Navy & Liberty Day Dress

I do love a good vintage pattern. And this 1970s Simplicity number was indeed a good pattern. Let's focus on some of the nice features - the top stitching, short kimono sleeves with band of contrast fabric, the cute rounded collar and the central pleat. I have to admit I hadn't even noticed the pleat and collar shape until I started cutting out the pattern but I was delighted. I love these little features that make the dress stand out.

I have at long last broken out some precious Liberty fabric which I have had in my stash for a couple of years. I only needed a little bit,and as the bulk of the fabric is intended for another garment, I decided to cut out that project in order first to be sure that cutting a few pieces for this dress wouldn't leave me short.

The navy fabric used I bought during the sewing meet up in Glasgow at the beginning of February. It is a navy cotton with a slight stretch. A nice fabric but it attracts and shows hairs and fluff like you wouldn't believe plus it loves to wrinkle. I wanted to make a classic, basic style dress but was concerned that the navy might look a bit uniform-like. I tackled this by using the Liberty for the sleeve bands and for the reverse of the belt. This way, the belt would show a pop of pattern if worn with the navy side out ir it could be worn pattern side out too.

And of course, there's the top stitching. I threw myself in 100% by using a bright contrasting colour and getting proper top stitching thread. The stitching is so obvious that any little wobbles stand out, and though I do have some, I can live with them. It really sets off the dress.

I didn't make much in terms of changes - added a little to the upper back and then curved in the side seams at the waist by a fair amount is it was previously pretty much sack-like. It would NEVER look like the unbelted illustration on the pattern envelope left as it was, but I was happy with the result of some shaping.