Found in a Bag, a Second 1920's Dress!

In a recent post I mentioned that I had a few boxes about, filled with bits, scraps, and bags of things from my late mother's house. This next dress in a bag came from this stash of goodies as well. The dress has recently found a home with a collector who is skilled and dedicated to restoring 1920's dresses. I'm glad it's going to a loving home, and I thought that you might like to see some pictures showing some of the amazing details this little beauty featured.
I present to you, Dress in a Bag 2.0.

The upper body of the dress was shattered - a sadly common weakness of dresses like these. With so much added weight from the beads, a dress like this sitting on a hanger for 60 years or so may very well start to fall apart at the weight-bearing uppers.

Remarkably, after a detailed search, it looked like maybe only 3 or 4 beads in total had gone missing.

This floral motif was amazing - the silk was painted inside the beaded outline.

Luckily, the under-slip was in almost pristine shape; even the snaps were still securely sewing in place at the side.

I think by far though, my favorite detail was the ombre effect of the dye at the petalled hem.

Happy sewing,

Sew Expensive - Butterick 6527 1930's Evening Gown

Hello my dears,
Today for your viewing pleasure, I have another edition of Sew Expensive. We've has some truly lovely evening gown patterns showcased in the past but today we have a rare Butterick pattern, of all things.

Usually we don't see too many Butterick patterns going for nearly as high as say Vogue or McCall's and that's usually because Butterick didn't spend as much time on their artwork and often didn't bother with color envelope illustrations until the late 1930's - early 1940's. A lot of a pattern's value will hinge on both truly beautiful artwork, and the more unusual design aspects of the pattern itself. Butterick managed to meet both of those criteria without coloring the envelop illustration with this pattern.
Very recently, Butterick 6527 sold on Ebay for a shocking $362.

Butterick 6527

This pattern is a very unique design from around 1936 and features some amazing and sought after design details including a rounded low-cut back neckline with halter or strap options, an interesting panel of shirring at the skirt resting just over the pelvis (not sure I would want to draw attention there myself but it looks nice in the illustration), and an eye-catching gathered center-front bodice. And then of course there is the lovely and diminutive capelet that looks like it attaches at the shoulders and gives a bit more modest options for shoulder coverage. Having the pattern in a very friendly size 38" bust is also a big factor.

It's fun to take a look at the envelope back when you can to see how the pattern was drafted and assembled... you know, if you're a pattern geek like I am...

If you wanted to draft up your own pattern like this and didn't have a lot of time, you could always use Depew #4235 as a starting point and make a few adaptations from there.

1940’s Evening Gown #4235A (1947)

How about you? Do you think that the pattern was worth over $350 or would you rather pay that for a finished gown?

Happy sewing,

Lovely 1920's Couture and a New Pattern Release!

Well, hello my dears!
I have been hard at work doing two things very diligently. The first has been working on a pattern project a very long time in the making. The second is learning how to stop and take care of myself. It has taken me a few years but I have finally learned the lesson that chronic pain teaches everyone familiar with it: You have to learn when to stop. It's not easy, especially when you're an obsessive workaholic who loves what you do for a living!
This lesson has called for less blogging and more gardening, less pattern drafting and more quiet moments with a good book, less 14 hour days and more tea, yoga, dog walking, and wine in the garden breaks.
Self-neglect is a hard habit to break, but at least I've been enjoying the learning process :)

When I haven't been seeking those quiet, peaceful, relaxing activities, I've been quite happily working on a reproduction for what I consider one of the crown jewels of my vintage pattern collection. But it had to be done right, and that called for some painstaking research and a lot of work.

The pattern in question: A 1929 Maggy Rouff Couture design that looks more like it's from the early 1930's. Maggy Rouff was rather fashion forward in general but in 1929 it seems like she started setting the stage for the hemline making its descent from the flapper just-below-the-knee, to the calf-length we associate with the early 1930's.

