Patterns Illustrations

This is one of those patterns that I purchased soon after it was released with the thought that I would make it right up.  I was intrigued by View A (I love a tie front!) and thought it would make a lovely summer frock.

Of course, time got away from me, and a few years later I finally decided that I wanted to make something with a novelty print, and this pattern seemed like a good choice.  I had slightly more yardage than needed, so instead of the knee length dress I had originally intended, I thought that the longer skirt with the patch pockets would be a nice way to use up the majority of this wonderful novelty print.

And to make those pockets stand out a bit more amongst the crazy colors and designs, I added some rick-rack.  To tie everything together, I also added a length of the rick-rack to my straps.  One happy result of this is that those straps will not be stretching at all.  As a note on construction, I did have to shorten the length of the straps considerably compared to the original draft.

While I would have had enough fabric left to cut my bodice back pieces out, I decided to save the scraps for something more interesting than a simple lining.  And, of course, a tie front does require that the front lining matches unless you want the contrast to show, and in this instance, I did not want that look.

I went ahead and made bound buttonholes on the skirt front instead of pulling out my vintage buttonholer.

This is a stable cotton, so it's easy to work with, and if a fabric is anything but super sheer, I do prefer a bound buttonhole to one that is machine made.

Honestly, I find the process to be less stressful and requiring less "practice" before I get to making the buttonholes on the actual garment.

The only visible seams were the skirt side seams, so I finished those with rayon seam binding.

And while I didn't manage to take any photos of the process, I did make an Instagram reel about adding bust pads to the bodice of this dress.

And to make the bodice feel more secure, a hook & eye was added just under the ties to keep the bodice closed.

This is one of those designs that looks great in the technical drawing, but in reality, could use a bit more finesse when it comes to the instructions that come in the pattern envelope in order to make it a more wearable item of clothing.  For this particular dress, I do not think it would have been very wearable without the addition of that hook & eye to keep the bodice closed.  Obviously, every body is different, but I would definitely recommend an extra closure option rather than relying solely on the wide fabric ties that are part of the bodice front.

That being said, it's a very cute sundress, and I am happy with the finished product.  I am especially pleased with the fabric pattern/design pairing which I think looks rather 1980s does 1950s in the best way possible!