What a hectic week it’s been! Summer holidays are here and between that and getting our house ready to put on the market I have been away from my sewing machine far too much! Daughter no 1 needed a dress to wear to a wedding reception this weekend. We had planned to alter a dress she already had, but I did a foolish thing.
I made the toile of the dress pattern based on this dress, and she fell in love with the shape. “This would look great in that fabric with the brown roses….. Can I have that for the reception??” Needless to say there was much fluttering of eyelashes going on and puppy-dog eyes. Of course I gave in!
The fabric is a decent weight cotton with a very slight stretch. I used a cotton poplin for the lining of the bodice, and an acetate for the skirt as I wanted it to be light and not stick to stockings, if she wore them. We wanted more of a 50’s silhouette to go with the pattern on the fabric, so I added width to the skirt and gathered more. The lining skirt is much fuller, with a layer of fine tulle to hold the outer skirt out.
The pattern itself was quick to adapt. I started with a fitted bodice block and converted it to the lingerie block. I drew on the lines for the midriff and skirt and cut these off. I closed the darts and blended the upper and lower seamlines. For the skirt I lengthened it first, then added side flare from the hem to the hip. Then I divided each skirt into 3 and cut and spread on these lines. The straps were rectangles that I double turned on the sides and pleated at the ends to make them prettier.
I have cut out the Liberty fabric this dress was going to be in first, so that will be the next finished project, and you can compare the two finished items.
I think she likes it… :p
THE COMPULSIVE SEAMSTRESS 