This wonderful design features three versions that can be sewn long sleeved or sleeveless. The front has a wrap effect with yokes trimmed in bows and a flounce for a faux-bolero effect. However, the most interesting feature by far, is the straight skirt which is trimmed with asymmetric flounces for the suggestion of an uneven hemline -  in a manner that was very fashion-forward for 1929. 

My favorite part about adding the original pattern to my collection was how it felt a little bit like an Easter egg. I knew it was familiar-looking when I bought it, but couldn't quite place it. Then I opened it up and there was a photograph printed on one of the pattern pieces. The photo of the original Maggy Rouff design that the pattern had been designed from. I ran back to my collection of vintage magazines, and sure enough, in a fall 1929 magazine, there it was. The dress! The original pattern envelope made no mention of any designers on the front as they usually do.

The dress in question at far right.

The flounce creates the illusion of a longer, asymmetrical hemline and calls to mind en evening look if one were to leave off the sleeves.
Also from Maggie Rouff and her fellow designers that year, came the beautiful, flounce bedecked evening gowns that merely flirted briefly with the floor:

Maggy Rouff on the left, Patou on the right.

All of this of course, eventually led to a reproduction. But I had several mangled and badly torn pattern pieces to re-draft along the way (poor little pattern, I'll save you!). And this pattern, with 13 pieces and a half dozen flounces takes up more paper/ fabric than any pattern I've yet to work with. But she's finally here!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Depew #3061.

Depew #3061 Ladies' Dress Sewing Pattern.

I've been playing about with some sketches and draping and there's even a way to sew this dress up for an evening look! Simply leave the sleeves off, extend the front and back hems about 4", cut a few more flounces like the ones at front and back, sew them a few inches below the first set and voila, evening dress!

A quickie in Photoshop - not my best work but you get the idea.

You can really play around with this dress by leaving the flounces off at the bodice, or cutting them from contrasting lace, or leaving all flounces off for a smoother day-time silhouette.
The sky is the limit!

Happy sewing,

Sew Expensive... McCall 6057 Evening Gown Pattern - A Record Breaker!

Hello my lovely readers. This morning I watched, mesmerized, as a vintage pattern sold on eBay. This particular pattern was something special. I knew that there wasn't a chance in hell that I would be able to afford it, so I stared at it in horrified fascination, like one watches a train wreck, or Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

It was so pretty, and it sold for so much darn money!

McCall 6057 Evening Gown Pattern from 1930.

I watched McCall 6057 climb over the last few days until it settled at an eye-watering $831.
We have a record-breaker in the Sew Expensive category here on A Few Threads Loose, Ladies and Gents! For my international readers, that's £498 or 610€.

Some of you might remember that our former heavy-weight expensive sewing pattern was McCall 1794. This lovely pattern held the record at $685 for nearly two years!

So why was this pattern so expensive? This is the perfect storm of vintage sewing pattern wonderfulness: The artwork is beautiful + it's from a hard-to-find era for McCall patterns + it's an evening gown pattern + it's right on the historical transition from 1920's-1930's hem lines + it's sexy as hell + I want one = $831.

And that is all, my dears.
Happy Sewing,

Sew Expensive... McCall 9124

 I have a weakness for evening gown patterns. I haven't the foggiest idea why since I never sew them, and never have anywhere to wear them, but I adore them nonetheless.
But this obsession gives me an excuse to stalk Ebay for the occasional beauty, and it gives me fuel for our latest "Sew Expensive."

Today for you I have McCall 9124 from 1937. This beautiful low-backed gown has lovely slightly flared skirt and a modest but elegant front.

But I'm sure you're quite interested to know what it sold for, aren't you?

McCall 9124 recently sold on Ebay for a very believable sum of $285. I'll bet it was worth every single penny.
It would have been ridiculous for me to have spent that much money on a pattern I'll probably never use.
That doesn't stop me from wishing I had anyways.
How about you? Do you have a favorite evening gown pattern?