Tuesday 14 October 2014

Twins & The Marrakesh Dress

Well I'm really playing catch up here.  I made this dress back in July after spending a session with Elspeth and another local dressmaking teacher learning to re-size vintage patterns.  


The pattern I chose was an old vintage simplicity shift but it would have been teeny tiny if I had used it as is.  We very simply sliced out the middle of the front piece and added quite a few inches and then re-sized the back too.  It's designed to have sleeves but we omitted those so the straps are quite wide but I like the fit.


Believe it or not this is an old curtain, but on trying the garment on I fell instantly in love. It fits well, is fun and colourful and I have worn it loads since I made it.



Elspeth and I made the dress together as a toile as we are the same size so when I fell in love with it, there was a slight problem.  Nothing the rest of the curtain wouldn't fix though, we simply made another one and now we both have one to wear!



I decided to have another go using something a little fancy that I have had in my stash for a few years.  This is vintage curtain fabric and is called Marrakesh.  It's a beautiful screen printed fabric and reminds me of a peacock.


This time I chose some lovely purple cotton and made a 1/2 full bodice lining for added wow factor.  You get just the tiniest sneek peek of lining under the arms as the holes are wide so it's nice to use a contrast or luxury matching fabric.


Although I wear this dress a lot and always gets lots of comments from people, I though it was just perfect for a 60's fancy dress party I had been invited too.  Of course it would just be rude not to make a mini version and matching headbands for Little Miss Mack to wear too!


 I love a good shift dress and this is definitely my go to pattern for a super comfy every day dress. What's your favourite shift dress pattern?


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