I'm still playing catchup with past projects. Here is one I made a little while ago - another long-hoarded 1950s pattern that finally sees the light of day!
I had originally hoped to make an entire dress out of the aqua sprig print from the lovely Faith Hope & Love line by Riley Blake Designs (the same line I got my Easter dress fabric from), but there wasn't enough of it. Instead of just switching to make a blouse with the limited yardage, I decided to combine two prints and make a dress.
My default would have been to use the lighter fabric for the blouse and the darker for the skirt, but I decided that to avoid being boring, I'd step out of my default and switch things around. And I love it! It looks just like a blouse and skirt, but you don't have to worry about the blouse getting untucked.
Plus this means both that the aqua is next to my face (a better color for me) and also I don't need to wear layers on the top. I wore two half slips since the skirt was so light, but that's quite doable for spring.
Originally I cut the bodice waist insert piece out of the skirt fabric, but once I tried it on, that did not look good at all. So I unpicked some seams and cut a new piece out of the aqua fabric. Much better!
This pattern has some lovely details, especially on the bodice and around the collar. The pattern showed a few buttons to close the front, but after I tried it on, I decided they were unnecessary. The way the front overlaps it stays shut well enough with a brooch - plus that mean I didn't have to make buttonholes, which was a win!
The skirt is still very elegant, without either the slender silhouette or the typical 1950s super full skirt that I sometimes find oppressive to wear. I like how the pleats look, but I don't like how they add a few pounds depending on the angle. Perhaps another time I will substitute a different skirt with the bodice pattern. We'll see.
I'm so glad I could finally find a perfect match for this pattern that has long been on my list to make, as well as using up two smaller pieces of fabric that were not enough on their own to make a dress. I think they end up looking better together than they would have separately anyway.
The bodice details are lovely, I really like the collar, very unusual. I agree with you about the skirt, maybe stitch the pleats down part way, hip level maybe? Lovely make very wearable. Thank you for your posts appreciate how much time it takes. Helps my mojo keep going seeing your creations. Best wishes Jo
Posted by: Johanne Kemp | 06/04/2021 at 02:05 AM