Sewing A Themed Wardrobe: 1920s Fashion Part 1

Hi Everyone, I am so glad you could join me in my little 1920s adventure! Did you know clothing tells a story? What it is made from, how it is made, and how it is worn tells a lot about a person and the world in which they live – or lived.

For this months topic, we are going to take a peek into the 1920s as we sew my 1920s era Mary Brooks dress. While we are working, we will learn why the fashionable form abruptly changed from the carefully shaped Edwardian silhouette to the simplified and almost shapeless silhouette of the Roaring 20s.

This course will be divided into a 4-part series. In weeks 1 – 3, I will help you choose period appropriate fabrics and walk you through two specific design details that are the highlights of this dress pattern. In week 4, Cinnamon
and I will finish up the series discussing different ways you can round out your 1920s wardrobe.

Are you ready? Let's gat started with a look at fabric for the 1920s!

In part 1, we are going to kick things off by familiarizing ourselves with popular fabric colors and prints of the time to help you choose just the right fabric for your own 1920s dress. We have organized several pages of 1920s era fabric swatches, vintage ads, and color charts that you can use as a kind of cheat sheet. They will be helpful references as you develop an eye for finding period appropriate fabrics at your local fabric stores, thrift shops, and your fabric stash.

You can find the 1920s Swatch Packet in the Sewing With Cinnamon bonuses section. 

You can find the 1920s Mary Brooks Dress and 1920s Mary Brooks Cloche Hat here on Pixie Faire. Remember that you have a coupon to redeem for a free pattern, we suggest you use it for one of these and follow along with the videos to make your outfit too!

  

Later in the course Cinnamon will demonstrate making a pair of Mary Jane style shoes using the Miche Designs Walking on Sunshine shoe pattern too!

Take some time to look over the dress pattern to get prepped for next week. If you purchased the Pixie Pack Kit this past week, it should be arriving any day now! It includes everything you need to jump in and follow along. If you will be using your own fabrics or possibly feeling inspired after watching Shari's thrifting examples, check out the list below to be sure you have what you need.

• 1/3 yard of lightweight cotton, linen, chambray, or twill for the main body of the dress. (The example dress is made in a Liberty Tana Lawn which comes 52" wide, so a fat quarter 18 x 26 worked perfectly)
• 22” x 10” piece of similar fabric for the contrast pieces (be sure the contrast fabric is in one solid piece to make it easier to embroider) 

For the dress, you will also need:

• Embroidery floss (if making the floral design you will need green for the stems and leaves, one or two colors for the flowers, and a yellow for the flower centers)
• Design transfer materials or choice (transfer paper and a transfer pencil OR a fabric marker)
• 18” x 8” piece of lightweight fusible interfacing 
• 60-inches of 3/8” wide ribbon for the ribbon piping
• Nine inches of 1/8” wide ribbon for the bow
• Four 3/8” buttons (hook-and-loop tape or snaps can be used, if preferred)
• One medium size snap 

 

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