And boy, what a happy Easter this dress makes!

Both the pattern and the fabric of this dress were special gifts from my partner.

It’s no secret that I simply adore kitschy fabric, and when I saw this Easter set from Spotlight, my eyes bugged out. It was impractical, overly cute, and I loved it. Kind of pricey though, so I left it behind, but my partner ran back to the store afterward to get a few metres of coordinating prints for me.

The dress pattern is something he got me quite a while ago as a random surprise present. He knew I was lemming it from my Etsy wishlist, but again, being the scrooge that I am, I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much on a single pattern. (It was a lot, but kind of justified, since it’s the only record of it I could find on the Internet, so it must be super-rare?). I am also a huge sucker for scallops. So this dress is very special to me, indeed.

I cheated with this pattern because I didn’t quite have the yardage for the drop-waist design, so I substituted the lower half with a simple gathered skirt.

That’s the pattern, in case anyone was curious. It’s not often I sew from true vintage patterns, despite my proclivities, so this was a real treat to put together. It was incredibly well-designed and made pattern-matching a breeze. It’s kind of a sweet substitute for Sewaholic’s Cambie Dress but with a freaking amazing back. The front of the envelope doesn’t show you that view but I think it’s absolutely gorgeous. Plus, unlike the Cambie Dress, this pattern enables me to use coordinating fabric for the sleeves/straps/shoulders/what(?).

Surprisingly, I didn’t have to adjust it much at all! I never considered myself a size 12 in vintage patterns, and my bust is definitely  not 30 inches (closer to 34 or 35 depending on how many cookies I have that day), but I imagine that vintage patterns have the same sort of sizing issues that modern patterns have now. It’s a good rule of thumb nowadays to just pretend that the bust measurement actually refers to your above bust measurement.

I lengthened the darts a little on this pattern because they fell short of an inch from my bust apex, but then again, most patterns tend to. I have a clover on my nipple now, ha. It was the best I could do with the pattern placement so I avoided decapitating any bunnies. I’m strangely fussy about print placement nowadays, I think that’s a sign I’m growing as a seamstress.

I will be making it again, but the next time I will actually stick to the pattern for the lower half. It would only be fair.

Another super fun addition to this dress was the ric rac around the bodice. I really felt it needed something to visually join the white shoulder straps to the mint of the dress. Maybe piping would have worked too, but I felt it needed something a little cutesy like ric rac.

I have to talk to you about these pockets though. I figured out a super easy way to insert an invisible zipper next to a pocket that doesn’t involve clipping anything and now I want to do it to every dress I make, especially since side zippers are a common theme in my dresses. (And single pockets. So many dresses with just one pocket due to laziness.) I am almost upset with myself for previously putting them off.

Would anyone be interested in a tutorial of how I do them?

What I wore:

Pattern: Advance 7079 (circa 1950)
Fabric: Studio E Bunny Tales (from Spotlight)
Heels: TaoBao
Belt: TaoBao
Brooch
: AliExpress

All in all, it was a fairly uneventful Easter. We drove up north three hours to Alex’s family for Good Friday to spend some time there for the holidays and then back down for Easter Sunday to spend time with mum and my side of the family. Predictably, we took these photos at the last minute and I’m embarrassed to admit how long it took us to get these shots. It was the afternoon, I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and there were dogs and children running around. There are too many photos of me cracking up at antics going on in the background, but thanks to my talented photographer, you’d never guess…

Whatever creed or religion you subscribe to, Happy Easter from me and Hugo! May you nab as much discounted Easter chocolate from the stores tomorrow as your hands can carry.

16 Comments

    • Demi

      Thank you so much! This pattern is definitely a keeper ;)

  1. Never heard about it before, but I found the idea really interesting to use the bust measuremt as above the bust measurement to choose the right size.
    I have several “American” patterns I’m afraid to use, because I quite unsure about the right size. I’m more used to the fit of burda.

    • Demi

      Happily, most modern patterns have the finished garment measurements written on the tissue pieces so it makes it a lot easier! Vintage patterns though.. it’s anyone’s guess, but above bust measurements are the best guess I’ve got :D

    • I usually work with old German sewing magazine and the fit is excellent.
      I usually only have to adjust the waist, but that’s not complicated.
      So I’m probably stick with them.

      But I have several modern patterns from butterick or vogue, but I don’t use them, because of the for me choosing size problem.
      I once made a jacket with kimono sleeves (the sleeves made it impossible to measure the pattern itself) from simplicity and the only finished garment measurements was the back length, absolutely not helpful. In the end I choose the smallest size instead of the suggested size 14. The jacket fits, but I don’t like it. ?

    • Demi

      Ah, I think you may be looking in the wrong place! There are very unhelpful finished garment measurements (usually height or hem width or something silly) on the back of the packet, but you have to seek out the bust, waist, and hip measurements on the actual tissue pieces themselves ? Life became so much simpler once I found those and they never steer me wrong! I’m grateful that the modern patterns have those!

    • Oh yes that could be really a game changer.
      I saw that there are measurements at the tissue, but just ignored it.
      Maybe I am going to be brave and try yo sew now one of the patterns.

    • Demi

      Do it! It really changed how I sew garments, now mostly everything comes together without a hitch, no sizing issues! ?

  2. Such a special pattern – you are right, I thought ‘cambie’ when I saw it from the front, but the back view is an extra treat. Works perfectly for this easter dress ;o)

    • Demi

      Thank you Colette! :D I do REALLY like the Cambie dress, but it just couldn’t hold a candle to this one. Plus, the darts are very cleverly constructed too, which makes me happy as a seamstress. Definitely glad to have it in my collection!

  3. Agreed. A tutorial on the zipper /pockets would be great! Gorgeous dress.

    • Demi

      Thanks so much! Glad to hear people so keen on the idea :D

  4. Megan Skuthorpe Reply

    Found you on imgur… Love your stuff! This dress is gorgeous and I’m in love with those sleeves/back… also yes would live a tutorial!!

    • Demi

      Thanks Megan! I’ll see what I can do :D

  5. Yes! I would love to see a tutorial on how you create those pockets! Pockets are a girl’s best friend :)

    • Demi

      Damn right they are! :D Thank you Thanh!

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