News — 1930's

Picking up where I left up in 'Bias Junkie Part I', it's often a better garment when cut on the bias.  Take McCall 9906, the 1938 Day or Dinner Dress: The skirt is arranged on the fabric with grain.  It's fabulous already, right?!  Yet, I saw in it an opportunity so many of us dressmakers want - the potential to MAKE our own fabric!  As you may have seen in my blog 6 years ago, I set out to create my own ribbon gown using this pattern as I was inspired by an extant gown I bought in an antique...

 This 1934 Simplicity tea dress style has what looks like a very slimming, cling-y skirt with geometric insets at each side. The reality is, the skirt is more of a boxy A-line style than what is depicted.  Check out this generic rendering of a 1930's A-line skirt.  I elongated the skirt length to parallel the example here.     Why is it this way?  Sometimes pattern art is more idealized than the actual outcome of the garment made from it.  Here, Simplicity instructs to cut the skirt pieces on the straight of grain as both skirt front and back are...

but here is another hidden gem pattern! In 2014, I started adding some single-size patterns I drafted long ago, but for whatever reason hadn't issued.  I call them 'Hidden Gems'.  This is one I pulled from the file drawer and digitally drafted for the set of Gilets, originally by Pictorial Review in the mid-1930's.   The reason I never put it out?  I simply did not make a color reproduction of the envelope art and it was missing a piece I had to create.  Thus, I offer it in black and white, also see last week's post on re-creating a...

I am putting this dress & jacket pattern out in multiple sizes a few months from now.   I began planning the pattern work up last year as I needed to complete the missing jacket back piece to make it available.  Luckily, I had a little something similar (and in the same size) from which to base the missing piece (also a Simplicity), shown below.  Doesn't always happen this way, but definitely make the process smoother.   The key here was to use enough of the jacket back piece from this design to make up what is just a side...

It is a joy to come across an extant example originally made from a pattern I have reproduced to offer in my collection!  This example was posted on OMG that dress! (from Kerry Taylor Auctions) in 2013: The pattern dates to 1930 and was originally by McCall.  It is the evening gown pattern E30-6298.  I added it to my collection in early 2008: This is a slip-on gown (that is, no side placket to hook or snap) with only an opening at the left hip which is closed via the side-tie (and it works!).  The hem is uneven with a...