Bestway 19665: the jitterbug dress
It’s been a bumpy ride, but the Bestway dress is finished at last!
Faithful readers may recall there’s been a fair amount of drama associated with this dress. It’s the first project of my new Simplicity-free life. It missed the Pattern Review vintage pattern contest by a country mile. And it’s the project in which I’ve striven to reassure myself that yes, I can actually sew.
Part of the pleasure of sewing from a vintage pattern is that it’s a minor exercise in reconstructing history. This pattern — a British original from World War 2; I’m guessing 1943 — is particularly interesting, as it was designed around austerity restrictions and increasingly severe clothing rations. Although no legal restriction was placed on how home seamstresses could make clothes, in practice fabric rationing meant that patterns for home sewing had to be as economical in design as RTW.
This dress is austerity-compliant. Buttons are limited to 4 on the bodice (non-functional buttons were prohibited by law), the trim calls for rouleaux cut on the cross grain rather than bias (although bought bias binding, which was coupon-free, would also have been an option), only a 1-inch hem is allowed and skirt interest is created by using cleverly placed pintucks rather than fabric-hungry pleats. The “pleat effect” is achieved by using pintucks in groups of three — the two outer pintucks stitched on the outside of the dress and the central pintuck stitched on the inside. It doesn’t look exactly like a pleat, but it does have a pleasing effect. Considering how strict the design constraints were, I’m impressed by how smart this dress looks.
The usual fabric for making this dress would have been a rayon print, but because I wanted it to be wearable and washable, I opted for not-particularly-authentic cotton pique in solid navy. I trimmed it in scrap red polycotton, cut with reckless abandon on the bias. I also used a zipper (unobtainable in wartime) instead of the press studs the pattern called for.
I’m actually glad I tried and failed to finish this dress to deadline, as it taught me how much I enjoy being able to take my sewing slowly and get each step right (more or less) before moving on. I’m also glad the instructions were so scanty — it forced me to look up every technique I wasn’t 100% certain about instead of winging it from the instructions like I usually do.
The dress fit beautifully with only minor alterations — I embiggened the sleeves a little to make room for my barmaid arms, put in two back shoulder darts and adjusted the bodice darts a little. Everything went together nicely, despite minor difficulties with pattern interpretation — the wartime paper quality was poor and the wheel lines in the tissue were difficult to see, plus the sleeve/armscye notching conventions were reversed and ease was differently distributed. The Pictorial Guide to Modern Home Dressmaking, a British book published in the 1940s, sorted me out.
I savored the making of this dress and enjoyed taking no shortcuts. My first ever bound buttonholes!
Thread chain belt carriers!
And a handstitched hem bound in more red bias tape for a cheeky flash of color! (Pardon the weird color tones and pasty legs. England doesn’t know it’s spring — it’s a cloudy 52°F outside.)
I’ve taken up lindy hop recently, partly in order to have somewhere to wear my clothes and partly because I’ve spent long enough being ashamed of not knowing how to dance properly. But it’s hard to get into the swing of things in torn jeans and Converse All-Stars, so this will be my jitterbug dress!
EDIT: Soph asked about yardage and sizing for this project. This short-sleeved version in a 34 bust called for 3 yards of 36″ wide fabric, which works out to just under 2 yards of 60″ fabric. Unfortunately for FOTR purposes, wide fabric was assigned a proportionately higher coupon value than narrow, so I don’t seem to have saved much on the coupon front. Making this cotton dress cost me 6.66 coupons’ worth of fabric, whereas buying a cotton dress would have cost me 7. Also, it appears that summer has been canceled this year, so I may not even get a chance to wear it.
Lessons learned:
- I sew slow. That’s just the way it is, and pushing for speed kills the joy of sewing and destroys the quality of the finished product. I’d rather get it right than get it done fast.
- A good pattern makes all the difference. This was such a pleasure to make that I’m now on the lookout for more Bestway patterns from the same period.
- Figure out each step before proceeding. There’s no reason to bodge a technique or construction feature when it takes 5 minutes to look up how to do it properly.
- Foundation garments take the fuss out of fitting. Girdle up and save yourself tears!
Beautiful!
This is beautiful! Love the colours, and the fabric. Am totally in awe of your skill and jealous of your fantastic frock!
This is absolutely beautiful! I love the colours and the fabric. Totally in awe of your skill and jealous of your fab frock! Superb.
i covet this dress. well done! your red shoes are gorgeous too.
Wow! Gorgeous and definitely one of my favorites!
Beautiful dress! I love it.
that’s gorgeous!! RTW wishes it could look that good.
I AM SO IN LOVE!!
This makes me want to go out and buy every 40s pattern out there…and you know I don’t even like 40s patterns very much!
I think I like the hem the best, and I doubt anyone has ever been able to say that about a garment before
Congratulations to you on another beautiful dress!
I just can’t get over those pintucks – so clever. The whole dress is just wonderful!
This looks great, really great. I love the flash of red bias tape. What a great idea! I’m stealing it from you
The dress is so clean and so well constructed. I know it caused you a lot of problems, but it came out great. Congrats.
