My latest sewing project was a late 1930s dress, in a vibrant shade of teal rayon.

(Like the mountains in the background? Me too! But my snowy background is going to disappear in the next few weeks, probably. Spring is on its way here in Idaho!)

This dress is full of fun details…

…and surely these are the cutest sleeves ever! Unfortunately, the also cute sleeves that went with this pattern were missing a piece, so I substituted these sleeves from a pattern from the same era.

I loved working with the rayon suiting, and of course it has a nicer drape and weight than cotton. A solid color was perfect for this dress, since I didn't want a print to hide the details. And making vintage dress patterns in rayon just seems so…suitable…since that was one of the most common fabrics used.

This was my first trial of this pattern, and as usual, the belt hides a few imperfections and the fit is not quite perfect – hardly surprising when I size up the dress from a 14 and the sleeves from a 12. Good thing I am not a perfectionist. I do want to make it again, and should be able to tweak the fit on a second version, but this one is certainly wearable!

I paired it with my trusty brown 1930s hat, a vintage brown clutch and gloves. Funny thing about the gloves – they looked the same color as the clutch in the daylight, but once the sun hit them they turned quite a different shade of brown!

And of course, my new brown suede heels. These beauties, I am told, were worn by the seller in 1947 – but I think they also can work for the 1930s since the top perforations and shape give them an art deco look, in my opinion. I'm still looking for a pair of quintessentially 1930s shoes, but meanwhile, these will work.

The dress was pleasingly easy to put together, even with the interesting bodice detail. I did a hand-pricked side zipper and made a sash style belt without a pattern. My biggest trouble was trying to press everything thoroughly without leaving marks.

Yep, there's a reason this small window of fashion, transition between the 1930s and WWII, is one of my favorite eras!