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?
No comments:
Post a Comment