Pondering the Blue Watercolor Dress: Vogue 8013
This shirtwaist dress has so much to recommend it for a summer dress. It is a 1950s sewing pattern which came one size too big which is very easy to fix. The raglan sleeves make it easy to sew as does the simple collar which is merely sandwiched between the front bodice and its attached facing. The short sleeves and the flared skirt make it more comfortable during the hot summer months by catching any passing breeze. This silhouette, a modified hour-glass, was very popular during the 1950s and is still easy to wear; the slightly shorter hemline--upper rather than lower calf--tells you is dates to the late 1950s.
Notice how the button front only goes part way down the skirt, only enough to allow you to get into it. This avoids the wearing problem of the skirt flapping open near the hemline, but it creates a design problem as the buttons stop abruptly in the middle of nowhere.
So I ended the button front at the waist and opted for a side snap placket instead. I also eliminated the pockets as when they are set in the side seam they are awkward to use. The first time I made this, I used a gingham fabric which made the most of its crispy cuffs. This time I had a softer kind of print, a blue floral blurred like a water color.
I still had several construction issues to ponder now as the original did not recommended interfacing anywhere, not the collar, not the attached front facing, not the sleeve cuffs. And the problem was compounded because the blue watercolor fabric, a cotton/linen/lycra blend has a definite crinkled texture in its natural state which disappeared when ironed.
So I did an experiment with 2 fusible interfacings: weft, which is usually used for tailoring, and a cotton/polyester. Neither seemed an improvement over a non-woven fusible from Pellon that I usually use. Interfacing the collar with the Pellon resulted in such wrinkles, that I redid the collar without any interfacing (I suspect silk organza might have been an option too). I did interface the front facing, which is cut in one with the front bodice because of the buttoned opening, and is barely visible.
You can see the pondering of buttons too. I decided that the darker color, #3, was best as they were the least obtrusive, but wanted a slightly larger size. I will show you the final results tomorrow.
