A Stitching Odyssey: #VintagePledge Guest Blogger: SeamstressErin Designs

I've got a bonus #VPJuly post for you all today, to mark the end of our July Extravaganza! As well as a guest blog over on Kestrel Makes, the inspirational Erin of SeamstressErin Designs is sharing a cool 1970s number with a matching outfit for her beautiful baby girl! Erin is not only inspiring for taking part despite giving birth very recently, she's also got a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, has a growing range of sewing and knitting patterns and has given us a wonderful insight into the style of some of our favourite bloggers!



Here I am with my #VPJuly dress (and the little munchkin that has been keeping me from doing much of any sewing). When Marie asked me to take part, she mentioned that she liked that I often sewed vintage patterns but put a modern twist on them. Well, I guess I took that as a challenge to be true to a pattern as this a deviation from my norm since I used a 1970's dress pattern and 1970's fabric with (almost) no modifications!
 

I used Vintage Butterick 3068 that I bought on my honeymoon in New Zealand. I couldn't find a date for the pattern, but it's clearly from the 1970's (those collars are a dead giveaway!). It's described as "semi-fitted, slightly flared dress in mid-knee length has front zipper closing, shaped waistline seam, pointed collar, and sleeve variations." For an explanation of why I agonized over using this fabric and why I picked this pattern, pop on over to the post on my blog.
 

I did intend to sew the dress totally as written with its collar. However, once I got the collar sewn (immaculately, if I might add), I basted it on and thought that it threw the proportions off. The adorable floral bodice was drowned out by the giant collar. I think the collar might have worked had I not color-blocked the dress, so I may give the collar another shot if I sew the dress again without sewing the bodice and skirt from separate fabrics (I didn't have enough of the floral to sew the whole dress out of it and I thought an entirely denim dress more plain than I wanted. I considered a denim dress with collar and pocket cut out of the floral, but the floral is pretty thick and I was worried that it would make the collar too bulky. I also wanted to use as much of the floral as possible, so this is where I ended up!)
 

I'm super happy with the finished dress, most especially the bodice as the cheery floral is just so happy-making! I happened to have a zipper with an interesting pull in my stash in a yellow that coordinated, so I opted to use it, thinking that if I was going to insert a centered zipper, I might as well emphasize it. Normally I would swap centered zippers out for an invisible zipper, but again, I chose to make the dress (almost) as written.
 

I'm kind of obsessed with the pockets on this dress. I'd like them a bit more centered (they are set quite wide, but I bet that's how the pattern was graded into this "large" size 16) on future dresses, but it doesn't bug me enough to rip and re-sew the pockets on this dress. I think one of the most fun things about vintage patterns is the details, and the slanted shape of these pockets that echoes the slanted shape of the waist seam is no exception!
 

Thanks to Marie and Kerry for asking me to take part and for inadvertently encouraging me to sew a vintage dress without adding a modern twist!