Vintage Dress Update: Finished!

The Vintage, Vogue 9229, dress is finished! Okay, not quite if you count pressing. I guess I should drag the steamer out.

Vintage Dress Update: Almost Finished!

But I'm really excited to show you.

I have to say, that I really like how the dress looked on the pattern illustration, very chic I thought.

As you likely read, I've made this dress as an entry for the Pattern Review Vintage Contest. I'm not expecting to win, not all the entries are in yet but have you seen them? Wow! There are some beautiful entries. But I didn't enter to win anything I really did want to discover the differences between vintage and current patterns. And there were many! I've even discovered some new-to me techniques. And that is what this contest is all about.

Here are some details about my pattern:

• Vogue 9229, dated 1957 on the lower left corner of the pattern front.  
• Not found anywhere on the web when I went searching for it. I was wondering if anyone else made it because I was worried it would be too slim for me to make (mental note: purchase spanx). I couldn't even find it on Vintage Patterns Wikia. So, I nervously went to work hoping that it would fit.  
• The pattern envelope is very fragile and I think that I'm going to frame it in hopes to preserve it.  
• The pattern pieces inside the envelope were in excellent condition.  
• First perforated pattern that I ever worked with, love it.  
• Pattern review warned that most vintage patterns "run smaller than modern patterns".  I found this to be true. The pattern I used is a size 16, I would never fit into a size 16 in a contemporary pattern. I feared that the blouse would be too tight after examining the bust measurements on the pattern envelope but it worked out fine.  
• "Minor design changes are allowed" in this contest. I did have to shorten the dress. I don't know if seven inches off the hem length count but I'm five-one, I'm hoping that it won't be considered major.  

Fabric and Techniques:

• Cotton is one of the fabric choices listed on the envelope. I did make my dress out of a cotton sateen. Where it strayed from the 1957 selection is that its a stretch cotton sateen. Thank goodness because it is a fitted skirt.  
• The colour of my fabric was based on researched into fashion trends in 1957. Brown and black were hot colours back in the day. Since black does not photograph as well as brown, that greatly influenced my choice. 
• This pattern stated that interfacing was optional, and I opted out of interfacing the dress. 
• Techniques that I learned about while making this dress include the hem, transfer markings, and belt making. I did not make a belt to go with the dress. But I did follow the technique for inner belting. I used gross-grain ribbon and sewed the snaps but I found it uncomfortable and difficult to close from the side zipper placement. And out came the seam ripper.  
• I did use one of the techniques described on the instructions, tailor's chaulk, for transferring stitching lines through the perforated pattern. 
• And I used seam tape for my hem.  Did you notice that it is vintage too? You can tell by the packaging, now-a-days it is not packaged in cardboard that includes instructions inside the packaging.  

The dress:  

Described as an one-piece dress with a slim skirt with a released pleat at the front and a blouse that joins at the waist-line with strategic gathers.  

I made Version B, the sleeveless dress with the oval neck-line, decorative button trimming at the front and one inch topstitching around the armholes, neckline and centre front.  

I don't usually go for sparkly things but I thought these buttons were the cat's meow. The buttons are purely decorative but I really think they make the dress special.  

I mentioned in the other post that I was considering using pinking shears on the seams but I'm glad I didn't. I don't know how I would have cut through all those layers of fabric where the pleat met with the blouse at the waistline.  

Sew glad I used the serger.   

And that is the story of my adventures in Vintage sewing.