Might As Well Jump

What can I say...I just saw "Rock of Ages" and have hair metal on the brain! Thank you all so much for your well-wishes and advice regarding my horrendous case of poison ivy! I've been doing almost nothing but fighting with it for the last few months, and have actually contracted it twice more, though not as severely, thank goodness! In addition, despite our research and safety precautions, two family members who came to help me have also gotten mild cases; this stuff is virulent, but I'm determined to beat it!
I've also been following my healthier eating plan and trying to walk every day, and I've lost five of my holiday pounds; three more to go! Woo hoo! In the meantime, I made this jumper utilizing another friend to the fluctuating waistline (or hip-line, as the case may be!): the bias cut. Cutting a garment on the bias allows the fabric to flow fluidly across the lines of the body while also allowing for some stretch.

Bias-cut dresses were immensely popular in the 1930s. Here are some beautiful images, which I borrowed from here.

As we all know, Jean Harlow was a big fan of the style:

My fabric has quite a bit of stretch on the bias, which allowed me to eliminate a zipper. It is a beautiful soft wool that I got on clearance at Hancock. The shirt was made with a cream cotton, with fabric-covered buttons, of course! I made it using this pattern:

I did make a few changes, but only to the shirt: I moved the buttons from the back to the front, and I shortened the sleeves slightly. The navy and cream crochet gloves were a recent gift from my mother. The matching buckle and button are vintage; I love the subtle plaid print impressed on them.

Jumpers were also a staple of 1930s fashions. This post from Baroness Von Vintage has some lovely images of jumper patterns, along with a link to a very cute one sewn by SuperHeidi. Below are some patterns from my own collection, at least a few of which I hope to make up someday!

The jabot came to be after I attempted to make a tie while following the print of the plaid. It turned out to be much too large; the ends overlapped the neckline of the jumper, which made the entire outfit look messy to me. So I chopped off the ends, made a loop at the top, and ran a grosgrain ribbon through the loop. The button is purely decorative.

See all of that stretch? I'm thinking that I can skip my walk tomorrow....thank you, bias-cut dresses!