CHARLES PARSONS NZ LTD Exclusive Design was spied printed on the selvedge. "How often do you see this, these days" expressed my collegue browsing through Moreland Fabrics. The more I thought about it, the more I needed some. Although a little pricey, the 1970's hippy paisley/floral colours and design were right up my alley, plus it's pure cotton lawn to boot.
Pattern Style 4917 is vaguely reminiscent of dresses my older sisters wore when I was a toddler. Unfortunately, the previous owner of this op shop pattern hadn't treat it with a whole lot of love. It had been cut, shortened and stuck back together with masking tape. Over the years the tape deteriorated and was now stuck to every piece of pattern in contact with it. There was no way to prise it apart without ripping.
Using view 2, I made two small changes, reducing fullness at the hem by about 10cm (4 inches) and folded out the front shoulder gathers.
As the seasons abruptly switched from summer to winter this year, I'm yet to wear this dress, although I really like it. However, I'm heading to the Sunshine Coast next month so - soon!
4 comments:
What a groovy dress - straight out of the 70s but fits in today as well. It makes me sad when vintage patterns haven't been treated well.
Cute! To be fair about the pattern, the original owner probably didn't expect anyone to be trying to sew with it 40 years on. I certainly hacked into my tissue patterns when I was a teenager. I think they were relatively cheaper in the 70s as more people sewed (though Vogue have always been expensive). Love how this came out!
Yes, have to confess to hacking up my fair share of patterns over the years, and most likely taping them back together. Generally, tape loses its stick and falls off with age. Paid $1 for the pattern, so not a biggie financially, just time-consuming pulling it apart and annoying when it ripped more. Dress turned out great though!
Thanks Siobhan, I'm looking forward to some warmer weather to wear it! And I must confess to hacking up my fair share of patterns over the years. Treat them with much more respect, these days.
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