Making the 1934 Sports Ensemble

This is a great casual look from the thirties. However, the original pattern left much to be desired. The instructions were one page of a small booklet and did not include any illustrations. The instructions for the shirt placket were extremely difficult to follow and the markings did not match up. There also was no information on how the shorts were supposed to close. I had to make some decisions on how best to work with the pattern.

Even though the placket did not line up correctly, I would have needed to completely redraft it and decided to instead keep the integrity of the original pattern and suggest a muslin of the shirt. I made my shirt in an extremely heavy weight cotton knit which I think was probably a bit too bulky. Because of that, I did not include the back pleat or yoke when I cut it out. I also used a smaller size. I used a cotton gauze for the skirt and the shirt placket. I interfaced the placket and collar with a lightweight knit interfacing.

I made the shorts in a lightweight cotton canvas and added two back pockets instead of the one suggested. Since there were no instructions on how to close the shorts, I added buttons at the waist and snaps down the sides. I like the way the shorts fit. The cotton gauze fabric I chose has a lot of bounce, especially after washing. I needed to order twice as much fabric as originally required to assure the skirt would fit. I used a lightweight interfacing in the skirt facings and the waistband. I also gathered the skirt back as I didn’t think darts would work well with the gauze.

I’m not sure that I would ever wear all three pieces together, but I like the combo of the shorts and shirt as well as the skirt and shirt. The outfit is comfortable and breezy. You can’t really tell that the pattern is from the thirties, it works great as a casual outfit today.