Sewing vintage or retro dress styles requires a great fabric to compliment the silhouette. I was lucky enough to find a collection of embroidered designer dress fabric from the 1950's in silk and cotton recently. This type of fabric is perfect for skirts with fullness and shape, such as the ones in these new Butterick patterns.
Embroidered fabric is also a wonderful texture to add to any dress design. When they have borders, try using this fabric alone in the skirt and pair it with a sold colored bodice. All-over patterns work well sewn up in the entire dress. If you are going to try making a 50s retro style dress, take a look at these vintage fabrics.
This gingham check border embroidery shows how border designs are also perfect for strapless bustiers and other horizontal necklines. This is a cute cotton fabric with white embroidery, it's so 50's!
It's always nice to find light weight prints from this era when you want to sew a fuller skirt or summer dress. The gorgeous large scale butterfly pattern here would be perfect in a wide or gathered skirt where the design could be seen. It is a cotton crepe that has a matte finish and a very light quality.
Find these fabrics now at Pintuck Sew, or click on the description below:
Yellow sheer cotton voile with white embroidered leafy border
Brown silk organza sheer with white all-over daisy design
Yellow cotton gingham with white embroidered daisy border
Purple sheer cotton voile with white embroidered leafy border
Blue butterfly all-over print on cotton georgette