Butterick 6094 | Patterns by Gertie

Hello! It's only been 7 months since I wrote a blog post! This dress was kind of special so I thought it warranted a whole post rather than just throwing a heap of pictures up on Facebook.

Butterick 6094 | Patterns by Gertie

This dress is really beautiful and easier to make than I thought it might be. I don't feel that it suits me very well, but I may try the pencil skirt version in the future and try adjusting the darts for a better fit around the bust.

The bust is rather squashy on me. The waist turned out too wide, so I came to the conclusion that it is better suited to a figure which has a smaller bust/waist ration than mine. I took the waist in by about an inch, but there wasn't much I could do about the bust. 

Even with a rather minimising bra, I feel a bit squashed. I may also try the other version with a slightly lower neckline.

Besides the fit issues, I love the style. It's very simple and the back detail makes it unique. I used a beautiful vintage floral fabric from Audrey Scarlett Vintage (Instagram link). The lining is Japanese silk. The back contrast is a cotton/silk blend.

The pattern includes a petticoat skirt which I left out. The dress is really summery and light (I used the lightest lining I had) and I didn't want to weigh it down or make it too hot with too many layers. I have a separate petticoat I can wear with it anyway if I want to fluff it out a bit.

 

 

I also left off the button detail on the back. Even with buttons that matched, it was too much with the print of the dress. I just put a small stitch on each side to stop it from flapping about.

Has anyone else made this dress? I had a lot of fun with it and would highly recommend giving it a go.

Movie 'college' dresses

I wasn't supposed to buy any new fabric, having accumulated a lifetime's supply in my sewing room, but I couldn't let this beautiful stuff pass by. 

It was called Movie College print but I'm pretty sure they meant collage.

I thought I'd make one dress but ended up having enough for two! How terrible! Not!

First dress.

 

I used this New Look pattern for both bodices. For the first dress, I used the bodice from view D. I just used a long rectangle for the skirt and gathered it onto the bodice. It's a really easy, cheaty way to make a skirt.

 

I love how the print sits across the bust. I actually didn't plan that.

Then I used this gorgeous pattern I found in an op-shop to make a jacket to wear with it. 

 

 

The pattern of the jacket is boxy and hip-length, so I cropped it at the waist, and added a couple of wide darts at the back to make it more fitted. I also lowered the neckline by a couple of inches.

Dress number two.

For this I used the bodice from view B. I can't remember where I got the pencil skirt pattern from but it's pretty basic anyway.

I made the skirt in brown, as black was too harsh. The black in the 'college' print is actually faded to brown, so the brown skirt works better.

Oh, this? I'm just practicing my over-the-shoulder-and-over-the-glasses gaze. You know.

xx

They don't make 'em like they used to...

Now, would you look at these silly pants? They are just so small, it's ridiculous. You would think, in 1969, that they knew how to design a flared pants pattern.

Clearly, I'm joking. These are ENORMOUS. I absolutely love them. The legs measure 118cm or 46 inches around the bottom.

 

Wish you could still buy patterns for 80c! The pattern is indeed from 1969. I have made these a couple of times already over the years. The blouse is nice but not really my style.

Standing flat-footed...

...and right up on my toes. Even with a 2 inch hem, these are loooong.

Like, stupid-long. They flap around when I walk and if I don't wear them with high enough heels/platforms I will trip over them.

They just have a folder-over waistband which is very simple, and a side-zip fastening. I would actually like them to be a little higher in the waist, and I want to make another pair in a very soft denim. This pair is made in a denim which is fairly stiff, so they stick out a bit.

Especially when you stand like this.

Or this (this was taken while I was attempting to pose for the first photo above. I have a lot of photos that don't usually make it to an actual blog post. I call them transitional-posing photos. I just like the weirdness of this one).

Wave your feet and your flares like you just don't care.

Not sure why I look a bit grumpy in these photos. Next time I will be all sunshine and rainbows.

A day with Miss Fisher's 1920's costumes

Yesterday, along with Jay and Mumsie, I visited the Rippon Lea estate to see the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries Costume Exhibition.

The exhibition features many of the beautiful and glorious costumes from the television series based on the books by Kerry Greenwood. I love, love, love the books and the series is, well, good enough I suppose! I'm the sort of person who likes books to be adapted into series and films with nothing altered. The series is light and silly and it's fun to see the characters come to life.

 First stop, tea and scones. And some photos, of course.

 

Dress - ASOS

Boots & tights - old

Cameo necklace - gift from Jay

Cameo ring - (old) Samantha Wills

Upon entering the mansion (a situation in which I find myself every day, darling) we were delighted to discover a rack of coats, capes and feather boas, accompanied by a bowlful of fascinators and headbands, available purely for the purpose of dressing up and getting into the swing of things.

 

 

How could we resist?

 

One of the actual costumes is shown behind us here.

   

    

As you can see, I was not enjoying myself at all. And is that an admirer in the background? 

One of my usuals, no doubt.

Time to get down to business and see the exhibition. Sadly, no other photography was permitted, so here are some of the costumes we saw, as shown in the souvenir booklet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If you are not able to visit the exhibit I can only highly recommend watching the series to see more of the costumes, as they are quite exquisite. 

The exhibition was spread out through several rooms, with headless bodies and large (fake) knives lying around in abundance. I'd never been to Rippon Lea before, and seeing the house was as much of a treat as seeing the costumes.

 After the exhibit we took a stroll around the gardens. We couldn't have picked a better day for it.

I was very excited by everything we saw. 

"A bridge! Someone take my photo with this bridge!"

"A tree! Someone take my photo with this tree! It's huge!"

"OMG! A seat! Wait! Wait! I need a photo with this seat!"

I ended up with almost 200 photos. I was a happy little black duck.