YAY! My 1940's sailor dress is complete and I love it!! This is based on McCall 4114 (check back tomorrow for the giveaway). I made it up in a bright blue linen with white velvet trim. The dress features a traditional 'sailor' top collar and gathers in the bodice front and back and the skirt front. This was my first time making a gather stay for the skirt--really helpful to prevent it from stretching!
I used three adorable buttons that were part of a vintage pound of buttons gift from Sofia (best gift EVER). They are really beautiful and are the perfect colour!
The trim on the sailor collar is done before the collar is faced and applied to the bodice. Thank goodness!! I am really proud of my trim--and there were no major mishaps!
I made the belt out of the matching fabric using a belt kit from A Fashionable Stitch. These kits are great because it includes the flexible belt backing (that you can sew through) but also a buckle with instructions on self covering. I always omit the prongs (I prefer slide belts--and these are very secure).
So, I finished this dress up at 9:30pm last night! We raced down to the harbour (well, actually, we took the bus :). We were able to catch a stunning sunset (those are always so hard to capture on film!)
We also wanted to take some pictures by the Royal Yacht Brittania (in the background)--a royal residence. We managed to get near the water before we were escorted out by two security guards. Ah, well. We'll have to go back when they are open! Hence the big fence in the pictures!
The dress also features faux pockets with white topstitching. It's actually topstitching over a pleat! Such an interesting detail.
I just love the way the lights play on the water at that time of night! So enchanting! I like this dress more than I thought I would. I have a feeling I'll be wearing it A LOT this summer. It's such a fun 40's style.
What do you think? Would you ever wear a 40's style sailor dress?
