50s Dress Fabrics: Embroidered Borders @ Prints

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

Sewing Retro: Vintage Shirt and Blouses

Wearing true vintage fashion can be difficult. Sometimes they just seem too costumey, and not casual enough for real life. Fit and availability are other issues. These problems can be solved nicely by sewing your own vintage looks. But this project can present another problem: where to find vintage styled patterns and fabric?
A good place to start are casual shirts with a 1950's or early 60's design style sewn up in fabrics that seem very vintage in look. Shirts and blouses fit easily into our modern lives, while capturing the essence of vintage fashion. They are also some of the easiest fashion sewing projects, and can be a great way to start sewing for yourself.


Button front blouses with a fitted silhouette are available from several of the big pattern companies. Keeping the fit close to the body provides the retro silhouette you want. Slim sleeves, worn short or long are classic. Note the details: collar shape and button fronts.
The best fit for a curvey body shape are the long princess seam lines that will make up a slender style. These are also easier to alter.
For more design details, the Vogue7003 blouse has several front darts, with is such a vintage look. This style also comes with French cuffs.


Selecting the right printed fabric comes next. Three of the most popular themes are nature (top), pictorial (middle) and graphic (bottom). The 'all over' prints are easiest to lay out, since you won't need to match anything. These prints are a good choice when sewing a princess seam line style. The horizontal motifs in the bottom set are best in patterns that have simple bodice darts and only the center front needs to be aligned.

So, consider making a blouse for summer (no sleeves, now that's easy!).

All of the retro style fabrics shown here are from BonBonAtelier on Etsy.
Fabrics:
CLOUD 9: POTS AND JUGS, PROTEAS, AVENUE, SHARDS
KOKKA: HOT AIR PARIS, RUSSIAN FAIR
LIZZIE HOUSE: PEEPS
ALEXANDER HENRY: DAGMAR PLAID


Blouse Patterns:
MCCALLS6285, MCCALLS6076, MCCALLS5138, MCCALLS2094,
UTTERICK5538, BUTTERICK5538, BUTTERICK5300
VOGUE 7903