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Continuing on very pretty Edwardian era dresses, here’s an article you might like from the August 1910 Delineator Magazine.
Delineator was the publication for Butterick patterns- so while there were often gorgeous fashion plates and fashion advice there was also a strong slant to the home sewing market. In this article the authoress seems to be promoting economy through easy to launder dresses and the added economy of making your own clothing at home. I especially like this excerpt:
“I saw a perfect love of a dress just a few days ago that a woman made in- well, I won’t say how long it took; it sounds too amazing, and the woman works very slowly at that.”
Having unfurled my reproduction dress pattern from around this same age just last night I can honestly say that making patterns of this period are a bit of a challenge to say the least. It might take me a while decode and then rethink the instructions, but I still love these real period patterns to pieces. I made this dress from a period reprint also from Past Patterns, and while it did take quite a little getting used to I just loved the end result. I get a kick out of how quickly this article claims sewing projects went together ;) But when you didn’t have other patterns to compare them to- or if you did they were just simple drawings with measures in a book, a paper sewing pattern must have been the ultimate luxury!
