1930s Sewing and Knitting

 

 
I've been wanting to add some 30s style to my wardrobe for so long and I finally did it!

The Facts
⁃ Fabric: rust and cream herringbone wool (free) plus lining from stash
⁃ Pattern: Eva Dress SE30-1399
⁃ Year: 1934
⁃ Notions: snaps ($2.50), buttons ($1.50)
⁃ Time to complete: 5 hours
⁃ First worn: March 2012
⁃ Wear again? Yes! I'm so in love with this matching set! And it's so much warmer and less itchy than I thought it would be.
⁃ Total price: $4

It started out as this huge cape that I got for free in my friend's destash. All I had to do was deconstruct it and voila! yards of free wool! When I saw this piece at the destash, I just knew it was destined for this pattern which was already in my stash. I've been wanting to make it up since I saw This Old Life's version last year. I put it off because I could never afford the large amounts of wool fabric this pattern called for.

I paired it with my 1930s sweater that I finally got finished! I'm so glad that I decided to reknit the back. It fits so much nicer now.

Look! No awkward bulges of fabric!

The most disappointing part of this pattern is in the scarf. It calls for a bound button hole that you are supposed to slide the other end of the scarf through but my fabric is so thick, it won't go through! Oh, well. I just put that side on the back and it's mostly covered.

Adjustments to the pattern:

• I made the cape shorter because I didn't have enough fabric and also left off the arm holes as they weren't necessary for the shorter length.
• I added extra width to the hips because I, ah, .... don't have the ideal 30s figure.
• I made the opening on the side of the skirt much lower. On my wearable muslin, I have to pull it over my head instead of stepping into it. Oh, hips!
• I also shortened it to midcalf as it was a bit long on me.
• And the pleats came out one way on my muslin and another way on the skirt. Not sure which way is right but that's ok.

And I got to wear my 30s style suede gloves from Target! Super cute!

I decided to enter this in the Eva Dress competition so I'll give a shout out when it's time to vote. Hopefully, I'll be able to make the matching blouse next fall/winter!