topazera
Registered Guest
Hi, I'm back with my latest question! I have this dress that I picked up because it was only a few dollars and I thought the fabric was so lovely but it's torn in several places. Okay, to start, it's a handmade shirtwaist dress, made from a very lightweight cotton (voile?). It hits just below the knee and has small cap sleeves with a split on top, the collar and sleeves are trimmed with lace. I'm not even sure what to call it, it's very delicate but also relatively simple and casual looking... a day dress? Was this a dress for misses/juniors?
I'd appreciate help with dating because I'm not sure it all adds up when I look at it? The cotton voile with lace trim and delicate, airy quality reminded me of the '30s but the closures are later. It's got a side Talon zipper with that "V for Victory" V on it (so either wartime or post war, right?) and four oddly heavy duty snaps up the front. I don't know how much shirtwaist dresses snapped up the front, I usually think of them as buttoning? And then the main seams are pinked (though it was sometimes hard to see with how frayed they are), the seams around the armscye are mock french seams. Pinking would mean at least early '50s, right? That seems to be the most recent feature.
As far as mending goes, I've only ever sewed on buttons, finished a hem, and repaired ripped seams so, I'm not exactly sure what's the best way to try and save this dress. It's clearly been repaired at least two different times, maybe three. The best repair is the shoulders, where someone put interfacing and sewed a bunch by machine, those seem to have held up! However, there's a different kind of mending tape on what used to be a tear on the back and just to the side of that is where it tore again (the first big tear). Then, there's an L shaped tear next to that (the second and largest tear). Then, one underarm was hand stitched up at some point but has since torn again around that repair (the third big tear). And then there's a smaller tears on one hip below the waist and one near the zipper on the other side (the fourth and fifth tears). There's a couple more pinholes too.
So yes, that adds up to quite a lot of tearing which is why I was wondering if the repeated tears that have been happening mean the fabric is just too weak and destined to keep tearing somewhere at this point? Do I try to replicate the success someone had on the shoulders, with big sections of interfacing and a bunch machine stitching on top? Does it need patching and new fabric (there's some fabric in facing of the collar and the placket but then idk how to replace it and not mess anything up)? Do I take this to a professional because this is not a good starter project for an amateur? Any help is very much appreciated, as always! Thank you so much for all you've been teaching me about my own little collection of vintage!
I'd appreciate help with dating because I'm not sure it all adds up when I look at it? The cotton voile with lace trim and delicate, airy quality reminded me of the '30s but the closures are later. It's got a side Talon zipper with that "V for Victory" V on it (so either wartime or post war, right?) and four oddly heavy duty snaps up the front. I don't know how much shirtwaist dresses snapped up the front, I usually think of them as buttoning? And then the main seams are pinked (though it was sometimes hard to see with how frayed they are), the seams around the armscye are mock french seams. Pinking would mean at least early '50s, right? That seems to be the most recent feature.
As far as mending goes, I've only ever sewed on buttons, finished a hem, and repaired ripped seams so, I'm not exactly sure what's the best way to try and save this dress. It's clearly been repaired at least two different times, maybe three. The best repair is the shoulders, where someone put interfacing and sewed a bunch by machine, those seem to have held up! However, there's a different kind of mending tape on what used to be a tear on the back and just to the side of that is where it tore again (the first big tear). Then, there's an L shaped tear next to that (the second and largest tear). Then, one underarm was hand stitched up at some point but has since torn again around that repair (the third big tear). And then there's a smaller tears on one hip below the waist and one near the zipper on the other side (the fourth and fifth tears). There's a couple more pinholes too.
So yes, that adds up to quite a lot of tearing which is why I was wondering if the repeated tears that have been happening mean the fabric is just too weak and destined to keep tearing somewhere at this point? Do I try to replicate the success someone had on the shoulders, with big sections of interfacing and a bunch machine stitching on top? Does it need patching and new fabric (there's some fabric in facing of the collar and the placket but then idk how to replace it and not mess anything up)? Do I take this to a professional because this is not a good starter project for an amateur? Any help is very much appreciated, as always! Thank you so much for all you've been teaching me about my own little collection of vintage!
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I don't know if this is your style, but I'd be tempted to try some visible mending (something I've never done before) on it.
that is SO adorable!! we call those house-dresses, my mom wore stuff like that all the time. 
