3/4/13: I'm Sewing for Victory! - Part One

Almost a week ago I mentioned at the bottom of my post that I have joined a sew-along. So here I am today to give you all the details! 

I have joined a 1940s themed sew-along titled Sew for Victory! and it is being hosted by Rochelle from the Lucky Lucille blog. The sew-along started in mid-February and will end on March 29. A couple days after the 29th, Rochelle will post a parade of all the finished participants' 40s fashion for everyone to see. I hope I make the deadline!

I first received the news of the sew-along from Tasha's post on her By Gum By Golly blog. I wasn't a reader of the Lucky Lucille blog so thank goodness Tasha mentioned the sew-along; I would have never known about it.

Now what will I be sewing? It took me no time to decide what pattern to do because I've been looking high and low for an excuse to make this dress:

This is Simplicity 2106 and it is from 1949. It is a button-front, shirt dress with a pleated skirt. View 2 has the option of pleated sleeves. (My favorite style aspect of the whole design!) I am doing View 2 except I will be eliminating the buttons in the skirt and using an invisible side zipper that extends from the armhole to six inches down from the waist. 

I bought this pattern from an Etsy seller in 2010. I think it was $10 or so. The pattern envelope is falling apart but the pattern pieces and instructions are in great shape. When I had the pattern tissue strewn around the sewing room, my sister came in and said, "What is this? I thought you were going to do a pattern from the 1940s." It looks that new.

The tagline of this sew-along comes straight from the WWII decade itself: make do and mend. When it came time to pick out the fabric for the project, I knew I wanted to make do with what fabric I had on hand. I soon found out that my choices were limited. I don't have many single fabrics that have copious amounts of yardage. This is what I wound up doing:

I am using two different fabrics. A white/black polka dot lawn for the bodice and a navy blue rayon crepe for the skirt. Since the lawn is well, a lawn, I will be needing to underline it so it won't be too transparent. Another layer of lightweight cotton sounds good.

If you have been a follower of my blog for awhile you might have notice the normal train of events when it comes to sewing around here. I usually make a post sharing my plans for a sewing project I'm just beginning. I follow up with a post showcasing the sewn item all serged and ready to wear or use. I never seem to do in-between posts. 

For this dress, I'm going to do something different. I believe it will also capture the spirit of doing a sew-along. I will be publishing progress posts throughout this month or until I have a finished dress. How do you like the sounds of that? I will share with you my thoughts, fitting alterations, design changes, and the little tips and hints I will find along the way. This dress has a lot of detail so I know I won't run out of things to talk about. I'm really excited to get things rolling here and will be back later this week with a muslin recap. (Made a bodice muslin and tried it on today!) See you then!