Contrasting Florals

This dress was meant to be made a couple of years ago in the Fall season, but time got away from me and the project was put on a back burner.  I never put the fabric away because I knew that I wanted to do something with it sooner rather than later, and here we are.

One reason I chose this particular vintage pattern is because it doesn't require that much yardage, and I was working with a very limited amount of wool.  The drape and the weight of the fabric also lent itself to a 1940s style dress, so that was stuck in my mind.

I previously used the pattern to make this dress, and I do get quite a bit of wear out of the dress in the Fall months, so I thought that it was worth making another version in a very different color palette.

The pattern itself is more fragile than most of my vintage patterns, and I suspect that someone at some point left it out in the sun for a little too long as some areas are very crispy along the folded edges.  That being said, the pattern is absolutely still usable.

It is actually incredible how sturdy pattern tissue is considering its age.  This particular pattern is approximately eighty years old, and both the tissue and the newsprint instructions are still going strong except for a couple of areas.

In most of the patterns I have come across, the instructions generally see more aging than the pattern tissue itself.

This fabric was lovely to work with aside from the fact that it did like to fray quite a bit.

It's a very lightweight wool and not itchy on my skin, so it will work for a variety of seasons and temperatures.

I even found a suitable vintage zipper in my stash, which seemed fitting, so I went ahead and used that one.  It's often the zipper that gives away whether or not a garment is truly vintage, and I like to think that some of my creations could pass for vintage construction, even to a trained eye, except for those pesky ykk zips.

There really were not any surprises with this dress because I made the pattern up before.

It's a classic 1940s silhouette that is easy to wear and will definitely come in handy in my wardrobe.

And I love the colors in this print!  I did have to use a multi-directional layout to make everything fit on my yardage, but because of the multi-gored skirt I don't think it's noticeable.  All in all, I'm very pleased with how this project turned out.