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A 1941 Sailor Girl Dress: Darla’s Day Out

07/04/2013

Today in The United States Of America we celebrate Independence Day.
Our family will be visiting with friends on the beach in beautiful Malibu, attending a cookout in the afternoon, and then watching the fireworks from the pier!
I though I would share one of my all time favorite patriotic sewing projects from my archives.
The 1941 Sailor Dress from April 2012….
Let’s pretend.
It’s 1941 and this little girl’s daddy is a soldier coming home on leave today.
Her name is Darla.
Mommy and Darla came to the station early and Darla wants to look at the train tracks!

Darla is wearing her best dress made by mommy especially for today.
It is so patriotic, isn’t it!
Mommy and Darla took a special trip to the city to buy her new leather shoes as well.
The man in the shoe shop gave Darla a pinwheel and she loves it.
Darla also loves to go to the train station because it’s fun to explore there. Mommy often takes her out for an ice cream on days like this too.
She has such a nice mommy, doesn’t she?
This is an old farming town and only one train comes a day so Mommy lets Darla play around the tracks.
Things were a lot different back then!
Children Darla’s age played unsupervised outside for hours and no one called Child Protective Services!
Darla loves to find pretty rocks.
Darla also loves to play with her pinwheel. Lucky for Darla there is a nice breeze so her pinwheel affords her endless amusement!

Darla is starting to get weary of waiting….
There is the train off in the distance…

Daddy will be here soon!
Hip, hip, hooray!!!
Back to reality….
I used this pattern from 1941.
Read More….

As you can see from the instructions above some vintage patterns are quite complicated! I love the challenge and always learn something new when working with patterns this old.
It’s like opening a time machine!
When was the last time you saw a dress this detailed for a toddler in a shop?
I loved the little detail of the sleeve tucks.
My stitching is a little messy here. The braid trimming and the buttons are also vintage.
Don’t you love vintage patterns?
Linked to..
Todays Creative Blog
The Train to Crazy

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Related posts:

Spring sewing inspirations: Sailor and French linen 1943 Sailor Shorts! 1940’s Kids Spring Collection Highlights Little girls dress made from a 1942 pattern and a men’s shirt. A Forties Inspired Sailor Dress: OOlong Pattern Revision
-McKenzie

Filed Under: Crafty, Girls Sewing, Retro sewing, Vintage patterns, Vintage sewing, Vintage suitcase

About Justine

You made it to the end of the post! Please stop by often for a variety of sewing projects, clothes making tips , and stylish handmade living. Feel free to email me at justine @ sewcountrychick.com if you have questions.

Comments

  1. Lizzy says

    04/30/2012 at 5:18 pm

    Oh! So lovely!! love the dress, love how cute she looks!!!! love the pictures too!

  2. Victoria says

    04/30/2012 at 6:04 pm

    Love this dress! And, your right about the instructions on some of the vintage patterns being complicated to follow.

  3. OakRose Mama says

    04/30/2012 at 6:40 pm

    oh my goodness, its so adorable! what a lovely dress and yes that pattern makes me a bit dizzy…i bow to your patience and skill in doing 9 buttonholes! her shoes are darling too.

    • Justine of SewCountryChick says

      05/01/2012 at 2:17 am

      My machine is pretty good at doing a basic buttonhole. It’s a Viking Freesia. I’d love to upgrade. I was thinking about that new Singer 160.

  4. Sharon says

    04/30/2012 at 7:08 pm

    so lovely! A great pattern to have.

  5. Alix says

    04/30/2012 at 7:14 pm

    What a beautifully cute dress! Darla looks so sweet and happy in it.
    x

  6. Ms Moppet says

    04/30/2012 at 8:25 pm

    Oh I love this! So adorable! Vintage patterns are so much fun!

  7. sorbetsurprise says

    04/30/2012 at 9:38 pm

    So cute! I love sailor dresses!

