I paired my blue floral cotton with this vintage pattern over a year ago, was promptly distracted by something else, and the fabric and pattern were set aside (thankfully I kept the two together). Well, I finally got around to making my standard alterations to the design a few months ago.
I have no issue adding length to the torso of a contemporary pattern, but slicing into a vintage pattern gives me a bit of pause. So those changes get made to the traced version made of fabric for my older and more delicate patterns.
I washed the cotton yardage and hung it out to dry one sunny afternoon.
I didn't have very much of it, but this pattern isn't a fabric hog, so everything fit nicely. And, in fact, it turns out that I could have shortened the skirt length a bit to save on fabric.
Looking at the pattern illustration, this dress is supposed to sit just below the knee, but since it's a sixties silhouette, I decided to hem mine slightly above that point.
The pattern gives the option of adding two little bows to both princess seams at the front waist made from self-fabric. I thought that would get lost in the print, and a black ribbon would work better. Well, I found a satin faced ribbon with silver edging that helped the detail stand out, but I really didn't like how it looked.
So off came the bows. And honestly, I don't think this version needs them. Which is fine, because I suspect I will make this pattern again, and perhaps that fabric will be more suited to a bit of embellishment.
Beautifull, love your fabric.
ReplyDeletePretty : )
ReplyDeleteThat dress reminds me of the red dress Eva Marie Saint wore in North By Northwest. Though her dress had a boat neckline, and a deep V in the back. Your version is more practical.
ReplyDeleteWould enjoy hearing about the fabrics origin (unless it's from JoAnn's, because that would be unfair - your JoAnn's is as much a unicorn as you are). Do you choose fabrics that catch your eye, or do you already have a vision of what they can be? Your fabric-to-garment batting average is decidedly above average.
I'm afraid it is a quilting cotton from JoAnns that I have had for quite a while. I didn't know what it was supposed to be back then, but it was at the top of a pile when I came across the pattern while looking for something else at the time. And that's usually how it happens around these parts, at least for the older stashed fabrics/patterns.
DeleteI love this dress, fabric included. Last summer I used a favorite blouse pattern to make a dress. The fabric I used was very similar to this but a little bit smaller print. I suspect you will probably get many compliments on this beautiful dress.
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