I Made a Dress from a 1940s Pattern!

I’ve been wanting to make this one (Simplicity 4230) for a while! I made the blouse almost two years ago. I had also planned to make the jumper out of royal blue fabric. The pattern included an embroidery transfer, and I thought white flowers on royal blue would be gorgeous. However, I realized that I didn’t have quite enough of the royal blue, no matter how I laid out the pattern pieces. I put it away for a while, waiting for the right fabric.

I eventually realized I could try the color block technique. Because of the depression in the 30s and war rations in the early 40s, it was very standard practice to make a single piece of clothing out of two different fabrics. I pulled out that royal blue again and started holding it up next to other fabrics in my stash to see if there was a good match. I found this blue-and-white check made a nice match. I decided to make the bodice from the royal blue and the skirt from the check.

I thought flower embroidery would be too busy in addition to the check pattern, so I’m putting my embroidery dreams on hold (for now). I did create a little cherry embellishment with buttons to coordinate with a red belt, but these are both removable.

The pattern was a fun challenge because the instructions were minimal, assuming that the maker already knows quite a bit about sewing.

I love how this dress fits and have enjoyed wearing it to a few swing dance events already. I love how versatile jumpers are! It is nice to have a pretty dress that isn’t worn next to the skin so that it doesn’t need to be washed (or ironed) as frequently. Though I think the puffed sleeves are the perfect complement, I could also wear a different blouse if I wanted to style it differently.

I’m working on a dress from an even older pattern right now! I’m excited to show you all soon.