1940s dress from 2024

plousia

plousia

Registered Guest
I find this kind of funny. This dress is 1940s in just about every way - made from a 40s pattern with 40s fabric. I even found 40s seam binding for the hem. Everything but the thread is period (and all found at thrift stores to boot!) But, I finished it yesterday.

I post it as encouragement for those who, like me, would like to sew but feel it's too difficult. I learned as a kid and absolutely hated it. But I decided to try again this summer after many years of a mental block and discovered it's really not that hard when you take your time to understand the instructions. And, it's a great option for adding vintage to your wardrobe!
 

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Re: sewing
plousia said:
I learned as a kid and absolutely hated it.
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I resemble that remark! I grew up on a farm, and wanted to join the local 4-H club. 4-H is great, but this was a girls club, and the offerings were all in the vein of future housewife - cooking, sewing, "crafts", baby sitting. Not a farm animal in sight, sadly. My mom said I could join but only if I signed up for sewing. I stayed with it for about 5 years with new skill sets every year, and countywide sort-of conventions where my item was judged by a team of 4-H experts on how straight my seams were and how meticulous my hem stitching was.

And I have to admit now that my mother was right. I am very glad I know how to sew. I still have - and use - my great aunt Nellie's Singer treadle machine.
 
Distantdetails said:
Thank you! You may have just nudged me over my mental block. My grandmother tried to teach me, but I was not interested. Now, I see old patterns I'd like to try, and maybe I will! Thanks again!
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Feel free to reach out with any questions! Not that I'm an expert, I'm learning along the way too.
 
MagsRags said:
Re: sewing

I resemble that remark! I grew up on a farm, and wanted to join the local 4-H club. 4-H is great, but this was a girls club, and the offerings were all in the vein of future housewife - cooking, sewing, "crafts", baby sitting. Not a farm animal in sight, sadly. My mom said I could join but only if I signed up for sewing. I stayed with it for about 5 years with new skill sets every year, and countywide sort-of conventions where my item was judged by a team of 4-H experts on how straight my seams were and how meticulous my hem stitching was.

And I have to admit now that my mother was right. I am very glad I know how to sew. I still have - and use - my great aunt Nellie's Singer treadle machine.
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totally agreed! Now I am so thankful I learned. And I still use the 1950s Singer I learned on - electric, though sometimes I think it would be nice to have a treadle machine. You can still sew if the power goes out :D
 
plousia said:
sometimes I think it would be nice to have a treadle machine
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I like the control I have over the speed with my Singer. No risk of stepping too hard on the power and having it run away faster than I want to go. My only regret is no zipper foot. it comes from a time before home sewers were using zippers.
 
MagsRags said:
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I like the control I have over the speed with my Singer. No risk of stepping too hard on the power and having it run away faster than I want to go. My only regret is no zipper foot. it comes from a time before home sewers were using zippers.
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Yes! That's what I think though I've never tried one. The foot control on mine is really hard to get at just the right speed. It either crawls or gallops :-D

I have not had to put in a zipper yet but am slightly dreading it as I remember that being very hard from when I learned. Then again everything has been more manageable now so hopefully it will be too. I think there must be a zipper foot somewhere in the tangle of metal bits and pieces that come with the machine, hopefully.

Would a zipper foot not fit on yours?
 
Your post made me reflect on my sewing experiences. I started hand sewing for my dolls when I was 7 or 8 years old and quickly "advanced" to machine sewing that my Mom taught me on her old Singer electric.

I had a hard time in school in Home Economics (yes, cooking and sewing, mainly) because I had my own way of doing things by then and I took all kinds of short-cuts that weren't teacher approved. I remember our first school project in 7th grade - a simple apron. I did a red one and fancied it up with a heart shaped pocket and bunches of ruffled lace. It wasn't "teacher approved" either!

I sewed for years in my early adulthood, mainly because I couldn't find many clothes long enough for my tall frame. And it was significantly less expensive than buying off the rack. Now, it seems to be just the opposite. Fast fashion is cheap and fabric by the yard is expensive. So, I haven't sewn in years and most of my wardrobe is the result of thrifting anyway. Every so often I get the urge to sew, but it usually goes away in a bit.
 
Karen's Fashion Backward Shop said:
Your post made me reflect on my sewing experiences. I started hand sewing for my dolls when I was 7 or 8 years old and quickly "advanced" to machine sewing that my Mom taught me on her old Singer electric.

I had a hard time in school in Home Economics (yes, cooking and sewing, mainly) because I had my own way of doing things by then and I took all kinds of short-cuts that weren't teacher approved. I remember our first school project in 7th grade - a simple apron. I did a red one and fancied it up with a heart shaped pocket and bunches of ruffled lace. It wasn't "teacher approved" either!

