Sixties Mod

For this project, I'm not entirely which came first . . . the fabric or the pattern.

Well, I suppose it must have been the pattern.  I picked this vintage Vogue pattern up at an estate sale a few years ago and promptly forgot about it.  I then happened upon a very small amount of this fabulously over the top upholstery fabric and knew that I needed to have it, but I wasn't exactly sure what I would do with it.

I was intrigued that the Vogue design did not require too much yardage (although that small number was more for the version sans collar, which I later realized).  I did figure out that the pattern included a very generous hem, so that would save a bit of fabric, especially since I planned to shorten the hemline slightly from what was shown on the illustration.

And then there was the issue of the collar and cuffs.  I knew that I would need to find a contrasting fabric, but I wasn't too keen on white, even if there is a bit of white in the print.

I was hoping to find a solid periwinkle cotton that would match back to the print.  So when that was unsuccessful, I felt a bit stuck, until I wandered by the batik collection in one aisle of JoAnn Fabrics.  This print caught my eye, and I thought that it would be a nice contrast to the oversized print of the main fabric.

And really, how could I not include the ruffled collar?!  It's pretty darn fabulous!

The cuff was necessary in this case because in order to fit the pattern pieces on my limited yardage, I had to shorten the sleeve significantly.  But with the addition of a ruffled cuff, the missing sleeve length is easily hidden.

The hem was hand stitched into place . . .

as well as the cuff . . . Archie was glad to help with this step.

To finish the actual sleeve edge, I just applied some seam binding.  It's not the most beautiful way to finish the sleeve/cuff situation, but it worked fine and it won't be visible when the dress is worn.

I was unsure whether or not the contrast collar and cuffs would be something I was really happy with after everything was put together, but I am happy to report that I love how this dress turned out.

Sometimes fabric limitations end up being a blessing in disguise.

I think that I will get more wear out of this as a "mini" dress worn with a pair of tights than I would have with the original knee length silhouette. 

And in the end, I think that batik print really tied everything together perfectly!