1919 Muslin dress

1919 Muslin dress
Date	1918-1922
Category	Women
Item	Dress
Fabric	Cotton muslin
Decoration	Ribbons, buttons
Wearer	-
Maker	-
Acc. no.	HC.D-0.19 a,b

1918-1922 A lavender cotton muslin dress.

The back of the dress
One of the cuffs

Description

The muslin has openwork stripes ⁵⁄₁₆" wide and 1¹⁄₁₆" apart.

The bodice is cut as one piece with extended sleeves and no shoulder seams. The neck opening is curved round the back and slopes together at the front where it is extended 5" down, with a ⅜" wide self binding on the edges and two hooks and worked bars. There is no other opening in the dress.

The sailor collar is 5¼" wide at the pointed front ends, narrowing slightly over the shoulders, and 5⅜" deep at the centre back where it is 10" across. The front points each have seven small pearl buttons round the edge, sewn on with black thread. A bow of black silk moiré ribbon, ⅞" wide, is sewn over the top hook on the left front; this has double loops each side and is 4" wide altogether, with hanging ends of 10" and 11½".

The sleeves have added pieces on the ends, 5¾" long, cut on the lengthwise grain so that the stripes run down and are at right-angles to those on the extended sleeves. They have added cuffs cut with the stripes running round them and they rise to a point on the outside; they are 1½" wide at the underarm seam and 3" high at the point on the right sleeve, and 1¾" wide up to 3¾" high on the left. The points are also decorated with five of the small pearl buutons.

Belt looops, 3" long, are sewn each side at the waist for a 2" wide self belt, 71" long, to tie round the waist. The skirt is gathered on to the bodice 3" below the natural waist.

The dress is unlined and the hem is faced with a band of plain lilac muslin about 3¾" wide.

It was possibly manufactured rather than made individually, as there is a little tab sewn in the back neck with the number 2 on it - maybe the size.