Last year I made 3 different pieces from this lovely, soft green wool (a vest, pencil skirt, and 1940's styled pants, all for school). I have had a little chunk left ever since, and I have been praying that it would be enough for a dress.
If you have been following me for a while, or you know me personally, you will know that I am a very big Dress Fan. I wear dresses as often as I possibly can, putting on layers when its cold so that I can keep wearing them during Canadian winters. It is always so nice to have a wool dress or two, since wool is one of the materials that I get the most wear out of. They are perfect for most seasons, even lots of our summer since it doesn't get especially hot in my area of the country
With a ton of creative placing, I was able to get a whole, 1950's styled dress out of what was left! If you had seen the tiny scraps left after I cut this out, I think you would be suitably impressed.
There are a few things that I had to very slightly alter just to be able to fit all of the pieces on the wool, but I didn't change the design at all. The skirt has 4 front pleats and two back darts, and the bodice is shaped with 6 front darts and 2 back ones. There is a side zipper and wide straps. The pattern is from this Vintage Vogue one from 1960. It is actually pretty similar to another pattern that I have, with a blocky blazer and blouse pattern to go with it. I am a huge fan of Vintage Vogue patterns, although they can have tricky instructions and aren't always great for beginners. I tend to completely ignore any and all instructions and do my own thing (which sometimes means that I do stupid things, but mostly works out).
This pattern is actually so ingenious (as I find most vintage patterns are), and it was a really simple make. The facing at the neckline is attached to the bodice piece, so all you have to do is fold it over and stitch together at the underarm. Unfortunately, I had to cut the facing out separately because I didn't have space, but I will have to make this pattern again so I can take advantage of the details. The straps are sewn separately and hand sewn on after, which made it easy to get them at the right length for me.
I made this in the size 10, and it fit me perfectly with only a few alterations. I didn't have to change the skirt at all, just take in a bit at the bust, which was easily done.
Lately I have been spending a lot of my blog post time on admiring pattern makers in the past. It is so enjoyable to see a really well made pattern, and I have gotten so much inspiration and learnt so much from these.
At the end of the day, I am very pleased with how this turned out and I think that I will get a lot of wear out of it. I have a feeling that I will make this pattern again, maybe with the matching jacket next time.
I am lucky to live in a place where we have so many different landscapes close by. We got the photos of this dress at Horseshoe Canyon, which is in the badlands and a reasonably close drive from where we live. It has beautiful, unique scenery and a trail that you can hike through. Since I wasn't quite dressed for it, we decided not to do the hike this time.
Thanks for reading!
~K