53 weeks later

Regular readers (thank you!) with good memories may recall having seen this fabric before.

Looks familiar?

It last appeared on this blog just over a year ago, when I was planning to experiment with batch cutting three projects at once. I said at the time that I wasn't sure how well this would work, and I was right to be dubious. I cut out the top fabric, for Simplicity 4463, and then - I started making it. And that was the end of the experiment.

One third of the plan worked!

Earlier this year I decided to revisit the other two projects. I discovered that I didn't actually have enough of the striped fabric to make Style 1271, so it has been put to one side. Which just left this cotton poplin, which I had earmarked for another Butterick 2535. This time I did have enough fabric to make the longer sleeved version, but decided to stick to short sleeves as I wanted to make a summer dress.

From 1943

One issue with using true vintage patterns is that fabric widths have changed over time, so the cutting layouts provided are of no use. Instead I tend to lay the fabric out on the floor, work out my layout, photograph it, and then cut out on the table working from the annotated image.

Part of my cutting layout

I first made this pattern five years ago and that version, made from Liberty Tana lawn, is still going strong after a lot of wear. This time I did make a couple of adjustments to the pattern, though. The main one was altering the bodice front. I had made it wider to accommodate my larger post-menopausal bust but, for an experienced dressmaker, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that I also needed more fabric top to bottom! As a result, several of my older dresses fit around the back and sides but are rather short-waisted at the front. Duh. It's an easy alteration to add length at the centre, tapering to the sides.

Showing the longer bodice front

Other than that, it was pretty much a repeat of the first make. I had almost lost the tie belt of the first version when it came untied, so I made sure to add belt loops to this dress. I also used a skirt hook and bar at the waist of the placket rather than just a hook and eye, and feel that it gives a more secure fasten.

Belt loop and waist fasten

There were the usual button traumas. Nothing in my stash or available locally seemed quite right. Fortunately, I found some I liked at The Swagman's Daughter, and the typeface on the card made me think that they were probably right for the period.

Looks 1930s/40s?

Attached to the dress

The buttonholes were, as ever, hand sewn. (I really must devote some time to learning how to use my Singer buttonholer properly.)

The completed dress

When I first made the pattern in 2020 I wasn't taking seated shots, so here is one this time. The pleats at the front make the dress comfortable to sit in, without there being lots of fabric to contend with.

#sewnshownseated

According to my project notebook, I started this dress at the end of February. That's a long time to make a basic 1940s dress which I have made before, but never mind. Partly it's because I have less sewing time these days, and partly it's because I deliberately took my time. This is a good, basic dress which I know I'm going to wear (and launder) a lot, so I made sure that everything is properly stitched and neatly finished, to maximise its life. Plus, it's another 3.2m out of the stash.

Still a long way to go

Knitting for victory

V for Victory on the back cover

My dress still isn't finished (but I have at least acquired some suitable buttons!) so, as World War II and VE Day have been in the news this week, I'm looking at a wartime issue of Vogue Knitting Book.

The artwork harks back to some of Vogue's Surrealist covers

There's no date to be found anywhere in the publication, but as it's the 21st issue of something which appears to have started in 1932 and was published twice a year, my guess is 1942.

Marking 21 issues

Given that Vogue Pattern Book had no colour photography and limited colour printing the year before, I was surprised by the number of pages in colour.

One of several colour pages

In fact, in places it's hard to believe that this was produced in wartime, amid shortages and rationing.

I wonder how easy it was to get the 15oz of wool required for this

Elsewhere however, it's more obvious.

"Wear white at night" to be seen in the blackout

Keep warm without a fire

The notion that a garment must be knitted in a specific yarn has been abandoned, and there is a chart listing possible alternatives if the first choice isn't available.

Interchangeable wools

The hybrid sewn and knitted dress which featured in the March 1942 issue of Vogue appears here as well, along with another example.

V9246 (l) and V9392 (r), both with knitted bodices

In both cases, the knitting more or less replicates the fabric option.

V9246 showing the knitted and sewn versions

V9392 in fabric

In case the sewing element is beyond the reader's skills, help is at hand via Vogue's Book of Smart Dressmaking.

Shown above a slightly ominous advert for Cuticura ointment

Like the magazine itself, some of the advertisements ignore the war.

No mention of coupon or wool requirements here

While others acknowledge that supplies of item being advertised may be hard to get.

Re-use your Lavenda wool if you can't get new

Save your precious soap flakes for 'best'

For me though, the most mind-boggling thing in the whole magazine is in the Weetabix ad. I know that milk was rationed, but things would have to be desperate before I would consider eating Weetabix dry!

Many things can be eaten dry, but that doesn't make it a good idea

Westwood at the Walker

The latest display in the Craft & Design gallery of the Walker Art Gallery celebrates the work of designer Vivienne Westwood. The pieces on show date from the early 1980s to the early 1990s and are mostly from National Museums Liverpool's own collection, along with some key loans.

Black velvet suit from the Time Machine Collection, Autumn-Winter 1988-89

As ever, reflections on the glass cases made some items impossible to photograph. Apologies for the lights and reflections in some of the images which follow.

The display

Toga dress, Nostalgia of Mud Collection, Autumn-Winter 1982-83

Cotton stockinette tops and skirts, Punkature Collection, Spring-Summer 1983

Cotton skirt and shirt, Punkature Collection, Spring-Summer 1983

Wool sleeveless dress, Witches Collection, Autumn-Winter 1983-84

Cotton shirt and denim jeans, Cut, Slash and Pull Collection, Spring-Summer 1991

Close-up of the cutwork orb design on the shirt

Cotton dresses, Anglomania Collection, Autumn-Winter 1993-94

Wool suit and cap, Anglomania Collection, Autumn-Winter 1993-94

I tend to associate Vivienne Westwood with 18th century clothing details, and there are a couple of these in the exhibition. The obvious one is this shirt.

Cotton shirt dress, Salon Collection, Spring-Summer 1992

More subtle (and impossible to photograph!) is the back of the black velvet suit shown at the top of this post. The skirt is folded up to reveal a glimpse of frilled petticoat underneath, and the fold is held in place with buttons, in a way which playfully recalls fall front trousers.

The flap on the back of the skirt

Vivienne Westwood: Designer in Focus runs until October 2026. Both the display and the Walker Art Gallery are free to enter.