I thought this article from Threads magazine was particularly appropriate to this particlar blog. hoping someone can get some help from it.
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/4669/working-with-vintage-patterns
Oh, how gutted am I! I almost bought a pattern just like this at the weekend and decided against it because I’m broke and had already bought 5. Should’ve spent the £2.50!! Would’ve too if I’d known how fabulous it was going to look, you’ve done an amazing job! I’m very jealous!
That dress is amazing.
Oh, that looks fab! I love the red tape hem – that’ll look fantastic on the dancefloor! (Also, hi – fellow London crafter/beginner lindy hopper!)
Wonderful dress!!! Love the Colour combo and fit of it. The collar is extremely cute, too.
Hello! Stunning dress–I love it, particularly the red seam tape above the hem. Gorgeous!
I am looking for some tips. I am heading to London on Friday (it’s my first time; I live in the US) and I am wondering where you find vintage patterns there? I guarantee you I am not looking for the same size pattern, so I’m no competition.
Oh my goodness, the dress is lovely! As far as “authentic” fabric goes… sometimes it’s the spirit of the fabric that dictates. And the pattern seems to do fine with the cotton (and for what it’s worth, if I had a dress like that, I would probably wear it all the time, not just for dancing!). Awesome job!
What great work. I now have a new favorite blog on sewing and vintage. I am a bit of a sloppy sewer because I can’t wait to get it done and wear my project. I’m learning to slow done and enjoy the process. Love your work and the ‘Lessons learned’. Inspirational, can’t wait to see the next project.
Jilly
Oh, and love those shoes!
That is so gorgeous! You really got an excellent fit. I love the idea of using pin tucks to create the look of pleats – I’m making a skirt right now, and I’m totally going to copy the idea.
Have fun with the Lindy Hop. I’ve been doing it for about 3 years now, and I follow AND lead! You’re right that it’s so much awesomer (hah!) to dance in a period outfit.
Gorgeous! I also suits your figure very well.
Just discovered your blog with this amazing dress! It’s super nice with great details!
The dress is FABULOUS! I absolutely adore it! It’s great to see one of the Bestway patterns made up. And I love that it is in your color scheme as well! Fantastic job!!!!
You did a wonderful job!
I LOVE it!! The skirt pintucks are amazing, and I’m blown away that those are your first bound buttonholes! They’re perfect! Great job.
Suzanne what would you call that fabric? it’s very interesting and I’d like to know what to look for. thanks, Kitty
It’s cotton pique (accent over the E) from Fashion Fabrics Club. It’s thick and soft, tends to ravel and has a bit of natural stretch to it. On the whole I found it very easy to work with.
Thanks, I thought of that, but I’m never very sure about unusual fabrics. I’ll be on the look out. I bet it’ll be very comfortable.
Love your dress. As a fellow slow sewer, it is just as important to enjoy the process as the completed project becuase we sew for both reasons…imho. I also find that not only do I not enjoy the process as much but I make silly mistakes if I dont take me time.
Great job!
I agree with every single thing you’ve learned on this project, and wow! It looks amazing! Great job!
You mentioned “the sleeve/armscye notching conventions were reversed and ease was differently distributed”. This sounds very interesting – how vintage patterns differ from modern ones, and I would love to hear more!
Oh boy, I live for these moments.
The Pictorial Guide to Modern Home Dressmaking (whoops, must correct the title in my post), published in the 1940s by Odhams Press, UK, says under “Hints on Putting Sleeves into Dresses”:
“Points to remember.
That the top of the sleeve, i.e., the highest part of the curve, goes to the shoulder seam of the dress.
That the sleeve seam goes about 1 in. in front of the side seam of the dress.
That the fullness of the sleeve goes to the top of the arm and is fairly evenly distributed in front and behind the shoulder seam.
That the back of the sleeve, i.e. from below the fullness at the back to the sleeve seam, should be exactly the same tension as the dress.
That the front of the sleeve, i.e. from the front fullness down to the sleeve seam, should be a trifle fuller than the armhole of the dress.”
Oh, and the sleeve notches on this pattern? Two in front, one in back. Hilarity ensues.
Nicely done! And sooo perfect for the lindy!
That dress is amazing! Great job and it looks fabulous on you! I wondered about those pintucks when I saw the pattern sketch. I wonder why the pattern showed actual fabric-greedy pleats when they weren’t even allowed at the time? It seems like a cruel set-up for the home sewer’s dissapointment, doesn’t it?
Looking at the dress, I realize the “pleat effect” lies largely in the pressing — I pressed it flat, but the pattern envelope shows it pressed to lie much like a pleat. I’ll fix the pressing next time I wear it.
I absolutely love it! Fantastic job!
this is quite possibly my favourite dress in the whole world ever
it’s very much the kind of look i’m hoping to achieve with the 1940s project i’m currently embroiled in. if i can get it to look half as good i will be mighty proud of myself. you did an amazing job!
i’m interested in the us/uk distinction, my pattern is also 1943 but a hollywood one, which has those wasteful pleats. out of interest what size did you sew and what’s the specified yardage?
