Sunday, February 6, 2011

A Quick Vacation Sundress

Happy Superbowl Sunday!  I'm heading out to watch the game in a few hours, and I have a yellow cake with green frosting ready to go, but I woke up this morning really wanting to sew something.  I've had some yellow and light brown fabric with birds printed on it for a while and I think I was going use it for a kitchen curtain.  I looked at it again this morning and it spoke to me.  It said: "sundress".   I dug through my patterns and my closet for inspiration, and got to work.

This is my favorite summer sundress ever.  It's from the late 1950's and I bought it on eBay two years ago for $15.  I love everything about it, the shape, the print, the colors, the fit.  I wear it a lot.

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                                   At Bastille Days                                                                In Bryant Park on my Honeymoon
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In Jamaica with my sister

I ordered this New Look pattern, which is similar to my beloved sundress.  I made View D.
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I didn't take any photos of the construction, because it was pretty straight-forward.  Two darts for shaping in the back, princess seams on the front, and a gathered skirt.  The only change I made to the pattern was in the lining.  The directions said to baste the bodice and lining together, and sew them to the skirt as one.  I left the lining loose, folded it under 5/8", and hand-stitched it to conceal the waistline seam.  I think it turned out really nice.

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Doing it that way also allows you to conceal the zipper between the outer fabric and the lining, which looks cleaner than exposed zipper tape.

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I did the zipper and hem by hand.

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And here's my finished dress.

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All I need are some wooden sandals and a colorful pair of earrings, and I'm ready for the beach!

1 comment:

  1. So adorable! I can't believe how quickly you sew! It takes me forever to make a dress...

    ReplyDelete

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