When I was a little girl in late 60's, I remember spending most of my summers in little pinafores with bloomers that my mom made. As a preschooler I loved dresses, especially the hand-me-downs from our classy neighbors whose grandma shopped at Marshall-Fields. But growing up on a ranch in Montana, these party dresses were not so very practical, so my mom made me outfits exactly like these:
The date on this pattern is 1969, so it's probably the same one my mom used. Later, I became more of a tomboy, jeans-wearing type, but I have always remembered how comfy those outfits were. Lucky me, I found these patterns at a thrift store and had to try them out. My problem was that the pattern I really liked (like I wore) was a size 1/2 and I wanted to make one for a bigger girl, so I altered a similar pattern from the 1970's
to have the curves I remember. I also made the pocket curvy.
The 1960's patterns just calls for lining the top. But I liked the 1970's idea of making it reversible. For fabric, I dug around to find something to match a plaid left over from an older project. The floral fabric was a bit too small so I pieced the shoulder straps. Finally, I sewed the straps on with vintage buttons, so as to avoid the dreaded buttonhole. (I'm wondering if I should just buy a machine with a one-step buttonhole. Is it worth it?)
I think we called these "apron dresses," and am thinking it's time for a revival.
