As I mentioned in my last post, I had a second dress started before the end of the dressmaking retreat I attended in Beacon, NY last month. With my first dress successfully finished, I decided to pick up Gretchen’s new Night and Day dress pattern (conveniently stocked in the shop we were in!) and give it a try. I actually hadn’t originally planned to purchase the pattern, because it’s similar enough to some vintage patterns that I own, but now that I have it I’ve been putting it to good use!
I got to make a muslin while I was still in class and get fitting notes from Gretchen before I cut into my fabric, which was good because again we made quite a few subtle tweaks to get a better-fitted bodice.
The fabric is another I picked up at Beetle and Fred while I was there for the retreat — the locks and keys keys reminded me a bit of the Haunted Mansion, and I thought the directional “stripe” to the fabric would make it a good choice for showcasing the square collar on the Night and Day dress.
I think we ended up adjusting the bodice ever-so-slightly too short, so I made a matching belt to hide that tiny imperfection.
I made an attempt at doing my hem with horsehair, which… well, I’m not sure that I’m entirely pleased with how it turned out, but with a petticoat, I think it gives it some fun flounce. Of course, it’s hard to tell exactly how the skirt lays in these pictures since I’m fighting the kale and the zinnias in my garden for room.
Since the peachy-orange color in the print was so close to the peachy-orange color of this hat I have, I decided to cut out a quick strip of bias tape and baste it to the hat so that I could wear the two together. The hat actually is trimmed with a green ribbon, and I just wasn’t sure how to bring all the colors together. The matching bias binding is a little TOO matchy-matchy, but it looks good I think!
You can see my horsehair braid qualms a little better here — I feel like the deep hem with the cheap polyester horsehair braid has a slightly odd look, but I like the dress well enough as-is and hemming is a pain so I probably won’t change it.
Curious dusty peach colored 1940s hat: Purchased from Solanah
Blue key novelty print dress: Made by me. Night and Day dress with no sleeves, square neckline with collar, and three-quarter circle skirt.
Black 40s style pumps: Royal Vintage Shoes “Marilyn”
(these shoes were purchased at a discount in exchange for a review)