Contrasting Florals

This dress was meant to be made a couple of years ago in the Fall season, but time got away from me and the project was put on a back burner.  I never put the fabric away because I knew that I wanted to do something with it sooner rather than later, and here we are.

One reason I chose this particular vintage pattern is because it doesn't require that much yardage, and I was working with a very limited amount of wool.  The drape and the weight of the fabric also lent itself to a 1940s style dress, so that was stuck in my mind.

I previously used the pattern to make this dress, and I do get quite a bit of wear out of the dress in the Fall months, so I thought that it was worth making another version in a very different color palette.

The pattern itself is more fragile than most of my vintage patterns, and I suspect that someone at some point left it out in the sun for a little too long as some areas are very crispy along the folded edges.  That being said, the pattern is absolutely still usable.

It is actually incredible how sturdy pattern tissue is considering its age.  This particular pattern is approximately eighty years old, and both the tissue and the newsprint instructions are still going strong except for a couple of areas.

In most of the patterns I have come across, the instructions generally see more aging than the pattern tissue itself.

This fabric was lovely to work with aside from the fact that it did like to fray quite a bit.

It's a very lightweight wool and not itchy on my skin, so it will work for a variety of seasons and temperatures.

I even found a suitable vintage zipper in my stash, which seemed fitting, so I went ahead and used that one.  It's often the zipper that gives away whether or not a garment is truly vintage, and I like to think that some of my creations could pass for vintage construction, even to a trained eye, except for those pesky ykk zips.

There really were not any surprises with this dress because I made the pattern up before.

It's a classic 1940s silhouette that is easy to wear and will definitely come in handy in my wardrobe.

And I love the colors in this print!  I did have to use a multi-directional layout to make everything fit on my yardage, but because of the multi-gored skirt I don't think it's noticeable.  All in all, I'm very pleased with how this project turned out.

Never Enough Polka Dots

I have added another Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress to my collection, and I am not sorry about it!

And while I am not a huge fan of working with rayon/lycra knit fabrics, now that I have finished sewing the dress, I can enjoy wearing it, and forget about the aggravation as it slithers across the sewing table.

I know that it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I will probably wear the dress with the v-neck facing the back most of the time.  It seems like most people prefer the standard v-neck worn in the front, but I have a lot of v-neck dresses, so this makes for a nice change.

And the nice thing about a reversible dress is that I can always change my mind later on!

It has also become quite clear to me that I am a massive fan of the polka dot.  Dress, blouse, shoes, purse - give me all of the polka dots!

And wrap dresses just might come in a close second.

The shorter length works great with the dotted fabric, but I do love a full length wrap dress.  The only downside is the amount of yardage required.

I would also love to be able to find a cotton print jersey fabric or a rayon/cotton blend in a slightly heavier weight.

The original textiles that were used for these dresses are some of the most flattering and comfortable fabrics that I have ever come across.  Why did they start adding spandex and lycra to everything?!

But even with all of my griping, this is a wonderful pattern.

It really doesn't get much easier than throwing on a wrap dress to look completely put together in no time at all.  And no zipper or buttonholes to contend with is just the icing on the cake!

Dress:  Made by me, Vogue 2060
Shoes:  Miss L Fire
Earrings:  Etsy
Bag:  Harvey's Seatbelt Bag

Polka Dotty

I purchased Vogue 2060 when it went on sale, not really thinking too much about it, but wanting to add another DVF vintage pattern to my collection.  Once I had it next to Vogue 2000, I was questioning my choices and wondering why I had purchased another wrap dress pattern.

To be fair, though, the two patterns are actually different, so in the end, I think that it was worth it.  This particular version of the iconic wrap dress by DVF is drafted for knits and has no darts or tucks.  Vogue 2000 is drafted for both knits and wovens (although I still do question whether or not a pattern can actually work for both equally well).  And there are the obvious design differences with the added collar and a different shape of waist tie, although you certainly wouldn't need a separate pattern for those two changes!

With Vogue 2000, I found a 100% cotton knit which is more in line with the fabric used for the vintage versions of these dresses.  The only suitable knit fabrics that I had stashed away included Lycra or Spandex, so that's what I decided to use this time around.  Do I wish that I could find a rayon or cotton knit with no added elastic fibers?  Yes!  But for now, this was the easiest way to try out the pattern.

I interfaced the facing pieces with a lightweight fusible, included the cut-on skirt facing.  That may have been a mistake as it pulls the skirt opening up slightly, but the added interfacing does keep it from curling, so that is a win.

Seamlines were stitched with a narrow zig-zag on my sewing machine, and I finished most of the raw edges with a serger to keep them from rolling in on themselves.

This project did remind me how much I dislike working with spandex fabrics.  The rayon makes it bearable, I suppose, and they are quite easy to wear, but it does take some of the fun out of the sewing process for me.  Part of that had to do with the size of most of these pattern pieces.  Somehow working on a knit top that uses a yard of fabric doesn't create nearly the aggravation that oversized pattern pieces paired with stretchy and slinky fabric does.

