Sailing into Summer

Updated: Jul 5, 2021

This isn't a style or pattern I'm normally drawn to, but I thought it would be fun to participate in the weekend sew-along hosted by Marika of Enchanted Rose Costumes. I should have known I wouldn't finish the dress in a weekend. I don't think I've ever finished a sewing project in a single weekend! But it was nice to feel like I was sewing with a group - albeit a remote one - for the duration.

All I actually finished in the two days of the sew-along was altering the bodice to fit the way I wanted. It took 3 or 4 (depending on how you count) toiles to get it right. I've never altered this style of bodice before and along with a not-so-standard FBA, I raised the neckline significantly. The trick here is to make sure the fullness of the gathers is in the right place and that the empire-style waist seam sits where you want. Also, you want the diagonal neckline to sit as flush as possible against the skin, so it isn't flashing additional cleavage every time you move.

For the main fabric, I used a navy and white striped silk/cotton from Mood Fabrics. The white stripes were transparent, so I underlined the bodice pieces with some leftover white silk/cotton voile (from Emma One Sock). I used a stiff silk/cotton faille (from Renaissance Fabrics) for interfacing instead of the iron-in stuff the pattern recommended and a navy linen/silk (also from Mood) for the skirt lining.

Before I cut anything out, I spent time thinking about how I wanted to use the stripes. In the end, I cut the back yoke and the midriff sections on the bias and everything else so the stripes would run vertically. Unfortunately, I misread the pattern pieces and partway through putting together the skirt realized I needed to cut two more panels. By that point, I only had enough fabric to cut them with the stripes running horizontally. I think it ended up adding some visual interest to the front, though, so it was a happy accident.

The whole thing came together slowly with lots of silly mistakes along the way. After having to cut the additional skirt panels, I kept running into other small issues. I sewed things backwards and didn't realize it for several more steps, I ran out of bobbin thread partway through sewing the gathering on the skirt (and so had to pick it all out and start over), I screwed up the buttonhole spacing (so I had to put in a hook & eye), the list goes on...

I don't know if I lost my motivation because of this project or if this project suffered because I didn't have a lot of motivation, but it definitely should not have taken a month to finish this dress.

As the dress started to come together, I pulled out these bright red vintage gumdrop buttons to audition them. I bought them a while ago from AddVintage on a whim and I'm glad I found the right project for them. Red, navy, and white is such a classic color combination.