I'm wearing the Chicken Dress today! If Marie is here, maybe she'll take a picture for me.
The waistband isn't as tight as I'd feared. I'll still make it a little longer next time, but it's not cutting me in half. I've gotten some more ideas for tweaking it, too, now that I see it on. I think I might take a half-inch back out of the bodice length but I'm not sure (it's hard to tell since the waist is snug; the slightly-too-blousy problem might resolve once the waistband is an inch longer) and shorten the shoulders (neck to sleeve cap) by about a half an inch. I'm also considering a new sleeve. I've started thinking of this as the "tomboy" sleeve: Less gathering at the sleeve cap (lowered sleeve cap, reduced sleeve width at the top), and less tapering toward the opening of the sleeve. I might even add a turned-back cuff.
I also need to lower the hem another inch or two. I already did a three-inch hem instead of four, and the length looks nice and is probably not out of the range of accuracy for the early 1940's, but it feels short. I'm used to having my knees solidly covered. This covers them but just barely. It does make my calves look good, though, especially in heels.
I scored four yards of Andover "On The Breeze" in pale lime green on eBay for about half the usual price. It's a large print: The picture below is apparently an 8.5 x 11 - inch scan.
The waistband isn't as tight as I'd feared. I'll still make it a little longer next time, but it's not cutting me in half. I've gotten some more ideas for tweaking it, too, now that I see it on. I think I might take a half-inch back out of the bodice length but I'm not sure (it's hard to tell since the waist is snug; the slightly-too-blousy problem might resolve once the waistband is an inch longer) and shorten the shoulders (neck to sleeve cap) by about a half an inch. I'm also considering a new sleeve. I've started thinking of this as the "tomboy" sleeve: Less gathering at the sleeve cap (lowered sleeve cap, reduced sleeve width at the top), and less tapering toward the opening of the sleeve. I might even add a turned-back cuff.
I also need to lower the hem another inch or two. I already did a three-inch hem instead of four, and the length looks nice and is probably not out of the range of accuracy for the early 1940's, but it feels short. I'm used to having my knees solidly covered. This covers them but just barely. It does make my calves look good, though, especially in heels.
I scored four yards of Andover "On The Breeze" in pale lime green on eBay for about half the usual price. It's a large print: The picture below is apparently an 8.5 x 11 - inch scan.
I don't think it's specifically "retro" but it does sort of have the colors and that flat, screen-printed, look you see in 1940's tablecloths.
Four yards of a print that size is actually not a whole lot since pieces have to be fussy-cut to make the large pattern match up and look OK. I think I might use it for McCall 5136 (1943?), which is a simple shape and has a straight skirt.
Four yards of a print that size is actually not a whole lot since pieces have to be fussy-cut to make the large pattern match up and look OK. I think I might use it for McCall 5136 (1943?), which is a simple shape and has a straight skirt.
I just realized, too, that between my usual Friday off and Martin Luther King, Jr., Day on Monday, I have a four-day weekend. Hooray! Friday, I have to pick up my framed picture from Hobby Lobby, and Dad and I will be coming back down to my office to pick up the two file cabinets I bought from our surplus equipment stash.
Then, I'll probably work on 4102 again, making those changes.
Friday night, the Lost Bayou Ramblers will be in town for the first time in ages. Can't miss that!
Sunday, I might go to see the reenactment of the Battle of Galveston. I might even go early and stop at the Dot Coffee Shop for breakfast. I've wanted to do that for awhile but, I don't know, sometimes I get self-conscious about asking other people to go with me. "Why? It will just be greasy eggs and hash browns, like Denny's." "I don't know, I just do. I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!"
Which is silly. I'm a big girl, I can eat greasy eggs and hash browns if I want. But sometimes being an adult doesn't mean you're not still a little silly.
Then, I'll probably work on 4102 again, making those changes.
Friday night, the Lost Bayou Ramblers will be in town for the first time in ages. Can't miss that!
Sunday, I might go to see the reenactment of the Battle of Galveston. I might even go early and stop at the Dot Coffee Shop for breakfast. I've wanted to do that for awhile but, I don't know, sometimes I get self-conscious about asking other people to go with me. "Why? It will just be greasy eggs and hash browns, like Denny's." "I don't know, I just do. I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition!"
Which is silly. I'm a big girl, I can eat greasy eggs and hash browns if I want. But sometimes being an adult doesn't mean you're not still a little silly.
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