Every Easter I am reminded of all the beautiful dresses my mother made for me and my sisters. These three dresses are definitely the ones I remember most, because they are just so fabulous. In the photo we are perched on our giant living room chair — left to right, Mary, Sally and Martha. We are holding Nancy Ann storybook dolls that my older sister, Jean Ann, gave us for Easter.
The bodice of the dress was made using a light blue cotton fabric with little printed red roses. The dress was sleeveless and bound on the neck and armholes with bias binding made from red cotton. The circle skirt fabric I believe was a linen/rayon blend (because it didn’t wrinkle at all) and included a petticoat in the blue print with a 4-inch ruffle, the edge of which was bound with the red bias fabric. She constructed the belts with those little kits you could buy and covered the belt and hardware with the red fabric. The little bolero jackets had covered buttons in two parts (the middle area was slightly domed — then there was a raised part around the outside of the button — I think you can see this on my jacket). I also love the rounded cuffs on the jackets. I searched all over, and I finally found a pattern that resembles these dresses (below).
As I got a little older and began to make my own clothes, I could truly appreciate the skill and love that went into all the beautiful things she made for us. I think you’ll agree that she was quite talented.
1955 Easter Dresses
Marjorie Dellasega
Simplicity 3501
