Advance 5239: 1940s Sweet Baby Girls Dress Size 1 Vintage Sewing Pattern
Original circa 1949 Advance Pattern No. 5239 - Toddler's Dress
Original circa 1949 Advance Pattern No. 5239 for a toddler's dress, offered in two views. View 1 is made of a single fabric, trimmed with lace insertion and edging; View 2 adds a contrasting collar, yoke, and sleeves, finished with embroidered edging. Complete Nice Condition.
Quick Facts
- Pattern Number: Advance No. 5239
- Year: Circa 1949
- Garment: Toddler's Dress (2 Views)
- Size: 1 (20" Breast)
- Condition: Complete Nice Condition
- Envelope Condition: Worn and Professionally Repaired
Design
Advance 5239 keeps its construction genuinely simple across just five pattern pieces, with a gathered skirt falling freely from a small yoke for an easy, comfortable fit. View 1 is cut from a single fabric throughout, dressed up with lace insertion worked into the yoke and a matching lace edging at the trim. View 2 takes the same silhouette and adds a contrasting fabric at the collar, yoke, and sleeves, finished with embroidered edging rather than lace for a slightly different decorative effect. Both views close at the back with small buttons, with the collar secured by a snap.
A Moment in Fashion History
By the late 1940s, toddler dresses like this one balanced genuine simplicity of construction with just enough decorative detail - a contrasting yoke here, a run of lace insertion there - to make an everyday garment feel special. Advance 5239's two-view approach let a mother choose between a plainer, quicker version and a slightly more dressed-up one from the same basic pattern.
Illustration
The cover illustration has been digitally restored and enhanced by Judy Yates to highlight the original fashion artwork while preserving the character and artistry of this historic Advance pattern envelope.
Connections
This pattern is part of our upcoming exhibit, Nursery Notions - maternity wear, layettes, crib covers, and quilts, the sewing life around having a baby. Come take a look.
