1930's Evening Gown Pattern #1121

This is a draft-at-home pattern for a stunning full length French evening gown from 1933. This cap sleeve gown has a unique cut out shaped skirt and draped sash.

This gown has been made as show-stopping wedding dress, the perfect evening gown to put others to shame, and as a timeless prom dress.

 Many are often puzzled by how the pattern pieces for this gown fit together, and for good reason. The original source material illustration is a bit vague and the pattern pieces themselves are unusual shapes.

Here are a few of the frequently asked questions we've gotten for this pattern:

Q. The twist/knot detail on the front top each side of the bodice is confusing. Do I make these pieces myself or is there a pattern piece?

A. The twist/ knot detail seams to be born from the creative license that the original illustrator for these patterns sometimes took. The bodice pattern pieces join at the side seam and shoulder with plain seams and have no other pattern pieces indicated. However, it is simple to achieve the look as illustrated. We suggest cutting 4 strips (2 for each shoulder) of fabric from the dress material, each about 1" longer than the shoulder seam, and about 6" wide. Fold the strip lengthwise right sides together and sew together, then turn them right side out. This will give you finished strips that you can twist together and tack over the seam for the knotted look.

Q. How do I cut the tail pattern piece and where does it go?
A. The tail pattern piece is simply a sash meant to be draped at the side waist as illustrated. However, you can place it wherever you like! There is no dotted line on any of the perimeters, so you cut one of this pattern piece, with no folds. You can also lengthen this piece for a more dramatic sash. 


We highly recommend that you sew a muslin test version of this dress to familiarize yourself with its construction and see how it fits together at that stage for you. Sometimes these older patterns don't quite make sense until they are cut from fabric and draped on a dress form.

Corselette Pattern #355 - A Draft-at-Home Sewing Pattern

Depew #355 is a digital draft-at-home pattern for a stunning French corselette and garter belt from 1947. The pattern is composed of bra cups set into the front, with a side tab in contrast or same fabric like the center front diamond inset. It can be dressed up by adding top-stitched satin details. The garters are optional.

This pattern is perfect if you have trouble finding lingerie that fits right. You will be able to draft a perfectly fitting corselette with this pattern!

FAQ: 
Q.What does the back view look like?
A. The original source material for our draft at home patterns often failed to include back illustrations. We are happy to create a quick sketch for you on request if you wish to know more about the back design before purchase.

On #355, the back is quite a bit more simple than the front. The center back can be cut on a fold all as one piece as the pattern suggests, or you can create a seam to add your closure. Originally, the closures are intended for the side seam as they are easier to reach and close on one's own. The side piece is a long, straight tab with a stitching detail in a V-shape.

Q. What fabrics should I use?
A. The best fabrics for this design would be powernet/ powermesh. However, stretch fabrics were still a bit uncommon in 1940's lingerie. For historical accuracy, we would suggest making the main body of the corselette in satin or satin coutil, with the side tabs cut from wide elastic.

Q. If I don't attach garters to it, will the corselet ride up?
A. This really depends on several factors including your choice of fabric, how well the corselette fits, and where it stops on your thighs. It is really impossible to predict until you've sewn it and tested it out. To prevent some ride up, you could always add some feather-bone or light-weight boning to the seams as far as the fullest point of your derrière.

Q. Do the cups need to be underwired?
A. No, the pattern is not intended to have underwires added. To do so, you will need to add more seam allowance to the cup seams to sew a channel to insert an underwire.

Q. Is the seam allowance included? If so, what is it?
A. A 3/8" seam allowance is included on all of our draft-at-home lingerie sewing patterns. We suggest increasing this to up to 3/4" to help during fittings, for adding French seams, or sewing boning channels if desired.

For a complete tutorial on drafting your pattern including photos, check out this blog post.

For general drafting questions, Check out our draft-at-home patterns FAQ page.

 
Please leave a comment below if you have any additional questions - we're happy to answer them!

Underwear and Lingerie - A Lingerie Sewing E-book

 If you're interested in learning to sew your own lingerie, you should try Underwear and Lingerie, a comprehensive vintage lingerie sewing manual. You'll find everything you need to know about sewing all types of lingerie.
This is an incredibly hard to find pair of books that give each and every detail on how to sew every type of lingerie that was available in the 1920's through 1940's.

The book is 102 pages of photographs, lovely drawings, instruction and embellishment lessons for sewing beautiful, delicate and serviceable lingerie.
 
Contents:
Part 1:
Advantages of Making Underwear
Chemises
Brassieres
Panties, bloomers and shorts.

Part 2:
Costume Slips
Petticoats
Nightgowns
Pajamas
Negligees and Bathrobes
Bed Jackets
Hand work and lingerie trimming.
The tutorials available under each of these sections include:
lace applique, sewing a placket, scalloped hems, elastic waist, yoke facing, ribbon facings, bra back closures, bindings, straps, fabric choices, etc.

FAQ:

Q. Does this e-book include sewing patterns?

A. This e-book doesn't contain any sewing patterns or diagrams to make your own patterns. It is more a guidebook on how to sew up the lingerie pattern that you already have. When this booklet was written, there were very few lingerie patterns to be found, and the ones you could find were rather difficult with minimal to no instructions. 

If you're looking for actual lingerie sewing patterns, we do have a very large selection in our lingerie pattern section.

Q. Do you have any patterns that you recommend using with this e-book?

A. If you have a lingerie sewing pattern from the 1920's to 1950's, then this book will likely come in handy. However, if you want patterns that you can directly reference along with the illustrations in the book, here are a few that we would suggest:
For Chemises & Teddies: Depew #2024.

For Brassieres and Tap Pants: Depew #2023.

For Slips: Depew #2006.

For Pajamas: Depew #2035.

Please feel free to comment below with any questions you might have!

Welcome to the Mrs. Depew Patterns Blog!

Well, hello there! Welcome to the Mrs. Depew Patterns Blog! We've started this blog to provide a forum of sorts for you to find out more about our sewing patterns & E-books, ask questions, get answers, leave feedback and suggestions, request sizes and more! Each post will be devoted to one Mrs. Depew sewing pattern or E-book and will include as much info as we can give you, common questions we get about the pattern and the answers we give. You can leave a comment to ask a question and we can both answer you and add your query to our FAQ at the same time.
So sit back, grab your scissors, and enjoy some pretty sewing eye candy!

Happy sewing!

Mrs. Depew