A little 1950s diversion

So I bought a cute 50s inspired dress from Modern Mantua Maker which fits perfectly.  I adore the dress however it's sleeveless and my old lady arms need to be covered, unless of course it's hot outside.  I decided a little bolero would probably do the trick.  I took a look at a vintage bolero in my collection  (pictured below) and figured it would be super easy to make.

The bolero has two seams on each side--one running the length of the top of the sleeve and the side/under sleeve seam.  The back is a t-shape with two vertical darts and the fronts are half of that t-shape with a horizontal bust dart on each side. It has a simple stand up neck band.  I decided that I didn't want the neck band and would prefer a v-neck so as not to obscure the boat neck of the dress.  I tucked one side of the bolero under and pinned in place to get the line I wanted.

Also--the bolero was lined but the sleeves were not.  I decided I would simply line the whole thing.

I folded the bolero at the center back and traced around it --both the front and back--drawing lines where the darts are.

I could feel the darts inside the original and was able to measure their depth so I slashed the dart lines and added the darts then redrew some of the lines.

I made a muslin and tried it on.  It was a decent fit but I decided to add a little to the girth of the sleeves since it would be lined.

I got some black pique and polka dotted cotton to make my bolero.  I stitched the outer fabric darts and seams and the lining darts and seams then bagged the lining and hemmed the sleeves.  It took just a few minutes.

And here it is over Modern Mantua Maker's dress:

Mission accomplished!