A few weeks ago, Tina over at Down the Retro Rabbit Hole decided to put together a pattern swap. I love sending things through the mail (though I’m terrified of the Post Office), especially to other sewing-internets-types. It makes both the other person and the little online world we create more solid.
I completely forgot that meant I would be getting a pattern, too. Of course! When we arrived back home in Brisbane today, my lovely neighbor handed me all our mail- including this little package from Emma at A Bear’s Fare. I knew from the size it must be a pattern, and since I didn’t order one recently I realized it was from the swap.
This image borrowed from Vintage Pattern Wiki, because my camera is doing unholy things just now. Click to view source.
It’s Simplicity 4110 A, from 1952. Oh swoon! I forgot the charm and the power one oldish little envelope can exert. It’s delightful! The back-of-envelope description reads like a list of my favorite things: “Dress: Upper bodice fronts overlap forming a V shaped neckline. Kimono sleeves and a midriff style the bodice. The skirt has two soft pleats each side of center front with a concealed pocket in the right side seam. Jacket is fitted and has three quarter length kimono sleeves. One button closes the front.”
Thank you, Emma!
I’m always, always attracted to stripes, and I have the perfect fabric for this dress:
Fabric, right. Well, actually it’s a $2 thrifted cotton duvet cover I picked up a few weeks ago, thinking it would make a great 50′s dress. Black and white, my favorite! Stripes! Irregular ones, to boot. This is one end of the duvet cover, the stripes change towards the other end of the piece:
It will take great force of will not to shelve all my other sewing plans (except the hack) for a while and work on this! But I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on stripe usage here, you all have such fantastic ideas.
(And wouldn’t that jacket be super cute in an organic cotton twill or a pique or corduroy, or- OH! brocade.)
I adore it, what a fantastic idea, and this will look amazing in the stripes!
Stripes!!! They’re my fave..
Oh, WOW, what a GORGEOUS pattern! This will look beautiful on you! I love the idea of making it in black & white– that will modernize the look a bit. Can’t wait to see it!
hehehe- Ginger, I think you’re at least as excited and pumped as I am. :) I’ll have to do this sooner rather than later! (and since it’s “winter” again, I can wear my big net petticoats…)
Yay! I’m STOKED! Heeheehee…
this dress pattern is beautiful and seems to have plenty of interesting design features! stripes, pockets, pleats.. I’m looking forward to seeiing what your production
I’m so excited about it! I really want to work on it while I’m still excited.. But then I look around me at all the other things that need to get done. Dang!
That looks like an excellent pattern+fabric matchup! I, too, am trying for a striped duvet dress this week (finally! I’ve been waiting to do this project for a couple weeks now because I had more pressing projects in the queue), so I’ll be thinking of you as I sew!
I wish I could figure out how to construe this as a “family” or “mother” type garment for the Sew Weekly challenge… What if I photoshopped my grandmother’s face onto the pattern envelope? ;) That’d be fun, probably she’d get a giggle out of it….
Oh, please do! That would be AWESOME.
Do you think I’d get thrown out of Sew Weekly?? I so want to..
If you haave any of the pink waleless cord left, it would make a cute jacket over the black and white stripes.
Ooooh that would be cool but unfortunately I used almost every little scrap of it on the pants I made…!
I can’t wait to see this!
Soon… Soon.
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