Draped 1930s Dress

In Draping class our last project was to drape a 1930s dress from a research image (that I will post a picture of soon). My dress had a cowl neckline that proved difficult to drape. The challenge was in getting enough room at the shoulder for the arm to raise.

I'm hoping to make a dress from this pattern in the summer. I'd love to see it become a reality.

The back of the cowl drape would come together at the back, twist and cross to the front where it would be tied at the center front waist.

One of my projects this weekend will be taking this from the dress form and turning it into a paper pattern. Up next, draping a 1910s dress from a design image.

1930s Beauty

1930s Dress Pattern

Here's the sketch that I drafted my pattern off of. Speaking of darts: You can see the darts at the front and back. Actually they look like they're at the waist on the sketch, but since I'm rather long waisted and didn't make any adjustments for that, placing the seam between the points of the two triangles is at my waist. Confusing? It all works out - I like the seam between the two triangles rather than the darts anyway. :)

Finished 1930s Evening Gown

Finally, the long awaited photos of the 1930s evening gown that I completed last week. I'm pretty satisfied with the way it turned out. Although I draped the dress on a school mannequin several years ago, there were few changes that needed to be made to the pattern in order for the dress to fit me - a bonus.

I added a seam at the waist area to smooth out a ripple that was forming there. The original sketch showed darts above the waist, but that seemed a strange location to place them. The waist seems a little more natural to me.

I love the diamonds at the side!

I added a godet train. I'm not sure if I like the way that the skirt falls -it may have looked nicer on the bias - but I tried to make it like the original sketch and pattern which was not on the bias.

I'm so glad to finally feel closure from this college class project! We were assigned to drape the pattern for this dress as a final project but I always wanted to see the realized dress. Now I can call it finished and add it to my Portfolio.

Next Project: 1930s Dress

Listening to Enya themed music on Pandora and relaxing after a hard day's work. I spent the day draping a pattern for another 1930s dress. This is one I've wanted to make for ages! I have the perfect fabric - possibly the most beautiful fabric I've ever owned - that is exactly like the fabric of the original dress that I'm copying. I want to keep it a little bit of a surprise. But above is the inspiration for the piece. Beautiful, isn't it?

I have so many ideas swimming in my head! Sometimes I drive myself crazy with the ideas that are constantly popping into my head. One of my goals in life is to learn how to relax. Sleep is my only relaxation at this point...I always joke about getting in my 10 hours each night. I have four long lists of things I'd like to do when I get my Portfolio completed. A list for Sewing Projects for me, one for Sewing Projects for my business, one for Decorating Projects, and a third for Dinner Parties and Social Activities. I guess we'll see which projects win the competition in March.

1930s Evening Gown Mock-Up

Here is a picture of the 1930s evening gown mock-up. This is a horrible picture, but you get the idea.

I'm happy to announce that the dress is now completed. I had planned to take pictures tonight but I'm feeling a little under the weather. I promise to have Vince take pictures of it on me very soon! I love the way it turned out. The color is just perfect!

1930s Evening Gown

Currently I'm busy working on sewing a glamorous 1930s evening dress. The pattern was draped for one of my college classes from the above dress sketch. The sketch is from the book "Practical Dress Design" by Mabel Erwin. Probably a 1930s or 40s edition. I chose a burgandy satin for the fabric. I had originally planned on using a perriwinkle silk satin, but the perriwinkle color didn't look that fantastic on me, so I decided to go with the burgandy even though it's not silk. The color reminds me of the stunning 30s dress worn by Kiera Knightley in the Chanel ad.

So far the trickiest part has been those godets on the front of the dress. I think I finally got them to have perfect points! Almost finished!

1930s Glamour

It's no secret that I love all things Glamorous. So, I thought I'd share a few inspiring images that I recently stumbled upon online. These remind me of the fabulous glamour of the 1930s.

This centerpiece would be fun to make using a candlestick with a foam ball glued to the top and flowers and feathers stuck in. I may have to consider this for future apartment decor. ;)

I love the draped fabric along the wall. What a great way to add interest to a room!

Such beautiful deep colors. I love her perfectly styled hair!