I've been dying to make
this sweet little vintage dress for Myra. When my Aunt Lil sent me this fabric, I immediately thought of this pattern. And so they are together.
I purchased the lace, but all of the other components of this dress were given to me. The pattern from my friend Gerry, my Aunt sent the fabric and the buttons came from my friend Starla. I even sewed it on the machine Starla gave me! It seemed appropriate to sew the vintage dress on the vintage machine.
Here is the yoke and buttons up close.
This pattern is so sweet, and I really love the design, but I have to say that I read the instructions and went, "What??" I wonder if women in the 40s ever used their sewing machines??? There was so much hand sewing! The hem, the bias bound yoke, the trim, and the buttonholes (!) all are supposed to be hand sewn. I didn't even hand sew on the buttons... The instructions were very complete, though. I had understood that vintage instructions were frequently too brief and assumed that you knew the basics, but these included instructions for seam finishing and stay stitching which I think modern patterns skip all too often. There were also good instructions for those hand worked buttonholes.
It is a perfect fit on my little princess. Isn't she sweet??
Here are the panties that the pattern included. They aren't my favorite. I prefer the Ruby's bloomers pattern from Weekend Sewing, but they are cute.
We took a LOT of pictures, but I'll just share a few of my favorites.
After our little photo shoot, Myra wanted to help with her next dress...
