Walking around Manhattan I have been seeing lots of the simple sorts of summer dresses that I (and the rest of the world) wore in the 1970’s.
The 1970’s was a great decade for DIY. Aside from the The Whole Earth Catalog,
and Simple Living which were generalist books that taught skills from simple plumbing to how
to build a mulch pile along with diagrams and patterns for simple clothing, there were also more specialized books with lots of directions for garment making.
Some of the books came from mainstream sources, like Time Life Sewing. ( This is actually an excellent series both from a fashion history perspective as well as being really good at teaching skills. The material books are organized in a slightly daffy way though. It isn’t always easy to find exactly what you are looking for. It’s usually easy to find single volumes on ebay or Amazon. Sometimes you can find the complete set or most of a complete set for not too much money) I have most of the set.
There were also lots of small press books put out by what my in-laws used to call, hippy-types. One of my favorites is Hassle-free Sewing and it’s sequel Son of Hassle-Free Sewing
Both books are an incredible cultural artifact. The language is laughable in their self conscious groovyness, but as sewing books they are pretty terrific. Clearly not every garment in the book has stood the test of time, but the general concepts of how one constructs clothing without a pattern are well presented. Pricing on both books varies from costing less than five dollars to costing about fifty bucks per volume. there was a new edition of the first volume put out in 2008. I haven’t looked at it so I can’t offer any words of wisdom.
Ann Wiseman was education director at the Boston Children’s Museum. She wrote The Best of Making Things which was a standard in every day care I taught in. She also wrote Cuts of Cloth
Most of those cool transforming garments have their progenitors in the slim book. Her drawings are simple , clear and charming. Both books give you the sense of a really smart interesting woman with really good ideas.
All of which brings me to this dress.
Inspired by the simple diagrams of the hippy clothing books.
Cut two.
Cut a slit in the center front.
Sew side seams together
Clean finish neckline and bodice sides.
Create a casing for both the front and back.
Make a drawstring and thread through the casings.
There you have it, a classic 1970’s summer dress, or if it made with a wider skirt, and belted it, a 1950’s version of the same dress. I used a cotton from my stash.
The 1970’s was a great decade for DIY. Aside from the The Whole Earth Catalog,
and Simple Living which were generalist books that taught skills from simple plumbing to how
to build a mulch pile along with diagrams and patterns for simple clothing, there were also more specialized books with lots of directions for garment making.Some of the books came from mainstream sources, like Time Life Sewing. ( This is actually an excellent series both from a fashion history perspective as well as being really good at teaching skills. The material books are organized in a slightly daffy way though. It isn’t always easy to find exactly what you are looking for. It’s usually easy to find single volumes on ebay or Amazon. Sometimes you can find the complete set or most of a complete set for not too much money) I have most of the set.
There were also lots of small press books put out by what my in-laws used to call, hippy-types. One of my favorites is Hassle-free Sewing and it’s sequel Son of Hassle-Free Sewing
Both books are an incredible cultural artifact. The language is laughable in their self conscious groovyness, but as sewing books they are pretty terrific. Clearly not every garment in the book has stood the test of time, but the general concepts of how one constructs clothing without a pattern are well presented. Pricing on both books varies from costing less than five dollars to costing about fifty bucks per volume. there was a new edition of the first volume put out in 2008. I haven’t looked at it so I can’t offer any words of wisdom.
Ann Wiseman was education director at the Boston Children’s Museum. She wrote The Best of Making Things which was a standard in every day care I taught in. She also wrote Cuts of Cloth
Most of those cool transforming garments have their progenitors in the slim book. Her drawings are simple , clear and charming. Both books give you the sense of a really smart interesting woman with really good ideas.
All of which brings me to this dress.
Inspired by the simple diagrams of the hippy clothing books.
Cut two.
Cut a slit in the center front.
Sew side seams together
Clean finish neckline and bodice sides.
Create a casing for both the front and back.
Make a drawstring and thread through the casings.
There you have it, a classic 1970’s summer dress, or if it made with a wider skirt, and belted it, a 1950’s version of the same dress. I used a cotton from my stash.
Oh yes, the 70's. Remember macrame?
ReplyDeleteAnn_B
Of course!!! I could make a macrame belt for the dress ...with a big wooden buckle. I also need to wear a leather and wood pony-tail holder and a ring or bracelet made out of a spoon handle and a necklace made out of strung dried seeds.
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