Although this isn't a vintage pattern, I felt that the Lonsdale Dress from Sewaholic Patterns has such a retro vibe.
I'm pretty sure that
Tasia made this pattern just for me. Pretty sure. I mean I could be wrong, but just look at it - I think "perfect" would be the word. Yeah, that's it. "Perfect."
This is quite possibly the most flattering dress I have ever made. In fact, I received several compliments the first time I wore it - which was just to run errands last week. I kept getting, "I love your dress" all day long. I felt kind of like a movie star in the dress, getting all these looks from everyone. It was very fun.
If you don't know, this is the Lonsdale Dress from Sewaholic Patterns. I had a little dare game going on over on my
Facebook page a bit ago and I actually did finish this dress in a weekend (after the ultimate triple dog dare from the pattern drafter herself!), starting only on a Thursday. The instructions are top notch and the pattern is drafted perfectly, meaning that all the notches and such line up with each other. The sort of funny thing for me is that this pattern looks harder than it really is and in fact this pattern was easy peasy. I loved it! If you even considered sewing this up for yourself - DO IT and do it NOW! Yay!
The Specifics
I know you're all wondering about the fabric - isn't it just darling? It's a polka dot linen from
Yellow Bird Fabrics. You obviously can not go wrong with Yellow Bird, am I right or am I right? If you live in northern Utah, make a trip out there if you're into garment sewing (even if you're not, you'll love all the fabrics there) because this small nook carries only the most gorgeous apparel fabrics. It's the stuff of dreams, Loves. No joke. Ok, ok, moving on.
I made a few alterations to the pattern itself, just for the fun of it. What's a bag of tricks if you never use em right? I shirred the back panels of the bodice (using
Gertie's instructions). Doing this prevented me from self facing the back panels, so only the front are faced/lined. No biggie. I'm also not exactly the type that can run around without a bra. I'm a just a tad too busty for it (unless I'm in a darkish billowy dress) so I did a little bust padding in the front. A little couture done light, if you will. I made my own bust pads, following
Tasia's tutorial and just tacked those puppies into a muslin underlining I had created to go on the inside of the front panel pieces. I'm pretty satisfied with the look of those and even more satisfied that no, indeed I do not have to wear a bra. That kind of freedom can't be bought.
The front panels are lined twice (the muslin with the bust padding) and also with a white linen. Since I did the shirring, I found too, that the section right to the sides of the bust gaped a little. I added a little elastic there to nip it in so that there was no peeking down and into my bust area. All in all the bodice was the most difficult and only because I made it that way.
The skirt section is lined in a cheapy silk I had on hand. The polka dot linen was a little on the see through side for the skirt, but putting in a lining could not have been easier. I decided early on that I wanted to try out my rolled hem on my serger for the lining. This being a "Summer of Love" dress, I wanted everything to be easy - no pun intended, of course. After doing the lining with my serger's rolled hem, I just threw caution to the wind and decided to do the hem of the outer dress as well in the same fashion. Is that cheating? Because if its not, it certainly felt like it. Still, I love the way it looks. It has a great summery, no fuss feeling, which ultimately was what I was going for.
I think the only thing that I could have benefited from was a waistline stay. Since I planned to always wear a belt with this dress, I didn't do one, but will definitely consider it for a future round. Mr. S, again had his doubts about my fabric choice. Sigh...But I do believe this is the most smitten he's ever been with one of my garments. Ha. Yeah, he
loves this dress. Who knew?
Seriously, if you haven't, buy Tasia's pattern! You can find it here at
A Fashionable Stitch Shop or on the
Sewaholic's website. Looks super cute with a belt too. What do you think friends? Totally jealous? Need one of your own? Of course you do, in every color too. Hop on over to my
blog for more on me and how I do what I do.
Have a lovely, summery day!
xoxo,
Sunni