Retro mash-up dress …

Remember the fabric I dyed? Well, I really fancied making a fitted dress with it. I turned to my old favourite, Simplicity 2444 (I’m very predictable), but this time, I thought a change in shape might be nice so I made a dirndl skirt. Unfortunately it looked freaking awful, an 80s bridesmaid dress for a middle aged woman and my bottom looked like a massive flump, so that was hastily unpicked!

A quick root around my box of vintage sewing patterns and I decided this skirt from Style 2449 might look a bit better  …

Just a little tweaking was required. I didn’t line up the darts as well as maybe they could have been but as I intended to add some sort of belt, it didn’t matter too much (that’s what I keep telling myself anyway!).

The dress sort of evolved as I went along. Looking for some black bias tape in my cupboard I found the petersham ribbon that I’d removed from this skirt and it was perfect for my waistband. I used the tape instead of a facing on the neckline and then added it to the sleeves to to tie the whole look together.

I know I look creased creased up in these pictures, but it was after my day of sewing in the office!

So here it is, a simple little number but one that will get a lot of use I’m sure! There are a couple of things that I didn’t get quite right, the sleeves didn’t set in that well, I have some gathers where there shouldn’t be gathers and everything feels a bit tight at the shoulders. I would also have like to put in a lapped zip but there’s always next time.

Actually, if I’m being honest I think I’ve cut Simplicity 2444 a size too small for me. I am a little bigger than I used to be and I should probably go up a size for more ease, there’s a reason to trace patterns, damn it!

But all is not lost, at least the dress looks nice with my new shoes …