HSM #3: Stashbusting (No. 2) Green Geometry Dress

Update 3/18/15: I've added trim to the bodice to frame the buttons and sleeves since posting these pictures, and the effect is much better!  You can see the photographs here.

I finished this dress at the beginning of Lent, but haven't had a chance to wear or photograph it before today because it has been too cold.  It is really a bit borderline to wear it today even, but I wanted to wear something cheerful.  I'm also putting this one into the Stashbusting Challenge for the Historical Sew Monthly.  I've got plenty of examples of this style of dress from the mid-1930s to the early 1940s, even though my pattern isn't vintage.  (Although, it must be said, at a certain point, for basic shaped garments, everything new is old and vice versa)

I'm quite pleased with this one--I made a few changes to my standard Frankenpattern, and I like the different options I'm getting.  

My main change was to redraft the sleeves to have a larger sleeve opening--I've always felt that the sleeves on my other versions could stand a bit more ease.  I added 1 1/2" to each side of the pattern and that was just about right.

I also straightened the bottom of the back bodice pieces just slightly (maybe 1/2") to give a bit more ease in the back.  (Which now looks like a lot of excess fabric, but believe me when I say that that little extra is nice right now)

I also used the Hollyburn skirt pattern for the bottom, since I had 4 yards to make this dress.  I might have to revise my poor opinion of the Hollyburn now--I really like it as the bottom of a dress.  I still don't like how fabric hungry it is, and I don't love that I have to cut each piece out individually, which means I have to pay extra close attention so I don't make cutting errors.  But as a dress bottom, pretty nice!  And skirts of the late 1930s have quite a bit of fullness to them--a surprising amount, given how much that changed during the war years.  I still like the all-in-one pocket/facing piece, and I've figure out a way to modify my other skirt bottom to accommodate it.

I also made a sash instead of a belt, because my main goal with this dress was to have something slightly less fitted for days when my middle is bloated.  I realized after I made the sash that I can slide a belt buckle on it for a temporary belt look if I want some variety, so that is good.

This fabric is so fabulous--the geometric pattern reminds me of Art Deco era fabrics.  It has a nice hand and drape too--I got it from Hawthorne Threads in the fall and I will definitely buy this designer again!  This particular pattern comes in a bunch of different colorways--I was very tempted by the red, but the green seemed more versatile.

I found the yellow cardigan on ebay a while back and it is a very lovely spring piece.  Yellow isn't really a great color for me to wear near my face, but I think the green off-sets it enough here. 

Details:

Green Geometry dress: me-made, March 2015

Vintage 1940s buttons: etsy seller

Yellow cardigan: Notations brand, via ebay (size large--it is a tad big on me)

 Earrings: inherited from my gram

Boots: modcloth

Brooch: Acorn and Will

The Challenge: Stashbusting

What is it: Mid-1930s era housedress

Fabric: Penny Rose Hope Squares in Green from the Hope Chest fabric line

Pattern: Heavily modified Emery bodice plus Hollyburn skirt

Year: 1937/8

Notions: vintage buttons, seam binding, detachable vintage buckle, vintage zipper.  I reused the seam binding from the original iteration of my Hooverette, and everything came from my stash.

How historically accurate is it? 7/10.  I've got a whole book full of examples of 1930s/1940s house dresses like this.  My caveat is that I don't have an example that has all the elements of my dress in one place.  The back zip is wrong--dresses of the period would have zipped on the side or wrapped like a Hooverette, but I prefer a back zip.  My vintage zip is also plastic instead of metal.  The slash pockets are appropriate, although patch pockets were more common.  Kimono sleeves were very popular throughout the 1930s and 1940s for house dresses and other casual tops; the fabric pattern is in keeping with other designs of the time.  The fabric weight is perhaps a bit off--it is a lighter-weight quilting cotton with a nice hand and decent drape, but I suspect that an actual dress from the era would have been made from percale or sanforized cotton.  Dresses of the period also used non-functional buttons, but often had a placket or some other design detail to set off the buttons.  I didn't quite have it in me to attempt something like that from scratch.

Hours to complete:  About 5.  I can usually make these sorts of dresses in a couple of hours, but the cutting took a bit longer because of the skirt section, plus the sleeve redraft.  On the other hand, the sash was faster to complete than a belt because I only had to hand sew a small section in the middle. 

First worn:  March 16, 2015

Total cost: $40 ($35 for the fabric, and probably $5 in notions when I bought them)