A couple of years ago I picked up this amazing 1960's / early 1970's maxi length skirt from a charity shop. It was a bargain at a mere £2.99! I was drawn to the gorgeous print with a combination of my favourite colours in it.
It has sat in my stash for quite some time patiently waiting for inspiration to strike. I knew I didn't want to wear it as a maxi skirt so took some time unpicking the seams. It had been lovingly hand-made by a skilled person many years ago. Check out the careful construction details; hand-basted waistband, hand-stitched hooks and eyes, finished seams:
After unpicking the skirt I had three pretty decent sized pieces of fabric. It was then I knew I wanted to make the Sew Over It shift dress that I bought from the Fashion and Textiles Museum shop sale for £7.
Here are some shots of the final dress. I lengthened the dress by about 6cm and did a slight grading between sizes from the bust to the hips.
There isn't a zip at the back which makes this a great beginners pattern. I sewed a hook and eye fastening, which after wearing for a day opened up a few times so I will most likely change to a button and loop when I get a chance.
I decided to line the dress with some stash fabric (leftover from my Sew Over It 1960's coat lining) so I could wear the dress more easily with tights. To do this I cut out the front and back pattern pieces, sewed the darts and left the opening at the back as per the outer shell. The dress pattern includes a front and back neck facing and as I had already sewed these to the dress before I decided to line the dress I just improvised the attachment of the lining by placing the neckline facing over the top of the lining and hand-stitching it to the facing. I am pretty happy with this method.
I hand-finished the back opening so the lining and facing were carefully stitched into position. I am really happy with the final dress. The 3/4 length sleeves are lovely and the overall fit is pretty good for me. I can see a few more of these in my wardrobe this year.
One thing I am currently working on with the small piece of remaining fabric is two lined patch pockets for the front of the dress. I will post about it when I have finished them.
Pattern: Sew Over It Ultimate Shift Dress on 50% off sale = £7
Fabric: 2 metres of 1960's cotton recycled from vintage skirt = £2.99
Lining: 1.5 metres of lining from Goldhawk Road from stash = free
Gutterman Thread: Red from stash = free
Hook and eye: from inherited grandma's stash = free
Total: £10
Check out lots of other cool blogs at #handmademonday organised by Julia of Sum of their Stories.