At least knit designs go together quickly!

One thing that I will probably change if I use this pattern again is to cut a separate skirt facing instead of using the cut in one facing drafted on the skirt piece.  Vogue 2000 uses a separate facing and I think that ends up working better for my purposes.

And then we come to the "reversible" part of the design.  According to the pattern, this dress is completely reversible.  However, the sleeve is drafted with a front and back, although the difference in the slope is minimal.  But since I have worked with a least a couple of knit top patterns that utilize a symmetrical sleeve piece which seems to work just fine, why would the pattern draft go to the trouble of having a non-symmetrical sleeve head when the bodice is meant to be worn in both directions?!  I still haven't figured out the answer to that question. 

But I do have a very easy to wear wrap dress made of polka dot fabric which makes me rather happy.

And while I believe I will wear this with the higher neckline facing front (because I think it's a bit more interesting than a standard v-neck wrap dress) it's always nice to have the option.

Which neckline do you prefer?

The Rose Garden

It took a trip to the DeYoung Museum to finally have an opportunity to wear this velvet bodysuit, almost one year after I completed it.

To be fair, this was really more of a test run for the pattern and I happened to have enough of the velvet leftovers to cut out all of the pieces with some creative cutting layouts.  Once I had finished, I realized that I had no idea what type of skirt I would want to pair it with . . . so it sat folded on a table until I needed something to wear for a day out at the museum.  Happily, I remembered this quilted skirt as one option that would work with the velvet.

The major issue that I ran into with the pattern was that I didn't account for enough length through the torso.  I did "fix" that by adding an extra piece cotton where the back and front snap together.

The other thing that I discovered while wearing the garment is that the back neckline piece that folds over has a tendency to roll up, which may or may not expose the serged edge underneath it if it migrates far enough over the shoulder.  Part of that might be solved by using a more stretchy knit.  And while I don't have very wide shoulders, I suppose I could also expand the neckline width slightly, as well.

Overall, I like the design, and I am tempted to make another version in a more appropriate fabric choice according to the pattern stretch requirements to see if that changes any of the issues that I had with this version.

And I definitely love the feeling of getting two separate projects out of one cut of fabric, so that was a win.

Being able to match the bodysuit to my quilted skirt was not expected, but I really like how the pieces work together.  I never thought that I would get so much wear out of a quilted midi skirt, but this garment gets so much wear during the colder months that I almost think that I should make another!

There are a couple of other bodysuit patterns that I have stashed away, and I really should pull them out and see about making at least one of them.

I have plenty of full skirts that would work nicely with a bodysuit, and I probably have stashed fabric or remnants that might not be enough for a skirt or dress, but would work for this type of project.

I am now wondering what became of that navy blue bodysuit from the mid-1990s that was a part of my wardrobe, because it might be nice to wear again . . . or maybe I just find a navy knit fabric and make my own!

Bodysuit:  Made by me, Vogue 1923
Skirt:  Mady by me, Simplicity 8458
Earrings:  Nicky Butler
Shoes:  Nine West

Putting those leftovers to good use . . .

There were a fair amount of scraps leftover from the dress project that used this floral velvet print, although they weren't especially large, but I was determined to find a use for them.  It may be polyester, but that print is just too pretty to waste.

Something made me purchase Vogue 1923 soon after it was released.  I am not a huge fan of a bodysuit, but something about that neckline made me want to have it in my collection.

And after some creative machinations, I managed to cut everything out (although I did have to add an extra seam to one of the larger pattern pieces).  I have also discovered the joys of using a rotary cutter with knits, although I feel that I could use more practice with the technique.

The pattern itself is easy to put together.

And I even managed to use a bit of rayon seam binding with this knit project.  It just feel strange when I get through an entire garment without pulling out a spool of my favorite notion.

As with most knit fabric designs, these projects go together extremely quickly.

I didn't love the instructions regarding the finishing of the bodysuit closure, so I just went ahead and did my own thing.

And it worked.

The coverage on the back half of the bodysuit is slightly strange.  It's not full coverage - perhaps it's trying to be more of a "cheeky" style panty.  I would prefer an old school 1970s full coverage bodysuit style or a thong - the in between is giving the silhouette a bit of an identity crisis.

The one thing that I forgot about (probably because I never make anything like this) is that I need to add length to the midriff part of my torso as well as from waist to lower hip.  Well, I forgot to do that second alteration, and because my fabric choice has slightly less stretch than is suggested for the pattern, and the fact that I have a long torso, the bodysuit was just a bit too short.

After being grouchy about my mistake for a bit, I decided the easiest fix would be to add a small section of fabric to extend the length between the snaps.

Which, I am pleased to report, saved the garment.

Considering that this project was a test of the pattern, more than anything else, and that my fabric choice did not have the proper percentage of stretch, the end result turned out quite well.

I did have plans to make another version with a stretchy rayon knit at the time I finished the project, but one thing or another distracted me.  Now that I am going through these photos, I think I may have to revisit the idea.