Trying out Marion

Remember those vintage 1950's sewing magazines I bought? Marion? I've been showing you some issues here on the blog already but only now, I finally decided to use them for their intended purpose: I'm making a dress.

I decided to go for one in their size 36, which is also the size they prescribe for girl aged 14 to 16. And which is still 2 cm bigger in bust and waist than I am, according to the sizing table. I didn't do any alteration to the pattern before cutting and sewing because I had no idea about the waist length, the amount of ease and the exact way you were supposed to measure according to the sizing table. And the design I picked had a cut-on capsleeve which I know I used to mess up with in Burda patterns (my shoulderwidth would fit their size 36/38, my bust circumference 34/36) 

I went with this design from 1957:

Unfortunately, it's on one of only two Marion pattern sheets which came without a magazine, so I haven't seen a picture. I picked this one because I've been wondering about the dimensions of and the freedom of movement provided by several vintage style sleeve shapes, including this small fitted cap sleeve. And I was curious about trying a scoop neckline for once (I usually avoid those). 

However, I was less thrilled with the skirt, which is just a rectangle to be pleated into the waistline of the dress. So, as one does, I chose to go with another skirt:

The one from the dress on the left, which is from 1953 and was also included on the pattern sheet in size 36. Obviously, the pockets were a major attraction here. I didn't go with this dress altogether because I was using the stash fabrics which I was considering for colourblocking. I figured I would need more of a 'blank canvas' kind of shape to make that work. 

Tracing the patterns was surprisingly easy, considering the look of those pattern sheets (I used transparent tracing paper laid on top because I didn't want to damage the pattern sheets with my tracing wheel). I guess black lines are easier to trace than coloured ones and it is less confusing with the pattern in only 1 size. What's more confusing than in modern patterns or in seperately sold vintage ones, was the absense of straight of grain lines and other such markings. 

Now, I'm off to continue working on the dress, and I'll do a show-and-tell later.