This autumn I was gifted this incredible quilting cotton designed by Brett Lewis, a local quilter and fabric designer. I was able to choose a fabric out of his Prairie Meadow collection, which came out at the beginning of October, and I immediately fell in love with this print. It features wheat, hawks, and stags, and it reminds me so much of the beautiful part of the world that I have grown up in.
When I first received the fabric, I had a moment of panic about what type of garment to make out of it. There is always a bit of fear that you will choose the wrong design to make out of beautiful fabric, because there is nothing more disappointing than creating something that you don't like the fit or style of out of a fabric that you adore. I knew that I wanted to make something 1930's inspired, since the prairies always make me think of the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a Cohen brothers movie which is a fabulous (and very funny) adaptation of The Odyssey.
The colours in this print reminded me of the sepia tones that they used in the film, which is set in 1930's rural Mississippi.
The 1930's is the first historical era that I was interested in learning about as a child, an interest that was mostly inspired by Kit Kittredge and my grandma's stories. When I was in grade 5 we had a Great Depression Day, where we were supposed to dress like children from the 1930's and bring lunches inspired by the thrift used by households across the prairies during this time. We also learnt some games commonly played in the era, and got to try washing laundry with a washboard. I probably found the whole experience much more fascinating than some of the other students in my grade, and my interest in the decade has stuck around.
I have spoken about 1930's fashion many times in past blog posts, since it is one of my favourite eras to research the fashion. People were incredibly creative with fashion since there was not much material available. Most clothes were made by hand at home, or bought ready-made from Sears and other catalogs and altered/mended over the years. The popular silhouette was a long skirt (usually to mid-calf) with a very gentle, elegant A-line. Seamlines were a common detail to add, since that meant that dresses could be cut from scraps rather than from one continuous piece of cloth. Thrifty women cut different worn out dresses apart and turned them into a single new dress, and added little details such as pin tucks to make it look higher end.
In the dress patterns that I have used from the 1930's, I have found that they always have the most incredible little details throughout the designs. The pattern that I used for this dress is a Vintage Vogue from 1939/1940, but it is reminiscent of many garments from the earlier 30's. I especially love the 6 panel skirt, and all of the pin tucks at the neckline and sleeves. I think that this dress has the perfect amount of details to look dressy without overtaking the fabric print.
I chose the placement of the pattern very carefully when cutting the dress out, since I wanted my favourite parts of the pattern to be highlighted. The sleeves have each a wheat and hawk on them, and the skirt pieces have been centered on the pattern. I was not worried about matching the print at the seams, since I love when you can really see where the seams are, so that made it easier to pick and choose what would be on each piece.
I am almost as proud of the inside of the dress as I am of the outside. It is fully finished with french seams, which is the first project that I have ever finished that way. I usually prefer a hong king finish, a lining, or pinked seams, but the seam lines are mostly straight in this pattern, so it was the perfect time to get some practice in. Other details on the dress include self-made bias finish on the neckline and sleeves and a hand-picked lapped zipper.
Overall, this was a (relatively) quick project and I can't wait to wear it out! 1930's styled dresses are definitely still my most used garments, so this will be getting a ton of wear.
Thanks for reading!
~Katherine
