Wednesday 30 March 2016

Vintage summer

Hello and happy Easter/Spring/something! It's been a while since I posted as I've been off enjoying some well deserved sunshine after a manic month or so of work. Today I have a very summery dress to show you. 


Last year I bought this 1976 Style pattern and used it to make a halter top as I didn't feel like a dress like this would be useful in the British climate, however when my lovely boyfriend booked us a holiday in Caribbean (!!!) I suddenly had an excuse for a dress like this.

The halter top didn't really get worn as the bodice was too loose and I was worried about potential flashing!  However at least making that version meant that I knew what alterations I needed to make for my holiday dress.  I shaved off a good 6cm around the bust, grading out to the pattern sizing at the waist. I also added some length to the bodice. 



On the same thrifting trip as I found the sheets for my Vintage Shirt Dress, I found this duvet cover for £2.99.  The second I saw it, I thought it would be great for a 'floating around in the sun' type dress.  Match made in heaven for my vintage halter dress, no? I lined it with some white cotton that I had in my stash.


Turns out this is the perfect floating around in the sun dress. However when I was actually in the sun I was having too much fun to get decent pictures so you're going to have to put up with shots of the dress modelled by my mannequin Rosie. 


Not only is this a sunny weather win, it's my first make for my vintage pattern pledge! I love the 70s and have quite a few 70s patterns that I want to make up. However, apparently they were very into the midi skirt in the 70s but I am not! I much prefer my skirts firmly above the knee or floor length, so I chopped a good 10cm off the bottom of this (although some of this excess length was caused by my lengthening the bodice). 



The pattern suggests a hook and eye closure for the halter but I wanted something a bit more secure and decorative and so used this cute button from my stash. Actually to be extra safe I'm going to add an extra hidden button to the halter as it did slip a little while wearing it.

Sunny selfie!

It's become quite hard to believe that this time last week I was floating around in the 30 degree sunshine.  The U.K. Weather is turning it in to a distant memory, which is problematic as my brain is firmly in the summer sewing camp so there may be some weather inappropriate wear in future posts!