  8. Vintage Girl says

    05/01/2012 at 12:37 am

    love, love this!!! How sweet, Your daughter is so lucky!

    • Justine of SewCountryChick says

      05/01/2012 at 2:18 am

      Thank you! Maybe someday she will notice!

  9. Sew Blessed Maw says

    05/01/2012 at 1:44 am

    This is so cute. And your daughter is adorable.. I love sailor dresses!!!
    What fun..

  10. Heather's Blog-o-rama says

    05/01/2012 at 1:59 am

    That little dress is just too cute. I’d love to have a daughter, just so I can dress her up in cute stuff…but who says I can’t just make a dress and give it to a momma who has a little girl? Hmm….the ideas are spinning ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ™‚ I just LOVE vintage-style clothes, too ๐Ÿ™‚ Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Justine of SewCountryChick says

      05/01/2012 at 2:19 am

      Hi heather! You could always make a dress and give it to a shelter or some other charity. That would be so nice.

  11. Amy says

    05/01/2012 at 3:09 am

    This is so darling! I love the vintage patterns but I’m not anywhere close to being experienced enough to try one! I love seeing them come to life on your blog!

  12. Heather Painchaud says

    05/01/2012 at 5:30 am

    Super cute ~ love the puff sleeves!! Following ~ right back at ya!!!! ๐Ÿ˜€
    xo
    Heather

  13. Pam says

    05/01/2012 at 10:59 am

    I LOVE sailor outfits!!! When my kids were little, sailor outfits were still around for special occasions, but only for boys. I adore this little dress!!!

    • Justine of SewCountryChick says

      05/02/2012 at 12:26 am

      Hi Pam! Funny my friend from south america always dressed her kids in them. Not so much here in the US.

  14. Rebecca says

    05/01/2012 at 6:05 pm

    This is precious! I want a grown up version of this for myself, lol.

  15. Mandy @ Sugar Bee Crafts says

    05/02/2012 at 5:58 pm

    Thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday – – you were featured today!!
    –Mandy, http://www.SugarBeeCrafts.com

  16. Becca says

    05/06/2012 at 5:06 pm

    This is absolutely adorable! You’re daughter is the cutest! I can’t wait to make clothes like this when I have children.

  17. Max of Max California โ˜… says

    02/06/2013 at 3:57 am

    So cute! I love the little story :3

  18. amy mayen says

    07/04/2013 at 3:49 pm

    I love this post!

  19. Shirley Ann says

    07/04/2013 at 3:51 pm

    I need to start exploring vintage patterns. I love this little dress. I wish our fashion industry would revisit the apparel that children once wore years ago–so very appropriate compared to styles these days. Thank heavens we can sew, so we can dress our children in the manner we please!

  20. Newton Custom Interiors says

    07/04/2013 at 4:38 pm

    The dress and Darla are absolutely adorable! I loved reading this post.

  21. seรฑorita mandarina says

    07/05/2013 at 1:53 pm

    me encanta el estilo marinero
    http://mandarinacosturera.blogspot.com.es/

  22. Nothy Lane says

    07/06/2013 at 1:06 am

    Oh she is adorable in that dress! What an angel.

  23. Jenya Thompson says

    07/11/2013 at 9:05 am

    What a gorgeous dress Justine! I cannot believe you had a pattern dated 1941 – how special! It looks so sweet on your gorgeous little girl ๐Ÿ™‚ My brother had a sailor top ( I think there was a pair of shorts to make it a set as well), and I loved wearing it although it was boyish hahaha

  24. Jennifer Dawn Oliver Shelton says

    07/11/2013 at 12:10 pm

    What a precious dress. I’d love to have you link these or any of your other projects to this week’s link party. Hope to see you there! http://thelifeofjenniferdawn.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-little-bird-told-me-link-party-50.html



I'm Justine! Welcome to my sewing blog! Here you'll find lots of handmade clothing for myself and other lucky folks! I'm a native Los Angeleno who moved to a small farm outside of LA with my family.

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