That '70s Dress

This is hot off the press - er - ironing board. I finally jumped on the (now OOP) Simplicity 3775 bandwagon (along with nearly everyone else who sews dresses). I'm not sure if I like it. Well, I do like the pattern and it fits really well, but I'm not certain about the print on my fabric.


This fabric marks my first online fabric purchase and my first eBay purchase. I purchased this lovely thin, heavy, drapey modal jersey from highendfabrics. This seller will not ship to Canada, but Vancouver is pretty close to the border and there is a company called Hagen's of Blaine (about two minutes across the border) that will receive packages for a small fee. Thankfully, I was able to coordinate picking up the fabric with visiting my friend who lives nearby, so I wasn't spending gas on fabric alone.

The fabric does seem to be of very good quality. It is not sheer, even though it is quite thin. I had hoped that the lighter portions of the print were white, but they are actually a very yellowy-beigey off-white. This was disappointing once I tried on my dress partway through construction, because I don't find warm off-white suits my colouring. It was the black and red portions of the print that really drew my eye. I am not normally drawn to prints next to my face. Now I get to find a way to make it work.

No gaps!

Usually I muslin new patterns - at least partially, but I was so eager, that I just dove in. I cut view F in size 10 (flattening the curves on the midriff panels out to the size 12 at the waist). Everything went pretty smoothly. I did pull the overlap a bit farther across to raise the neckline a tad, and I also stretched the neckband a bit more than prescribed to keep the neck from gaping. That seemed to work very well. I cut the shorter length skirt and still cut off five inches and hemmed it one inch more.


Because this fabric is so thin and because the colours of the print feel more like fall and winter, I wanted this dress to be warmer. I used a similarly thin white nylon/rayon/spandex blend jersey to underline the bodice (fronts and back) as well as the skirt. I left the sleeves one layer.

All in all, it is a comfortable cozy dress. I am having difficulty coming to terms with the all-over print. EEEEK! It just feels like it screams late '70s. At least the '70s are still "in" in the fashion world.

Pardon my wonky posture - we were in a bit of a rush this morning...

After I finished the dress, I scanned through all of the reviews (88 of them!) of this pattern in the gallery at Pattern Review. Guess what? Almost every single dress that I thought looked spectacular was made in a solid colour. LOL! There were two that were a print that I also liked, but one was a windowpane print and the other was tie-dyed fabric. Go figure. I guess next time I will make it in a solid colour. I will also shorten the midriff band by half an inch or so. I may make the round neckline and add more length to the sleeves, as well.

Comments

Anonymous said…
This is awesome!

I love it - slightly reminiscent of the 70's but with a total modern-edgy feel...

I think a chunky black necklace would off-set it perfectly - and I think I remember seeing some at Virgin Mary's...

Love it!

- robin
Sarah Juliusson said…
I say it's awesome - and thanks for pointing out that great pattern - will go get a copy for myself. thinking of trying it in a merino?
Karin said…
Great job! It fits well with no gaping and looks fantastic.
My love for prints is well-known so I'm probably not a credible source, but I really like it. I think it is fun and not overwhelming.
doris sander said…
i love the idea of a chunky black necklace and also black boots. so mod! the cut of the dress suits you wonderfully.
Sarah said…
This dress looks wonderful on you!

Popular Posts