Practical Dress Design

A few months ago I downloaded the 50s sewing book “Practical Dress Design” by Mabel D. Erwin that The Perfect Nose kindly scanned and made available to download on her blog (along with other treasures, by the way!). I adore this book so much – it’s full of the most delightful and clever designs! Recently I was inspired by a blouse button border that I saw in it and decided to make a skirt with a similar design. I aimed for an elegant 50s design but got a somewhat different style instead, though I can’t quite describe it. But I like it a lot! The fabric I used was a thai batik print that my friend bought for me last year at the Bonheur des Dames store in Paris. The golden buttons are also a gift and from the same store, the design of the (fake)- button border is based on their number. I calculated how they should be placed on the fabric and made a pattern of the two front skirt pieces on paper – the rest was very easy. I made simple knife pleats and added a handpicked zipper on the left side. The fabric creases a bit as all cottons will but does it in a nice, kind of pretty way.

You can find a few more pictures on my blog (-: