Urban Simplicity: Baby Got Quilt Back: The Backstory

Friday, May 29, 2015

Baby Got Quilt Back: The Backstory

One of the things I love about vintage clothing, fabric and sewing notions is that often there is an interesting backstory to it. I even find mundane backstories interesting because it is part of the history of the thing, something that I can take around with me during the day. The historian in me loves it.

I found this 4 yard length of fabric on etsy from a seller I've bought from previously. It is a nice cotton percale or possibly lawn from the 1940s, and was unevenly faded, plus had some hand stitching remnants up the selvages and bits of blue yarn threaded through a few of the blue leaves. I was quite perplexed, as the ends of the fabric were raw, and there was also a French seam running directly up the middle of the length, around the 2 yard mark. The seller thought it had perhaps been part of a pieced quilt backing, hence the yarn bits.

The fading was a little challenging to cut around, but I decided that the least faded part would work for the front, and then I'd cut the back from least to most faded, started with the back bodice. It actually worked out pretty well, as I cut the pockets last, and they are the most faded, but it doesn't show much. The print is busy enough that the variation doesn't show much.

I cut the dress almost exactly the same way as my Fa So La dress, as I really like the fit of it. I cut the skirt as two rectangles and then pleated them at the dart points on the front and back to match the width of the bodice.

It has a loose fit around the middle, so if I bell out during the day, it still looks okay. I decided to make a tied sash instead of a belt, and used some vintage pink buttons from the stash since the color match was so nice. I had a bright pink 9" zip that I installed on the side for a little extra pop of color.

It is a little longer than I usually cut, but I think that is okay, actually.

I'm totally happy with how this dress came out, and as it is a swamp out there today, it is the perfect thing for the weather--light and airy, and breezy. Construction was a breeze, as I finished all the edges with bias on the machine, and the sash was just a tube turned right side out and finished on the middle edge. Easy-peasy.

This style feels good for summer. I'm nearing the end of my summer sewing pile, and my plan for the rest of the season is to work on slopers. I'd like to figure out why I get terrible drag lines with a v-neck on this bodice sloper, but not with any other neckline shape. My mom has promised to teach me how to do a lapped zipper when I visit her this summer, and I'm hoping to experiment with some other pattern drafting type things.

I'd like to get a well-fitted raglan sleeve bodice sloper, as well as a well-fitted set-in sleeve bodice sloper. I've got a few patterns I'd like to muslin up, and I think having the freedom (and muslin fabric) to do so will be a good heat-wave type activity as the pressure is off for a wearable finished garment.

In the meantime, these will do. I'm finishing up a seersucker dress from a vintage NOS fabric length, and have some Thoughts About Seersucker and Other Sartorial Matters to share soon.