The Stewardess Dress

Sewing with Vintage Patterns

I call this dress the stewardess dress because it reminds me of the dresses worn by stewardesses in the 1960's (or at least what they wear in movies set during that period.) This was back when being a stewardess was still considered a glamorous job. Of course, back then the girls were made to fit the uniforms, not vice versa. Not that I'm advocating the return of enforced sizes and girdles, but it would be nice if airlines retired the ill fitting polyester of today. Really that goes for all uniforms though.

I'm probably reminded of a 1960's stewardess dress because I used a vintage pattern from the 1960s. I ordered this pattern from Wearing History on Etsy.com.



Vintage patterns can be a little tricky. Usually when you pick up a pattern at your local Jo-Ann Fabrics, you're getting a pattern that can be cut within a whole range of sizes. Not so with this pattern. As you can see, this pattern is a Juniors’ size 11. My bust might be a 31 ½, but my hips are not the proportionate Juniors’ size (we're not even going to discuss that number). After consulting my mother and my sewing bible , I learned that you choose your patterns based on bust size, as this is the hardest part to alter. In order to ensure that the dress fit me through the waist and hips, I reduced the seam allowance. As you can see from the pictures below, this wasn't really necessary. I'm guessing that garments in the 60s were cut a little more generously than they are today.

This dress didn't really ask too much of me skill wise. As you can see, this dress closes in the back using buttons (I haven’t learned how to do a zipper yet). My machine has a buttonholer that is absolutely idiot proof. Only two of the buttons are true buttons. The other two are dummies over snap closures. The princess seams on the front introduced me to the concept of clipping seam allowances so that the dress would lie flat on the curves. It's worth noting that you do not usually have to cut notches in the seam allowance. You only need to slice through the seam allowance. Just make sure you don't cut through the actual seam. This dress also has a hidden dart, but it turns out that darts really aren't too hard (they are also your best friend if a waistline on a skirt is not sized correctly.)


The dress from the front


The dress from the back


The dress with a cute jacket from the sale rack.