Watercolor Impressions

Here is my latest Britex project!

My first idea for the beautiful floral fabric was nixed when I could not get my hands on a new Vogue pattern.  (My local JoAnn Fabrics has been especially bad about stocking patterns for the last year or so . . . ggrrrr.)  So I had to scramble a bit and come up with an alternative.

This Butterick vintage reproduction is one I have made up before.  I had enough cut yardage to work with, and the print worked with the style as well which made it an obvious choice. 

The fabric is quite sheer, almost gauze-like.  My first though was to make myself a slip as an extra layer.  

But I also wanted this to be an easy to wear summer dress, and some days I just do not want to wear another layer.  The obvious solution was to underline it with a lightweight cotton batiste.

I did make a couple of alterations from the first dress.

As with most patterns, I initially added ¾” to the torso length.  This turned out to be just a bit too much.  This time around, I only added ½” which might not seem like much of an alteration, but it really does make a difference.

This design has a side zipper.  The instructions only include a diagram of the zipper for the second view (a halter neck).  On the first dress, I went on my merry way, confident that I had constructed quite a few 1940s side zip dresses and stitched the upper inch of the left side seam closed before inserting my zipper.  Well, that dress requires a bit of squirming to get in and out of it.  This time around, I decided the sleeved version needed to open from the top edge to hip, just like the halter version.  And it worked like a charm!

I feel like a complete goof for not figuring that out the first time around . . . but now I know why I felt compelled to make myself another version . . . there was a lesson to be learned!

Dress:  Made by me, Butterick 5209

Earrings:  Gift

Shoes:  Banana Republic

[The fabric for this dress was received in exchange for my contributions as a Britex Guest Blogger.]