Mailorder 8111 a slightly different shirt dress

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been sewing and a new shirt dress to present.

The pattern is another mailorder pattern number 8111 and I am again unsure which pattern company this is. The design is a bit unusual and not something I have made before.

 

 

I wasn't too sure about the big front button flaps as these details often look quirky in the drawing but then not that great in real life.

I made the version in the big picture but forgot the belt loop.Oh well, the belt I ended up wearing with it would have covered it up anyways. It's not the perfect belt to go with it but it's the best I could find in my collection. It's vintage from the1970s.

I also shortened the hem by about 5". Not as much as I took off on this dress but I kind of like it that length.

 

 

 

 

The skirt is a four piece skirt again. I do like how they drape but I'm still not a fan of the center seam. I also could have done a better job pressing that seam, looking at this picture.

 

 

 

 

 

details: the "flappy bits" (that's the technical term for them, trust me) are a bit tricky to get right when you turn them out. Lots of very careful, very close clipping necessary.......

 

 

I love the pocket. I think I will stick some pockets like that on future sewing projects. Maybe on the skirt?

 

 

Thanks everyone, I hope you likey.

What do you think: Flappy button details yey or nay? Also what are they really called?

I think I need to make something that is not a shirt dress next.

 

 

 

New shirt dress Mailorder? pattern 4882

I indulged in some me-sewing again last week. When we last went to visit my in-laws I purchased some fabric in a local shop and wasn't quite sure what to actually make from it.

 

I had a selection of vintage shirt dress patterns to choose from and asked on twitter, and Instagram (@beatricewinter) as well as my personal Facebook which one to use.

 

The majority went for the top left pattern.

 

 

The envelope is missing. I believe it's a mail order pattern but I can't seem to be able to find it on Vintage Pattern Wiki or anywhere else. If anyone knows what pattern company it is and from what year, please let me know. I got the pattern a few years ago from Andrea who was so generous to send me a bunch of vintage patterns from her stash. Thanks again Andrea. This is the first time I have made this particular design.

 

 

And here it is. I decided to opt for the sleeves instead of the sleeveless version so I can wear it on bike rides without getting burned on my shoulders. This is a perfect dress for cycling  as it's a bit blousy and I won't get too hot in it. At first I wasn't too sure about the big collar but it has grown on me and now I rather like it. Maybe some pipeing along the yoke would be nice to show that detail off would be nice. Next time I would also cut the skirt differently to avoid the center front seam (not too keen on seams all the way down the front) and maybe make a full circle skirt. This four piece skirt also takes a lot of fabric due to the odd cutting layout. It hangs nicely though and the center front seam doesn't show too much. I also shortened the skirt by about 9". I need my skirts to hit just above the knee or slightly below. Any longer and they make my calves look even bigger than they are. Hello running muscles!!!

 

 

 

 

 

And because I like red and went for red buttons, I accessorised with more red today.

 

 

 

And then hubby and I spend the afternoon in Maidenhead, walking along the Thames

 

 

eating cake

 

 

and taking in some scenery and charity shop hunting but no pictures of that part, sorry.

 

 

 

I hope everyone else has had a nice Saturday. I'm off to bed now (at 9:30 pm on a Saturday night!!!) because I have to get up early to go and spectate at a Sprint triathlon tomorrow. I have never been to watch one live but I want to see what it's like, what to expect and so on so I'm not a complete idiot when I am doing mine in June. I hope I get to learn some tips.

Anyways, have a great weekend everyone.

 

Any suggestions what pattern from the selection above to try next?

New to the shop: Country rose print shirt dress

Just a little shop update. This is a 1950s shirt waist dress with contrasting collar detail, made in a rose print 100% pure cotton.  It's available in 5 colours. I hope you likey!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Without a petticoat underneath...

 

 

 

 

Which one is your favourite? I'm having a hard time to decide, I think I'll have to go with either red (no big surprise there) or the blue?

 

Available to order here

 

 

Sew For Victory! The design and pattern

Its time for an update on my Sew For Victory! project(s).

I have decided to make two dresses because I was so exited and I couldn't decide which one to go for and also I wanted to make (and then have) patterns for both styles.

Number one is a cotton shirt dress. Yes, a shirt dress, because I can not have too many and I just love that kind of dress.

I didn't have a pattern to make the dress so I had to come up with my own.

My design was inspired by elements from my inspiration dresses in this post here.

Ignore the dress on the left, that was just another idea I wont be working on for now.

I used an existing pattern I have and moved the darts to where I wanted them to be in the pattern. The original pattern has a bust dart and a waist dart so I eliminated the bust dart added darts to the shoulder and one more dart to the waist to keep the fit of the original pattern and create the new look that I was after.

So sorry about the blurry picture (original pattern above, traced and manipulated on the right and new pattern piece on the left)

I used a turquoise cotton for this first dress. I don't own a lot of dresses in solid colours so I thought it was about time to make a few.

The collar in the drawing is white but none of my scraps were the right shape and size to squeeze one out. Trying the whole nifty thrifty make do and mend-thing of the war time era, I decided to just make it in the same colour.

And then I had another major fail due to my pattern butchering and over excitement. I cut the front piece of the skirt to small. It wasn't wide enough to match up with the waistline of the bodice. Panic!!!!!!!

And then I thought, before I go and buy more fabric I get that make do and mend - mentality working again and find a solution. The solution was a quick and quite easy one and resulted in another design change from my drawing.

 Pockets!!!!

The day was saved, the dress and my wallet, too.

Sorry about the blurry pictures. They were all taken at night while I was working on the dress. I didn't check them on a bigger screen until today. Lesson learnt!

Oh and I'm sure someone will ask about this, the shirt bodice front I used to manipulate is Simplicity 5022, a (I am guessing) 1960s pattern.

How is everyone getting on with their projects?

Recent creations, 1960s Tartan Pinafore and Double Collar Blouse, Stripey Betty Draper Dress, Red and Black Bombshell Dress and a simple quickie for myself....

Just a little update on my recent creations. I even got to sew for myself again for once.

1960s inspired tartan pinafore and blouse with double Peter Pan collar. This one was a customer request/idea I realised for her.

 

The other Betty Draper dress in stripey cotton. I love how different and seaside-y it turned out..

it is available here

 

Just another version of this one

 

This one always reminds me slightly of my husbands female colleague's mess dress.

 

And finally one for myself again. I had this fabric forever and just really wanted to use it.

I used a commercial pattern for it. It is Simplicity 2215, from the Cynthia Rowley collection. It's super easy and super quick. It's meant to be a pinafore dress I think but I made it a little more fitted as a dress.