Your dress is gorgeous, down to every last detail! I too prefer to sew slow and get it right over pushing for deadlines. I really like the pintucks, and might try to incorporate them into something in the future. And “press studs” — egad, did they mean snaps?
Wow! This is one of the best vintage reproductions that I’ve ever seen. Great job!
Not only did you a stunning job on the dress your archival research into it is also interesting. I wasn’t aware of the restrictions on British seamstresses (sp?) during the war.
You really rocked that pattern and I enjoyed your blog.
The dress is absolutely stunning, how ingenious are the faux pleats using from pin-tucks!
I love the red trim, and the bias trimmed hem is a cute touch, I never do those sorts of things like quirky lining or cheeky trims, I am too matchy matchy, oh I wish I could break out of my own mold….
I am seriously impressed by the detail in this pattern and the carefulness of your handiwork! It is so tempting to charge at a project to get it finished , but this is a great example of the difference it makes to take it slow, as you say. Love the belt loops and the buttonholes and the pintucks and the red trim. Love it all!
Thanks for your kind words, everyone!
Lottie: the shoes are from Fraulein Marlene Vintage, a highly dangerous Etsy shop run by a German seller.
To all those asking about lindy hop: I’m just starting, but already having a great time! Anyone who’s tried and failed to learn a partner dance should attempt it again with lindy hop — it’s blissfully easy to get started, especially for followers.
That is a truly gorgeous dress! Well done. It fits perfectly and I love the colours.
This is gorgeous! Love the red bias tape hem in particular – ooh la la! Pale legs are more sophisticated than tanned legs and look good with these colours!
The dress looks fantastic! Great details and great fit – and I don’t think you need to worry about your legs at all.
What an absolutely fabulous dress. The colours, the shape, the fit, marvelous. My compliments!
Beautiful dress! So worth it not to rush the sewing, but to take the time to do it properly. So inspired of how it turned out!
You’ve taken up lindy? That is so great, it’s the best dance in the whole world, you’re going to love it! =) I usually prefer dressing up for the social dancing, but wear really comfortable baggy and loose jeans for practice. I feel it makes it easier to allow myself to look goofy when practicing (for instance when doing shorty george – everybody looks goofy doing that… =)). Also, I like having a difference between practice and social, and dressing up sure makes a marked difference. But then maybe I’m just lazy =)
Have fun dancing in your new dress!
Looks great! I love the contrast red/blue and very excited for you to wear your new jitterbug dress out, well, jitterbugging! Also…it cracks me up that you refer to your arms as “barmaid arms!” I call my own “sausage arms.”
It looks fabulous – love your colour combination and all the trims, and those gorgeous sleeves!
Interesting that the rations applied to patterns too, and the design workaround with the “pleats”. No wonder the 50′s became so flamboyant!
Amazing! It was worth the wait to see the final product. It looks perfectly made. Congrats!
oh my word, that is so beautiful!! I just got done saying for the previous post how much I love tailored clothes, and this dress just epitomizes that! I also appreciate your explanation of the rationing and how the pattern conforms to that.
Truly, a great dress (and shoes!) for a dance.
*gorgeous*
So cute! I really love the color and your shoes, and the whole effect is just perfect! I often think “maybe I should just accept the girdle for vintage,” but I’m not there yet. I can be a slow sewer as well – I like to take the time to make things right, and if I rush I am never happy with the end results.
I don’t really even know how to express how IN LOVE I am with this dress. You did a FABULOUS job! The collar, the red piping, the sleeve cuffs…its fantastic! I’m incredibly jealous as well of the fact you own this pattern; if the copyright is expired…you should sell it for reproduction. I would buy it, hands down. Also, bless you for praising foundation garments
oh, and I am the slowest everything ever. don’t feel too bad about that one because you are still probably quicker than me!
This dress looks amazing! I love the contrast details and the pintucks. The shoes are damn cute too! You should be very proud you look amazing! I have been thinking about swing dance lessons but oh, time and money. How are the lessons going? are you enjoying them?
Very, very nice dress. There’s nothing at all wrong with sewing slowly. You may be surprised, after a few months of allowing yourself to be slow you might find yourself so comfortable and confident that you start whacking out amazing, envy-inspiring little dresses every other day.
Wow!! What an amazing dress. You’ve done such a brilliant job!! And it looks so adorable with those shoes! And it fits perfectly. You’re a very clever girl!
Holy crap is this cute. I love love love red trim on a blue dress.
Ohhh, great dress! thanks for telling us all about it. I really love the red hem binding. Don’t worry about the pasty legs, I thought they went particularly well with that shade of blue. LOL I liked the pin tucks as well.
Gorgeous dress, well done. I would love to Lindy in that – great fun. I always go to my Lindy class dressed up regardless of everyone else, makes it more fun
Also, where did you get those shoes? They’re gorgeous.
Lottie -x-
Oooh, I want to make that now! Should really also start lindy hop again…
Congratulations on your dress. It looks really good, especially all the details! I’m a slow sewer too and I hate speeding up the sewing. That’s why I have never participated in any contests. I just couldn’t be bothered to force myself to sew quickly.