All posts filed under: 20th Century

Sea and sky and sunset hills inspiration

Published by The Dreamstress

I’m working ahead on my ‘By The Sea’ Historical Sew Fortnightly items.  I’d love to make a fantastic Victorian or Edwardian wool bathing suit, but alas, am making myself be a teeny bit practical and sensible and I’m making two items which both come from stash, and have been on my to-do list for ages and ages. The first is more sea inspired than strictly by-the-sea.  I’ve got a wedding to go to this autumn, and haven’t got a suitable dress (really, they are all too formal, or not formal enough, or black or white or scarlet, none of which will do). One evening, out for my walk, thinking of inspiration dresses and trying to decide what to make, I stopped at my favourite outlook for the view.  I love the last hour of light in New Zealand in the autumn: it’s one of things that reconciles me to the oncoming winter.  The sea calms and goes the most delicious grey-blue, and the hills glow gold with the reflected light. The combination is so distinct, …

Sherbet Seersucker details

Published by The Dreamstress

I posted the fun stuff about my Sherbet Seersucker dress yesterday, here are all the construction details for Anne Adams 2653, and a few thoughts on the pattern, for anyone interested in 1930s sewing patterns and techniques. The Good: It’s adorable, comfortable, practical, and goes together in a matter of hours – even with a lot of hand finishing.   I used a size 34 bust (I have a natural 37″ bust, but find that size 34″ patterns from the 1930s generally fit me perfectly), and it fit perfectly, though I did have to use all the ease given at the side seams. This is an ideal pattern for working with stripes.  The pleating, pockets, pin-tucks, cap sleeves, and yoke all lend themselves to interesting stripe placements. I cut the main body of the dress with vertical stripes, set my pockets and cap sleeves with horizontal stripes, and did the same thing on the sleeves.  I matched the stripe pattern where the bodice front met the yoke, and finished the insides of the sleeves with …

The ‘Sherbet Seersucker + Shoes’ 1934 frock

Published by The Dreamstress

Well, I love bold stripes, but everything I’m making for the HSF ‘Stripes’ challenge has turned out to be quite subdued stripes; in this case, seersucker. This dress started out with this pattern, Anne Adams 2653: How cute is that! A lovely and kind friend owns the pattern, and let me take a copy in trade for a copy of one of my patterns. The pattern was perfect, but finding the right fabric for it turned in to an epic production.  First I found what I thought was the perfect fabric: a geometric broderie anglaise that was both sweet and Art Deco-y.  I bought four metres, rushed home, compared it to the pattern, and realised the broderie anglaise openwork would clash horribly with  the pleats and neck yoke.   Grrrrr!  Next, I found the perfect blue and white striped cotton poplin in my stash but unfortunately I had less than half what the pattern said I would need in fabric – even if I did a contrast yoke, sleeves and pockets.  Grrrrr!  Then I realised …