Multiples of Three

Last month I met up with Mari while she was in the Bay Area and she generously sent me home with this lovely cotton.  Thank you, Mari!  

My first thought was that this was a batik wax resist print.  Upon closer inspection, I found a few leftover threads that appear to have pinched and folded the fabric closed while it was dyed.  The pattern repeat is not exact or symmetrical which makes me think this was probably done by hand.  I suppose that makes this more of a tie dye?  I would love to hear if anyone knows exactly how this technique works!

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I was wearing this dress on my afternoon outing with Mari, but I could not get the idea of making another Butterick 5209 out of my mind whenever I looked at the yardage.  

There was not quite enough fabric to make this design, but I stubbornly went ahead with my original plan for it.

I ended up removing two inches of width in the skirt pieces and the back half of the bodice is lined in plain cotton voile because there was no way to squeeze it out of the fashion fabric.

The red dye bleeds a bit, so I am hopeful that the white cotton lining will turn a bit pink when I wash the garment.

This is my third version of the dress, and I still love it - in fact, the reason I wanted to make another is so that the others do not wear out too quickly!

I will be moving on from this pattern for a while, but I can imagine making another in the distant future because it is so easy and comfortable to wear.  Can you really ever have too many cotton day dresses!?!  My closet might disagree with me, but I say the answer is "no"!

Dress:  Made by me, Butterick 5209
Earrings:  Made by me

Shoes:  Banana Republic

Watercolor Impressions

Here is my latest Britex project!

My first idea for the beautiful floral fabric was nixed when I could not get my hands on a new Vogue pattern.  (My local JoAnn Fabrics has been especially bad about stocking patterns for the last year or so . . . ggrrrr.)  So I had to scramble a bit and come up with an alternative.

This Butterick vintage reproduction is one I have made up before.  I had enough cut yardage to work with, and the print worked with the style as well which made it an obvious choice. 

The fabric is quite sheer, almost gauze-like.  My first though was to make myself a slip as an extra layer.  

But I also wanted this to be an easy to wear summer dress, and some days I just do not want to wear another layer.  The obvious solution was to underline it with a lightweight cotton batiste.

I did make a couple of alterations from the first dress.

As with most patterns, I initially added ¾” to the torso length.  This turned out to be just a bit too much.  This time around, I only added ½” which might not seem like much of an alteration, but it really does make a difference.

This design has a side zipper.  The instructions only include a diagram of the zipper for the second view (a halter neck).  On the first dress, I went on my merry way, confident that I had constructed quite a few 1940s side zip dresses and stitched the upper inch of the left side seam closed before inserting my zipper.  Well, that dress requires a bit of squirming to get in and out of it.  This time around, I decided the sleeved version needed to open from the top edge to hip, just like the halter version.  And it worked like a charm!

I feel like a complete goof for not figuring that out the first time around . . . but now I know why I felt compelled to make myself another version . . . there was a lesson to be learned!

Dress:  Made by me, Butterick 5209

Earrings:  Gift

Shoes:  Banana Republic

[The fabric for this dress was received in exchange for my contributions as a Britex Guest Blogger.]

The Perfect Afternoon for a Mint Julep

Now that Fall is almost here, Summer weather has finally arrived in Marin County.  This means that I am pulling out all my summer dresses before the heat decides to disappear again!

This dress is yet another vintage reproduction from my closet.  I used Butterick 5209, a pattern originally printed in 1947. 

I was first attracted to the halter version, but decided that the cap sleeved look would be much more wearable.  And I am so glad I made the decision – the sleeves are one of my favorite parts of the garment.

The fabulous fabric is from Bella Notte.  The 44% silk/56% cotton blend floral jacquard is called Deluxe Marie in the colorway “ocean” and is one of my favorite fabrics.  It drapes beautifully and works perfectly with the style of the dress – crisp enough to keep the dress summery, but with enough drape due to the silk content to keep it from looking too stiff.

I was surprised by the amount of yardage required.  I assumed this was a wartime styled dress (silly me, since the pattern envelope clearly says 1947).  However, the dress requires almost 3.5 yards of 45" fabric – the designer must have been thrilled that wartime rationing was over – it is certainly not a “New Look” amount of fabric, but quite a bit more than I was expecting.  This may have to do with the fact that the bodice and midriff are lined with the fashion fabric.  I wonder if the original was lined –I have never come across a day dress pattern from the 1940s that was finished like this.  So if you think you may not have enough yardage, an easy fix would be to use a lining fabric instead of cutting double of the bodice and midriff pieces.

I substituted an invisible zipper, although if I was to make this up again, I would probably choose a lapped zipper with a hand picked seam.  I was fully converted to hand stitched zippers when I saw a few Balenciaga creations up close and personal at the de Young Museum in San Francisco earlier this year – if they are good enough for a couturier, they are good enough for me!  I also live for hand stitching, so any extra excuse works for me!

Dress: Butterick 5209

Earrings: Macy's

Shoes:  Banana Republic "Tina" in Ivory