Saturday, July 21, 2012

Daisy Chain



This is another pattern that comes from Mr. Lappin’s stash.  So, of course, I was already in love with it before I pulled the tissue out of the envelope.


The rayon daisy print was purchased from fabric.com.  It reminded me of the 1930s, and the turquoise color was lovely, so I grabbed it.  When I saw Hollywood 1647, I thought they would make a great pair.


And I finally found a use for one of my lace collars.  Believe it or not, I picked these up from JoAnn Fabrics, of all places.  Quite a few years ago, they marked all of their decent trims on clearance and I purchased all that I could find before they disappeared forever.  They have been living in a drawer for years.  The lace trimmed collar on the pattern illustration reminded me of their existence, so I decided that a surface applied lace collar might work nicely.


The problem was that the collar was extremely bright white and my fabric was not.  To remedy the problem, I decided to try a bit of tea dying.  



I used a couple of Lipton black tea bags and dunked the collar pieces for a minute or two.  It worked quite nicely!  I tacked the lace to the collar pieces by hand with some silk thread.


The pattern does not call for interfacing, which I suppose is quite normal for a 1930s pattern.   I ended up using some cotton as a sew-in stabilizer for the collar and cuffs.  But I really was stumped when it came to the front opening.  The rayon drapes beautifully and is rather lightweight.  I was worried that the buttonholes (mine are bound) and the buttons needed to be stabilized in some way.  But a sew-in on the entire front piece seemed like it would be too much.  I came to the decision that a thin strip of lightweight fusible, although inauthentic, would work nicely.


I had no desire to re-space all of those buttonholes, so I did not make my standard adjustment for a long torso.  The dress is a bit high-waisted, but it works. 


Finding fourteen buttons that I liked with this fabric was quite an adventure, and one of the reasons that this dress took so long to complete.


I also decided to use the 3” hem allowance given to make the dress a bit more tea-length than knee-length.


I cannot find a reference to this pattern anywhere.  Does anyone else have this lovely dress pattern in their collection?


My button selection was not my first choice and I was concerned that the dark contrast was going to be distracting, so I decided to make a fascinator with the leftover shell buttons.  I crocheted a triangle shaped border, expecting to sew two of the patterns together to make a diamond which would have a sprinkling of buttons applied.  


Well, the flat diamond shape looked terrible, and the button placement did not look right, so I pulled two corners together to give the piece a bit of shape.  And I rather like how it turned out!





Dress & Belt:  Made by me, Hollywood 1647
Shoes:  Banana Republic
Fascinator:  Made by me

27 comments:

  1. Wow, it looks beautiful on you Laura Mae. The collar and sleeves are gorgeous!

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  2. Love it! What a great use for the lace and the peter pan collar is just the best! Is this a late 30's pattern? You look great in 30's fashion! Love it!

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    1. Thank you Debi! I am not finding a copyright date, and I have not come across any reference to the pattern online, but I would guess that it is mid to late 1930s.

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  3. The thirties look really suits you--you look so long and elegant in this dress. I remember seeing that fabric on Fabric.com and now I'm kicking myself for not getting some. It's perfect for the dress.

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    1. Sometimes it really is a challenge to pick fabrics from an online store. I feel really lucky to have picked this one, and thankful that I waited for this pattern to come along!

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  4. I think it looks lovely! I have a 40s WIP right now that is in need of 12 buttons and I can't find any I like either... :(

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  5. Oh, to send someone patterns and have them actually make them is so satisfying! (I may have to send you more.) The dress is so lovely and the silhouette is extremely flattering. Excellent choice of fabric (are you a summer by any chance?) and I love the hoo-ha in your hair. I think if you'd made the back adjustment you'd have lost some of the period charm of the dress. Great job, Ms. P!

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    1. Thank you Peter! You are too sweet!

      I have never had my colors done, but turquoise seems to work well with my coloring, so perhaps that makes me a summer?

      And I think I am going to re-name all of my fascinators and hats "hoo-ha"'s from now on.

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  6. PS - I would love to hear how you prep your rayon. Do you pre-wash/hang overnight to stretch out? Rayon scares me for some reason...

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    1. I wash the fabric in my machine on a gentle cycle and put it in the dryer, but pull it out when it is a teeny bit damp for ironing. I will hand wash the finished garment and leave it to drip dry. This system has worked wonderfully for me.

      The only rayon issues that I have had was with purchased pieces that were probably not pre-shrunk.

      You have absolutely no reason to fear! I say go for it!

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  7. Rarely does the illustration look like the finished garment. Wow!

    You are at your leggiest in this style. Where dropping the hem can give one the appearance of standing in a hole, you've stretched the proportions beyond "favorable", and clear past "striking".

    Could the 30s be your decade? You may want to watch a Sylvia Sydney movie, or two, for confirmation.

    Enjoyed the tea dyeing.

    It took a skillful visionary to pull together all these pieces together.

    Congratulations!

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    1. Thank you! The 1930s have never had much of my attention because of a fear of bias satin cling, but I may have to rethink that. I have to admit that the camera angle gods were with me if I look leggy - it's all smoke and mirrors . . .

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  8. Wow, absolutely gorgeous. Makes me feel inspired to pull out my vintage patterns and (finally) get to work!

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  9. You did a wonderful job, Laura! The dress is simply stunning on you. Leave it to Mr. Lappin to discover such a beautiful pattern :)

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    1. He is pretty fabulous, isn't he! I can't believe that Cathy did not grab this one up!

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  10. This dress is truly amazing! That fabric is gorgeous! Do you put rayon in the washing machine or will you have this dry cleaned? Can't wait to see more of what you make as everything is so fabulous. :]

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    1. Thank you Rebecca! FYI, I washed the fabric in the machine before cutting my pattern out to pre-shrink, and I will be hand washing the dress.

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  11. How terrifically pretty! Your talent and eye for styling vintage looks is perpetually inspiring, my dear.


    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Thank you Jessica - that means a lot, coming from you!

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  12. Absolutely lovely! BTW how are you and your new Bernina getting along?

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    1. Valerie - thanks for asking! My little baby girl and I are getting closer with each passing day! I feel bad that I am not using all of the decorative stitch options, but she is doing a bang up job with all of my projects.

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  13. Again, another beautiful creation! I love seeing your work and am so glad you take the time to share it with us.

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  14. You did a wonderful job, and the dress looks absolutely lovely on you! The styles of the 1930s really suit you :-)

    I was quite delighted to see the fabric you used--I had a dress made from the same print, and I used a Hollywood pattern as well! Mine dates to the mid-40s; I think that print and color scheme looks perfectly vintage and works for both decades quite well.

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  15. I love the mix of the darker shell buttons and the lace collar with your dress and the pattern is simply gorgeous!

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  16. This dress is lovely! I want one! :)

    Ivy
    http://eviestearoom.blogspot.com/

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  17. How do I buy this pattern??? I love love love this dress!

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