone else starting to feel peckish? I love that this pattern is so straightforward. It says “I am a dress”. I also love that this pattern features Jane Wyatt, who is pretty darn awesome.
Hollywood Patterns 1153 – 1940s dress
Hollywood Patterns 1153
McCall 6730 is one I picked up in NZ. You can tell because the pattern envelope is uncoloured – the Australian/NZ versions were printed in Sydney, and printed without colour. The Milne & Choyce stamp also gives it away (Milne & Choyce was a fancy Auckland department store that started out life as a dressmakers establishment in 1867). I love the poppy hat and full sleeves on view A
McCalls 6730 – 1940s shirtwaists
McCalls 6730 – 1940s shirtwaists
McCall’s 6730 & 4633 must have belonged to the same woman – same size, both bought at Millins, I found them in the same op-shop. They also both convey the delicious idea that the cover models are in exotic locales: Greece or Italy for the first, maybe Mexico for this one. Also, the pleat details and yoke? Divine!
McCalls 4633, tailored 1940s dresses
McCalls 4633, tailored 1940s dresses
And last, but not least, poor battered McCalls 4130 (I think). The envelope may be worn out, but dress is very fresh!
McCalls 4130? 1940s dress
McCalls 41309? 1940s dress
So, that’s my ’40s day dresses. Such a delicious assortment. Posting them all makes me want to make them up right away!
Update! Found a few more. I really need to organise my patterns in a sensible way, so all the ’40s stuff is together.
Butterick 4610 does indeed have a very interesting back, and a really simple, almost boring, front. It’d be cute in a novelty print rayon.
Butterick 4610 1940′s dress with back interest
Butterick 4610 1940s dress with back interest
I love that Simplicity 4498 has options for a housecoat or a daydress – it really emphasises how small the changes between private and public garments were, and reminds me of McCalls 23 – the not-actually-an-evening-gown nighty. The other reason I love this pattern is the pockets – as a pocket fan I can’t help being delighted by them.
Simplicity 4498 1940s day dress & housecoat
Simplicity 4498 1940s day dress & housecoat
And finally, Simplicity 2637 – the ultimate classic 1940s shirtdress. This one is my size, but doesn’t really light my sartorial fire.
Simplicity 2637 – 1940s shirtwaist
Simplicity 2637 – 1940s shirtwaist
I do have some ’40s shirtdress patterns that make my heart go pitter-pattern, like Hollywood 1100. Oooh…those shoulder bow details!
Hollywood Pattern 1100 – One-piece dress and dickey
Hollywood Pattern 1100 – One-piece dress and dickey
Slightly less shirtwaist-y is Simplicity 3404. This style was popular throughout the late 1930s and into the ’40s, but this pattern is copyright 1940.
Simplicity 3404 – 1940 tailored dress
And finally, my latest addition to the pattern stash, the very sophisticated Simplicity 1872, which I won in a Facebook Giveaway from the amazing Kitty’s Drawings. Now there is a girl who knows how to sew 1940s clothes!
Simplicity 1872 – 1940s dress with hip drape
Simplicity 1872 – 1940s dress with hip drape
That’s all for now folks!
I’ve been having fun finding music to match my ‘me’ sewing lately. This week’s me sewing is a ’30s skirt, so it needs one of my favourite swing songs, Lavender Coffin. Great to dance to, and a good conversation starter – we have an ongoing discussion of ways to make a lavender eco-coffin. I’m advocating dye made from blueberries or java plums. It’s not like the colour needs to last! (yes, I have macabre interests).
On a much more random note, I’ve also been doing a lot of sewing to Julietta Venegas lately. It gives me a chance to practice my rapidly fading Spanish. If only I’d known I’d be spending my adult life in New Zealand I could have spared myself years of torture in language classes, or at least taken something I was good at, like Hawaiian. But whether I understand it or not, I enjoy Julietta Venegas. I particularly like Limon y Sal and its cute silent movie aesthetic.
Right! The sewing! The skirt!
This week’s theme on the Sew Weekly is ‘Reality Check’: make something your wardrobe really needs. I’ve tried throughout the year to keep my Sew Weekly sewing purposeful and useful – with each garment crossing something off my sewing list and filling a need in my closet. I don’t believe in sewing things I don’t need and won’t wear just to fill a challenge or a theme – that’s a waste of my time and resources. Six months in there was just one big gap that I hadn’t managed to find an excuse to sew: I desperately needed a black pencil skirt. I have them in almost every other basic colour!
I knew just what style of skirt I wanted: very high waisted, well below the knee, and with pleat details. Enter my beloved ’30s nautical pattern, Butterick 5654. Just the thing!
Butterick 5654, 1930s Nautical pattern
Butterick 5654 is actually a dress, and has no waist shaping, so I had to figure out my own darts, and draft a waistband. I also had to reduce the pattern to compensate for the stretch fabric. I’m particularly pleased with the waistband. Thanks to my blouse it isn’t showing up in the photos, but the waistband has a lovely shaped curved, and it makes me very happy.
My photoshoot, and thus this post, were delayed all week because my camera is in the shop 
.
To get it done I asked Shell if she would to take pictures on her camera. We took the afternoon off and went to the Embassy Theatre, a restored ’30s theatre with a lovely bohemian Art Deco look, and a bit of international fame as it hosted the Return of the King premier. It fits perfectly with my ‘’30s skirt meets modern top’ outfit.
It’s quite a dramatic setting, so Shell pretended to be a fashion photographer and I did my best to do my most pouty, vacant, fashion model look.
I don’t think I’m cut out to be a fashion model! I’d do my best to look expressionless, but a little smile would slip out:
And then a full on giggle:
Yep! I’d rather sew than pose!
Just the facts, Ma’am:
Fabric: 1.5 metres of thrifted stretch cotton blend $3
Pattern: Butterick 5654
Year: 1934
Notions: 1 metre lace trim, hooks and loops, thread (inherited from Nana), invisible zip (thrifted, 30 cents)
Hours: 3
Make again? Yes, or at least close variants. Its a lovely, versatile pattern
First worn: Thursday for classes, lunch with a friend, and a photoshoot
Wear again? Yes! This is a perfect fit for my wardrobe
Total cost: $3.30
And the inside?: It’s unlined (that’s what I have a drawer full of slips for), and I finished all the selvedges with my overlocker (gasp!). But I used a mix of black, purple and lavender thread, because even overlocking needn’t be boring.
