Introduction

This posting initiates a series on my adventure into creating a 1930s type sloper in a modern day Misses size 4. I think modern sewistas and patternmakers can get a similar look without the expense of a vintage pattern purchase. Nor will there be the many fitting challenges that come with using a vintage pattern. My goal is to simplify a process of creation, not complicate it or make it overly time consuming. I think if enough research is done, it will be possible to come close to the shapes of a basic sloper for the 1930s.

Draping Technique I will use

I am going to use the 1940s draping system called Precision Draping which was developed by Nellie Weymouth Link. The book has been reprinted and is available at booksellers online new or used. While this is not a 1930s draping technique, it is a vintage one. It is easy to learn and provides a good foundation for exploration into the styles of other decades.

Beginning point

As always, research and reading provide insights and ideas. I begin this journey by making available for you a section of Weldons Encyclopedia of Needlework from my very small collection of vintage sewing books. It was published by The Waverley Book Col, Ltd. of Farringdon Street, London, E.C. 4, but no date of publication exists in the book! I estimate that the edition I have was published in the 1930s. As you can see in the illustrations that follow, the silhouette is close to 1930s fashions with longer hemlines and flowing skirts. The fashion figure is also slender and soft. The boxier fashions with emphasis on the shoulder line of the 1940s is not present in the chapter I post here.

We will continue this exploration into the elements of a 1930 sloper and the key takeaways for creating a sloper that can approximate the look in the next posting. For now I hope you enjoy this look into what a sloper and dress form from the 1930s looked like. What is shown here may or may not be typical but it has elements that appear in another flat pattern drafting system from the 1930s that appear in another book I have and will use in this series.

“The Dressmaker’s Model and Fitting Pattern” from Weldon’s Encyclopedia of Needlework