“Simple To Make”, In 1953

With a new baby being expected in the family, and a baby girl at that, a custom sew was in order! I went through my baby patterns and found a simple, yet adorable, little dress. I decided to do View 2. I personally love a classic, and I was sure the mother-to-be, Daphne, would too!

The pattern envelope boasts, “Simple To Make”, we shall see!

I chose a beige, neutral fabric from my stash. It has little white flowers on it which was just the right amount of design.

The pattern featured two main body pieces, which quickly got cut out. Simple enough.

The front of the dress featured pin tucks, which is another reason I wanted a neutral fabric. I didn’t want the design of the fabric to take away from the classic design elements of the dress.

First I had to mark the dots where each pin tuck would be. I did this by putting a pin though the pattern and then……

…..gently lifting back the pattern to mark the spot with chalk.

All of the dots were marked. Then it was time to draw a line and connect them. Grandma’s trusty old school ruler was perfect for the task. It always is, I use it in almost every sew!

Lines in place, time to tuck and sew!

They look wonky but this picture was taken before I ironed them.

Now, are pin tucks “simple”? Probably not to someone who is just learning to sew, or new at sewing.

It was then time to sew the guide marks for the back opening. The dress would be closed with a button at the neck when it was finished. I was moving right along and then something happened.

The next part of the instructions said to sew in the “Continuous Lap”. If you don’t know, “A continuous lap in sewing is a strip of fabric cut on the straight grain and used to face edges of an opening or slit in a garment.” You can click on that link if you want more information about continuous lap.

I knew what continuous lap was, I had done it recently in a previous blog post. The link to that post is below. It was called for around the wrists opening of this blouse.

A Simple Enough Blouse

On modern patterns they usually have a little rectangular pattern piece that you lay on the fabric and cut out. This pattern however had the instructions for the continuous lap hidden away near the pattern layout section of the instructions. ( A part I only ever skim over.) I also saw that it called for bias binding for the arms which was not something mentioned on the back of the pattern envelope. It’s usually under the “notions” section.

I cut out my strip of fabric for the continuous lap, and pinned it into place.

I then cut strips of the fabric on the bias (which means diagonally) and ran it through my bias tape maker.

I pinned it to the armholes, and sewed it into place. Next came the little button hole and sewing on the button. I chose a simple white, pearlescent button.

Daphne did love the little dress, which was made with so much love! We expected the baby to be born in a couple of months but she had other plans.

Daphne was actually in labor during the baby shower! The next day Laurel Grace was born, weighing 4 lbs 5 oz! As I write this she is already off of the oxygen and breathing on her own. She is so strong and making leaps and bounds to be able to come home soon.

Perhaps all of the excitement of a new dress was too much for her, and she couldn’t wait to be born! HA!

All I know is that it will be the first of many custom dresses that she will get from me! It’s the perfect dress for the perfect baby! I even found a perfect quote to describe her!

“Though she may be little, she is fierce.”~William Shakespeare

After making this one I realized that the new mom of 1953 had to come equipped with some sewing experience. This was not one I would suggest for a beginners project, but a great one to try if you’re ready to learn new techniques.

As for me, onto the next!

P.S. Some loyal blog readers were there too! (Okay, they’re family, but they are loyal blog readers!) AND a mock up dress I made out of Grandpa’s WWII fabric was out on the town again!

Here’s it being made from 2021 🙂 Enjoy!

The Big Day, Finally Here! Part Three and Also The Finale: Sydney’s Wedding!