Tuesday 30 December 2014

My Christmas dress


This is my last vintage pledge make of 2014 and number 4 of the original 5 I pledged.

Fittingly, the pattern came from Marie at Stitch Odyssey as she added it to the vintage pattern pyramid before it came to me. I fell in love with the gorgeous asymmetric neckline as soon as I saw it and snapped it up as my pick from the parcel.

Why can't I flip this to landscape?  Grrr Blogger!


I bought this John Kaldor fabric from the sale at Sew Essential a while ago and had it earmarked for this dress as soon as I nabbed the pattern. It was marked as a french crepe. It washes fine and pressed reasonably well with a medium iron.  It's lovely to wear and barely creases.



The pattern was for a 40" bust and I thought I was going to have a bit of work to make it fit, but it was actually pretty good from the start. I lengthened the bodice and skirt by 2" each and lowered the bust darts by 1.5". Other than lowering the darts, the main adjustment was a square shoulder adjustment. I took it in at the sides once it was constructed which meant a bit of tinkering with skirt pleats to get them even. I'm never keen on that just above the elbow length of sleeve so I shortened by about 1.5" to make it easier to wear with a cardigan.

As usual I didn't quite think how the drape of the fabric would affect the neckline and the piece at the side. It meant this piece was a bit floppy and didn't quite sit properly. I fused an additional piece of interfacing to the facing and the bodice front which fixed the problem.

Closer shot of the neckline (with bonus derp-face)

I didn't add the bow at the neck in the end. I may make it and attach it with a pin - in my experience these details don't do well in the washing machine so making it removable seems sensible.

I used Hug Snug to make a waist stay and also machine sewed it around the skirt and sleeve hems before catch stitching by hand.  This was really time consuming on such a full skirt but it gives a lovely finish.

28 comments:

  1. Lovely fit, good job! Have a wonderful New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's so yummy. I like it without the bow, makes it less twee and more modern. I'm totally going to try and copy that neckline.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is really lovely Jo. Happy New Year to you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So very pretty! I really like the fabric and the neckline is so interesting! I think a bow would get lost in the print but the idea of a removable one sounds like a good option and would give you a chance to decide if you liked it.

    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Brooke. I love it without so may just leave it!

      Delete
  5. It's lovely! The fabric goes perfectly with the pattern. Have a great new year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Elaine! The fabric and pattern were meant to be! Happy new year to you too.

      Delete
  6. The colours are so pretty on you! What a lovely dress. I've done a similar thing in the past with a bow on a safety pin and that worked well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is lovely. The fabric is beautiful and perfect for the dress. I love the neckline detail, and think adding a removable bow would be perfect. I have a RTW top with a bow and it's a pain to iron - also gives me a humpback under cardigans!!! Anyway, your dress is pretty. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Helen. I can tell I will use the neckline detail on other makes in future as it's just a bit different!

      Delete
  8. This is gorgeous! What a great fit, and the fabric is lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Really pretty! What a hem though! I've never gone to that much effort, looks great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks nessa. I quite often handsew hems on plain or smooth fabrics. It gives such a good finish (and I love the look of the hem tape)

      Delete
  10. Great dress, do us big pics in 2015, I love your work and want to see them big!! Jo x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much jo! I will try bigger pics. Sometimes they overlap the sidebar so I need to experiment a bit!

      Delete
  11. Oh my! Gorgeous dress and fabric! Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  12. That fabric 💗💗💗 and the neckline detail is so glam.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks maeve. i am definitely going to make another version!

      Delete
  13. Beautiful dress! I adore the fabric (I have 2m of it in my stash waiting patiently for the right pattern) and it looks wonderful on you. Nice finish on the hem too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks claire - i hope you find the perfect pattern for yours as it';s really lovely stuff!

      Delete
  14. This is a lovely dress! The fabric is fantastic.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment - it's great to hear from you!