Project # 17 - vintage 50's dress

Posted by Alexandra at Studio Alexandra

My mojo is back and I have a new dress.




I finally got around to sewing the vintage Simplicity 3797 - it's been on my list since spring. It's a Simple to Make slim dress with kimono sleeves, back zipper, and waistline casing for elastic or drawstring. As all vintage patterns, this one came in one size per envelope. Mine is size 12/bust 32". At first I thought I may need to do a small FBA, but when I made a muslin mock-up, it turned out unnecessary. I really liked the way it fit and looked in white muslin.

I made only a few changes:

1. shortened the dress at the hem to make it work with my proportions,
2. used a 9" zipper at the CB instead of a 22" because the mock-up slipped over my head without a problem,
3. zigzagged the narrow elastic in place of the casing,
   
4. and adjusted the neckline to accept the collar from vintage Butterick 9926.

I used a black tropical wool from the stash. (It originally came from Michael's Fabrics but that was a few years ago.) The dress is not lined because the pattern didn't call for any lining and I thought I would just wear a slip. Well, I thought that right up until I went to order one online and found out that full slips are apparently out of fashion. I'll line the next one. For this black one though, I wore a thin sleeveless undershirt and a half-slip. The combination worked quite well.

I really like the simplicity of the pattern, it is fast to cut out and sew, and comfortable to wear. The bateau neckline makes my shoulders look even more square than they are, which is why I morphed the collar onto it instead.

The instructions are very thorough and before I made the mock-up, I read them several times to get an idea of how they used to do things. As always though, the instructions are a guide; I use them to familiarize myself with the pattern pieces and design details, then I figure out the best way for me.

I wore this dress to work yesterday and was getting compliments left and right so I plan to make it again and again in various fabrics. I'm thinking wovens for work - wool crepe would work well and I have several colors in my stash - and knits for home. I envision the kind of knit used in sweatshirts or perhaps ponte knit, with a drawstring in addition to (or instead of) the elastic.