We have just one thrift store in our rural area, but it is such a good one and has such good prices. I regularly find all sorts of amazing vintage things there (not to mention children's clothing for 25 cents or less, for my two growing toddlers). I might go there several times without finding any nice fabric, but other times I get a fabric haul that makes up for it. Such was the case with 3 yards of this beautiful crinkled vintage fabric, which I got for $1 or less. (At the same time I found some pink vintage rayon with scattered tulips on it - destined for spring sewing!)
It is probably from the 1950s. I just love the large abstract roses on it, and the unique finish and nice drape. It's so hard to find good large print, vintage suitable fashion fabric these days. A knowledgable friend told me it is viscose, so I washed it in cold water, and it only wrinkled slightly.
I had plans for it. I even made up a trial dress of the 1950s pattern I had planned to use with it. But when I went to cut out this version, I realized that the very narrow width of this 3 yards meant there was no way I could fit all the pieces on it. I didn't want to add a contrast, or cut the sleeves from something else, so I had to scrap my original pattern idea, and pick something else.
I have all my patterns catalogued on my phone, so I don't have to dig through them all the time. I scrolled through, looking for something that had only a few pieces, and that would work well with the fabric. I settled on this 1930s pattern - which providentially enough, I had just made a few months earlier as a color block version - so it was a trial dress without knowing it!
The pattern pieces - there were only 7 of them - fit on it very well, and I even had a bit of extra fabric leftover. I substituted a sleeve from another 1930s pattern, to change things up a bit. It's fun to see how different the two dresses are made by fabric choice.
I made a self belt and used a lovely vintage shell buckle I had bought from a UK seller on Instagram.
The new hat I had gotten last time I went antiquing in Boise was the perfect match. It's so pretty! I love the delicate chenille-dotted net veil.
All my other accessories are vintage as well. I think this is the only set of pictures I got this year with the pretty yellow tree in my front yard, because just as it was turning gold we got a storm which took most of the leaves off, sad to say.
Despite the fabric being a later date than the pattern, I think it ended up a happy match. It's very simple, yet elegant. Here I paired it with brown, but other colors work as well - and it's a nice bridge between seasons. I am so pleased with being able to bring this lovely vintage fabric to life, and enjoyed wearing it to several autumn weddings.
My fall sewing has been nonexistent since I made this dress in early October. I had a bunch of deadlines keeping me busy, and then on top of that we found out we needed to move, and the prospective new house needed some renovations. So my days have been crammed - the only sewing I've been able to do has been snatching moments to work on the current quilt in my design lineup.
I do have a few other fall garments finished to the handwork stage, but this is the only one I've completed thus far.
But, for my one and only finished fall project, it's a good one!
What a beautiful dress / outfit. I have read through a good part of your top page of posts, lots of great posts! The train car pictures are wonderful. You have a lovely style!
Posted by: Karen | 12/30/2020 at 10:32 AM