Ok, I'm not going to wait another day to blog this. After all, I've also taken these pictures today.
This blouse was actually finished before the 1957 outfit but I didn't have a chance to take pictures and then I had given the other thing such a build-up (with the belt tutorial mostly) that I felt it had to be shown off first.
I did talk a little about my intention to make this blouse here on the blog. Mostly about how watching a lot of Downton Abbey gave me a whole new appreciation for the fashion of the late 1910's and early 1920's (if you've missed that post, I've shared some pictures of designs from 1918 here).
I had noticed a particular style of blouse which is often worn in season two. Both by the young ladies and by Anna when off duty. This very style was also featured quite often in my Gracieuse magazines from that time (I only own two from 1918, the others are from 1920 and later). It looked very nice, so why not try and make it?
The pattern I used was the bodice of this dress from 1922 (the one in the middle). I would have preferred an actual blouse pattern but each Gracieuse magazine includes just one or maybe two patterns per size so this was the closest I could get in time, style and size.
The fabric is some black crepe left over from my 1929 dress and I decorated it using black satin piping and some beige-ish/pink-ish crochet lace ribbon which I've had in my stash for years. Black ribbon would have been more in line with the original design but I didn't want the end result to look like a mourning piece.
I only realized later that decoration on these 1910's/1920's blouses always matches the main fabric... The contrasting stuff and the placement of it might even look a bit 1970's even though the shape doesn't really.
And then there's the lack of any instructions with these patterns. During construction, I wondered about the need (or lack of it) for a closure. I tested whether or not I could get the blouse over my head without. Because I could, I didn't make any kind of closure. Since then, I've noticed that the Downton blouses usually have a concealed button band at one side of the central panel.
The collar is a separate piece. Normally, I don't like that for a shawl collar. It just seems like either lazy drafting or an assumption of ignorance of the seamstress. In this case however, the curve of the pattern piece makes this collar behave and look different to a cut-on one. So here, it's functional and that makes it OK.
The blouse is very roomy and really comfortable. I had some trouble finding a way to wear it. I like the look with these trousers but all my high waisted skirts have rather clear 1950's silhouette and just look weird with this blouse. I don't mind it though. I was already planning another pair of trousers using this pattern (in black wool crepe) and I could always make a more period accurate skirt.
I don't think I'm done with this design either. There's a lot of charm to it and plenty of potential to update it and make it work in a modern wardrobe.
And this completes my Vintage Pattern Pledge! I've sewn five items from vintage patterns. They've been kind-of spread across the decades between 1910 and 1980 and I've used some of the different pattern media at my disposal (I could have done better at both of these points but I have moved out of my comfort zone in both areas so I'm not judging).
It took me a long time to get going with this pledge. I've been drafting all my patterns for so long that I really had to struggle to get back to using pre-made ones. Even if I was curious about period fit and drafting style.
In the end, four of the five items were made this past month. After I had decided to throw caution to the winds and just go for it. And now, I find myself thinking about vintage patterns much more. I want to use my raspberry pink wool crepe for a mid-1920's dress and the table in our living room is filled with early 1950's Bella magazines which include some amazing dresses...
Of course I won't stop making my own patterns but I this challenge may just have helped me get over the barrier and use my lovely vintage patterns the way they were meant to be used.
So thank you Marie, for coming up with this great idea!
Let me start by thanking everyone for the advice on the buttonhole issue I mentioned in the previous post. Thankfully, I've got lots of scraps to try different methods on so I will try everything you suggested and hope for the best (because my grandmother specifically wanted those functional buttons. I tried suggesting snap/poppers).
In the meantime I seem to have allowed myself to get thoroughly sidetracked. I can name reasonable excuses, like I started to read a bit more history again (extensive overview of the Ottoman Empire, at the moment) and I started following some history blogs, which led to me finding lots of history blogs (I've started weeding through them but with blogs, you often have to follow for a bit to know whether or not a specific one is for you). However, neither of those things should really keep me from going on with sewing projects I'm already kind of committed to...
And then, about two months ago, we bought a new television (the old one was pre flatscreen era...). A 'smart tv'. So, we also decided to try out Netflix... Which is how I finally got to watch season five of Mad Men.
And now, I'm really enjoying watching all of Downton Abbey. I've seen most of season two and about half of season three when they were broadcast by Nederland 2 but I really enjoy seeing how it all fits together.
I'm at the end of season two now and it has taken this long for the look to really get to me.
Last week, when I tried to make a decision about which Luttorloh pattern to try, my mind kept wandering to how nice the daytime blouses at Downton are...
Mostly the ones worn by the daughters of the house, especially Mary (I like her look best anyway. She may not always be the nicest person but the lady has got style. And I'm an oldest sister myself so I guess I'm prejudiced).
Something like this is very pretty and I even think it could work in a sort-of-modern wardrobe. In mine at least. I've got enough high waisted trousers and skirts to tuck such a top in to.
All of that made me have another look at my picks from the 1920's Gracieuse magazines.
The very first design I picked back then, the dress here in the middle, actually looks a lot like many of the blouses I had been admiring.
So, why not use the bodice of this loose dress as blouse? It could even count it towards my goal in the Vintage Pattern Pledge...
So that's what I'm working on now. I'm not being hugely original because I'm using the fabric leftover from my 1929 dress but there will be some trim, which is really unusual for me.
The pattern is quite interesting:
For the blouse, I'm only tracing the over bodice (which is in three pieces on the tracing sheet), the center front bit and the collar. But I thought it was really interesting to see that the dress has a more fitted, and clearly intended as structural, lining and a belt which has to be made to specific measurements. The skirt is only given as scale drawing because that's just a rectangle.
I really should make a dress like this at some point. But there are nicer ones and right now, I want a blouse.
Despite the fact that the bodice looks quite long in the drawing, I checked the back measurement (when in doubt, always measure!) and I'm glad I did. The center back was only 37 cm long. This would put it well above my waist (I have the now normal back length of 40 cm). I'm not sure what's going on there. It may have something to do with the fact that this pattern is intended for teenage girls (who, in modern patterns, are supposed to be at least as tall as women with the same bust measurement but I have noticed a different notion in more recent, 1950's, vintage patterns as well). Or maybe the drawing is just more fashion-forward than the pattern. In the early 1920's waistlines were getting gradually lower and this is a dress for official and solemn occasions so I think it's a reasonable working theory.
Anyway, I lengthened my bodice pieces by a whopping 17 cm so I would have something to tuck in.
Hopefully, I'll manage to get some nice pictures of it this weekend.
