Thursday, May 05, 2011

Vintage Teen Dress: Simplicity 3446


A new dress for Clara, to brighten (yes, it's bright!) finals week. Made from a tried and true vintage pattern friend, Simplicity 3446. A Slenderette. Like she needs it.


Look at that waist.


Insane polka dot fabric that looks almost pixellated! She wore it with a pale pink cardigan and pale pink flats. Very nice.


Two finals down, one to go.

21 comments:

Mrs. Kelley Dibble said...

Isn't she lovely?

walkmom said...

Very cute! Did you have to alter that size 18? I'm having trouble getting the size right with with those old patterns, and I've got lots and lots from my mom's collection. I've been flipping back and forth from 12 to 14 and back, but neither one fits any of my 3 "big" girls (19,16,13) right. I have to do a lot of adjusting and adjusting some more. And I'm not very good at it. Just wondering

Steph. :) said...

Very pretty! But if I were homeschooled I would want to wear my pajamas for finals!

Unknown said...

May I ask if you actually used the size 18, 38 bust? I have lots of vintage patterns but have been leary to us them due to the sizing aspect. My girls are not that slender at the moment :) Just sized her as a 34C bust and 34inch waist, but only 5 ft. 1in. I've been debating what type of dress to sew to suit her figure...love your blog!

Sage said...

So beautiful and classic! I love it and wish I were a talented enough seamstress to make something similar for myself, but for now, I'll stick with aprons.

I've always been curious, Anna, how long have you been sewing and how did you learn? I've often felt cheated that the skill wasn't passed down to me.

Kate said...

What a beautiful dress on your beautiful daughter! She has such poise and wears it so well. That's it, I have GOT to hit my sewing room again.

Kate at Wonderful Life Farm said...

Beautiful! That ought to give any girl a boost for finals!

Elisabeth Black said...

I love that dress on Clara. Good luck to her with finals.

Anna said...

Oops, misleading pattern cover photo! I actually used a bust 34. Steph, she's off at college for most of her classes. Walkmom, I generally use a bust 34 for both girls, but Clara gets an extra inch in the waist length and 3 inches in the skirt length. Bella gets half an inch in each shoulder width, and loses an inch in the bodice length and an inch in the skirt length. She's 5'2 and Clara's about 5'11. But their measurements are almost the same!

I find that it's easy to choose the correct size in vintage patterns because the envelope gives you so much information. You just have to take honest measurements of your figure and then look at the pattern's waist, bust, and hip measures. Ignore the size number! It changes by the decade anyway.

Sage, my mother taught me to sew in junior high. I hated it and put it aside for a long time, only pulling out the machine to make curtains or the odd maternity dress. But when I was pregnant with Daisy I came back to it with a vengeance and with love.

Christina said...

What a beautiful young woman! I love seeing pictures of your children. I have a daugher (11) who has the same slender build and long, apricot-colored hair as Clara, and a son (5), who, to me, looks an awful lot like Felix must have at that age. In fact, my little boys (5, 4, 3) always think Clara's pictures are actually pictures of their big sister!

Anonymous said...

What waist!! LOL What beautiful girls you have!!!

Lisa said...

Perfect fit! I used to have a waist like that - don't let it get away from you, Clara!

Lisateresa

Shelley said...

Great dress, lovely girl

Margo said...

so pretty! It looks rather sophisticated in the farther-away photo and then pop! up close. Lovely. I want pale pink shoes - I think they would go with everything like a neutral, especially a red dress.

(and a waist - I used to have a waist before babies!)

~katie~ said...

Just lovely.

seashoreknits said...

Beautiful dress!
Please tell Clara how poised, graceful and lovely she looks.
Oh, and also best of luck with her tests!!

Martha A. said...

Beautiful!

Sky said...

Very lovely. Wish I had your talent with sewing. Patterns have always been my downfall. :)

Anonymous said...

You did a lovely job, Anna! Her waist is certainly enviable.

Kelly said...

Its sort of ironic a post praising a young woman's figure is right above a post about constructing modesty inserts.

Anna said...

Kelly, the golden sword that would slash through the knot of irony is an understanding of tackiness. Tastefully showing off your waist is not tacky. Showing your bra *is* tacky.

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