This dress pattern is called "Changeabout"
I became interested in becoming a pattern maker by collecting vintage patterns. I loved looking through them, seeing the fashion images, going through piles at estate sales and thrift store. I began sorting and organizing them into categories. I bought files and cabinets and pretty soon I had thousands of wonderful patterns! The drafting of home sewing patterns started in 1863 with Ebennezer Butterick who marketed the first mass produced sized tissue patterns. If you have ever run into some of these older packets, the tissue is unmarked and really depends on the already trained seamstress. A good book to check out for information on early patterns as well as patterns of the 1940s is Blueprints of Fashion by Wade Laboissonniere. I checked the revised second edition out of the library and I have to dig through by pattern cabinets to see if I have any 1940s patterns left!
