A Change of Decade - the 30's Bias Dress

I think I'm like many people in that my understanding of times gone by, especially fashions and interiors, comes from old movies. Therefore the first thing that springs to mind when I think of the 1930's is images such as this:

Jean Harlow in a bias cut gown (Source)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (Source)

And why were the films and the stars of this era so glamourous? Because for a lot of the population, especially in America, life was more like this:

(Source)

(Source)

 

1930's Soup kitchen for the unemployed (Source)

A combination of massive economic collapse and the dustbowl of Mid West America, where most of the topsoil literally blew away, thereby making it impossible to grow anything, resulted in what we now refer to as the Great Depression. What followed was mass unemployment and large migrations of the population to find work, especially to California, which is exactly what my mother's family did when they moved from San Antonio, Texas to San Francisco.

It's understandable that movies of the time would provide an alternative to the troubles of daily life with glitz and glamour. Everything was shiny, from the floors of the ballrooms to the satin gowns that were usually draped around the ladies. Characters had housemaids and servants, and usually had nothing more to worry about than who they would bump into on the cruiseship to Europe.

Why the mini history lesson? Well, all of this was going through my mind when I decided to make the Sew Vera Venus Little Bias Dress:

This is a great pattern for a slinky, satin-y 1930's dress. But I didn't think I would have as much use for a satin dress, so I re-imagined it as something more everyday, with a touch of the mid-west.

I found this lovely cotton fabric at Goldhawk Rd on the recent Spring London blogger meet-up, and decided it was perfect for what I had in mind:

And here it is:

I was a grown-up and actually made a muslin for this dress (see this post); once I made some fitting adjustments, the dress went together really easily. Since most of it is cut on the bias I figured it would be a pain to put a lining in - trying to get the drape of the lining and the dress to match up would have been really difficult. (I'm not used to dresses being unlined, so I just wore a half slip which was just fine) To keep the insides neat and tidy, I used French seams throughout; to neaten the skirt frill and the armhole, I bound it with self-made bias binding:

Seam neatened with bias binding

I seem to remember that dresses of this era often didn't have zip closures, and used button plackets instead. So that's what I did!:

I even managed to find little mother of pearl buttons that matched the flowers in the fabric!

A few more details:

Back waist

There's a little belt at the back that I didn't really know what to do with, so I tied it in a neat knot. And instead if darts, the bodice gathers into the waist, making it softer and more comfortable to wear.

For some reason the frilly-ness of the sleeves doesn't really come across well in the photos, so you'll just have to believe me that they are super floaty and probably my favourite part of the dress.

The dress has a really summery, holiday feel to it - shame we don't have the weather to match here in London at the moment. But being inappropriately dressed has never stopped me from wearing a new outfit!

See you soon!

Embrace the Bias!

I made this skirt to wear on a trip to Barcelona last year: 

It's a pretty straight forward style, but open it up to reveal:

All of the hems and facings are finished in a contrasting fabric. I always use a contrasting colour on the insides of my work, and extend this to the finishing of my hems. With the scraps of lining, I cut diagonal strips which are sewn on to skirt hems, sleeve hems, etc, to give a neat finish. This is when you have to embrace the bias!

So, what is bias? The 'true bias' of a fabric is 45 degrees to the selvedge (the woven edge of a fabric).

The tape measure is laid at 45 degrees - the 'true bias'

Due to the nature of woven fabric (which is made up of vertical and horizontal fibres) the diagonal has a natural stretch, as seen below:

Fabric stretched on the bias

This natural stretchi-ness means the fabric can mould around curves and any lines which aren't straight. It adds a slinkiness to outfits by clinging and draping around the body, and because of the bias, darts and seams can often be avoided. This was how the glamour of 1930's gowns was achieved:

Classic Jean Harlow - the bias cut clings around the hips and stomach without any darts, etc

Joan Crawford

Bias can also be used decoratively, especially with stripes:

Claudette Colbert in 'It Happened One Night' in bias cut blouse

I'm going to show you how to use bias in a slightly less glamorous, but very useful way - cutting bias binding (sometimes known as bias tape) to finish the insides of your garments. This will give your projects a neat and professional finish, and you'll never have to buy one of those little packets of bias binding ever again!

To be slightly less wasteful, I'm going to cut the strips on a diagonal, but not the 'true bias'. It won't matter, as there will still be a decent amount of stretch in the fabric:

Measuring tape on the diagonal of fabric

Next, cut the strips. I usually mark them out by making a chalk line, then measuring from this 4 cm or 1 1/2". Be careful not to stretch the fabric as you mark, otherwise the width won't be accurate.

Marking out diagonal strip

If you're cutting strips to face a hem, it's unlikely you'll be able to cut one strip for the whole hem. You'll need to join the strips at a diagonal in order to maintain the stretch.

2 pieces cut at an angle

Cut the 2 pieces to be joined at an angle (right sides up), then pin them together right sides facing and stitch:

Sttched together right sides facing

Wrong side, seam pressed open

Next, pin your binding to the section of you garment you want to finish, in this case the hem of a skirt. The binding is pinned right sides together to the hem and stitched:

Binding after being stitched

Then, iron the binding up and to the back of the hem:

Binding ironed up, away from the hem

Binding ironed to the back (wrong side) of the hem

Nearly done! Then I stitch thru all the layers, just under the binding.

Stitched just under the binding through all layers

Wrong side of finished binding

Finally, you can slip stitch through the binding to the body of the skirt, or top stitch, whichever you prefer.

This is my favourite way of finishing garments - it's neat and tidy, and it adds a bit of weight to a hem to help it hang better. 

Hope you all find this useful!