I sewed for years in my early adulthood, mainly because I couldn't find many clothes long enough for my tall frame. And it was significantly less expensive than buying off the rack. Now, it seems to be just the opposite. Fast fashion is cheap and fabric by the yard is expensive. So, I haven't sewn in years and most of my wardrobe is the result of thrifting anyway. Every so often I get the urge to sew, but it usually goes away in a bit.
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It really is ironic that home sewing is now so much more expensive. If I didn't find fabric at the thrift stores I might not be doing it either. And that is funny about you being so advanced that you didn't do things the "right" way. I guess the teacher probably had a set method and didn't know what to do with someone who didn't follow it!
 
Lovely dress @plousia !

Besides all the work and Christmas stuff I'm dealing with right now, I'm sewing a Christmas sweater for myself. I took a day off for shopping in Konstanz, Germany last week and found an outlet from a German fabric company that actually produces their fabrics in Germany, and they mainly do sweater/athletic type of stretch fabrics. Not my usual world of sewing, but they had cool Christmas print fabrics and everything you need to make a sweater, so I of course I couldn't resist. I don't have an overlock machine, but my grandma's 1960s Husqvarna machine, which thankfully has stichtes for stretch fabrics, and so far it works. It may not be as quick as an overlocker, but I will get there!
 
Midge said:
Lovely dress @plousia !

Besides all the work and Christmas stuff I'm dealing with right now, I'm sewing a Christmas sweater for myself. I took a day off for shopping in Konstanz, Germany last week and found an outlet from a German fabric company that actually produces their fabrics in Germany, and they mainly do sweater/athletic type of stretch fabrics. Not my usual world of sewing, but they had cool Christmas print fabrics and everything you need to make a sweater, so I of course I couldn't resist. I don't have an overlock machine, but my grandma's 1960s Husqvarna machine, which thankfully has stichtes for stretch fabrics, and so far it works. It may not be as quick as an overlocker, but I will get there!
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You'll have to post a pic when you finish it!
 
I am not denigrating your work at all, but while your dress is great, and congratulations on doing such a fantastic job, it also represents a trend that creates two issues in the vintage/antique clothing world.

The first one is that, as more people make repros, and buy reproduction footwear etc., the demand for original garments is in decline. It makes perfect sense because you can find your size and style to suit, rather than relying on chance to find or have the funds to buy what you want. I have noticed that sales of, especially 40s/50s clothes, (and especially footwear) has plummeted. The women who wear that style, like it, but are now often preferring to make repros or shop at American Duchess or Memery. I also suspect there is room in the market for more reproduction lines of clothing...

The other issue is that some day, these garments might end up in a museum wrongly identified. I was just having a discussion with an English curator a couple of weeks ago who is studying 19th century 'repros' of older style clothes, often made up for theatrical or fancy-dress reasons, that have gotten into museum collections as authentic period garments. The forensics needed to determine whether they are original or not, includes looking at how the thread used to sew the garments was twisted, and the chemical analysis of the dyes in all the fabrics.
 
Guilty as charged for occasionally buying repros (just bought a pair of shoes from Memery as vintage shoes are hard to find in wider widths and not outrageously expensive), but I doubt I'll ever stop buying vintage entirely. I have been buying fewer dresses as sadly I just don't have occasions to wear them anymore, although I do wear dresses/skirts throughout the warmer weather.

I have thought of how confusing this dress would be if someone found it in a thrift shop. A knowledgeable person could pick up on one or two details, mainly the machine-sewn buttonholes. I just don't have the patience to make them the older way when the machine does them so quickly.

That's an interesting perspective as my 40s/50s garments for sale have not done well at all, totally to the contrary of what I would have expected. Gloves, oddly enough, do pretty well.
 
plousia said:
Guilty as charged for occasionally buying repros (just bought a pair of shoes from Memery as vintage shoes are hard to find in wider widths and not outrageously expensive), but I doubt I'll ever stop buying vintage entirely. I have been buying fewer dresses as sadly I just don't have occasions to wear them anymore, although I do wear dresses/skirts throughout the warmer weather.

I have thought of how confusing this dress would be if someone found it in a thrift shop. A knowledgeable person could pick up on one or two details, mainly the machine-sewn buttonholes. I just don't have the patience to make them the older way when the machine does them so quickly.

That's an interesting perspective as my 40s/50s garments for sale have not done well at all, totally to the contrary of what I would have expected. Gloves, oddly enough, do pretty well.
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I am surprised - I thought they would be very desirable to the current market.
 
Interesting...maybe I'm doing something wrong. I think my prices are pretty reasonable, and I do bring them down further if things don't sell. It definitely seems like certain sellers do better than others even for the same items. I am not the world's best marketer, I try to take good photos and accurately describe things. Maybe I should join the VFG to get some constructive feedback....LOL.
 
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