Hello all!
Following my adventures in fabric printing, I decided to have a go at watercolour painting on fabric, inspired by Katie Kortmans experiments! I also tied this project in with the ‘Sew Vintage September’ Challenge that’s currently happening on instagram.
I got myself onto eBay and had a search for vintage patterns with my bust size (30”). It seems that my bust measurement coincides with Simplicity age 10 years, which wasn’t great for the ego, but hey, if it’ll fit… The pattern itself is a 60s pattern, and was perfect as a base for my painting because there were only 2 main pattern pieces, with the sleeves grown on.
I cut out my pieces from an old white tablecloth before starting to paint and sewed up the center front and back seams so all of my stripes would match. I used the blue and green screenprinting inks that I used for my block printing partly because I like blue and green and partly because they were the only colours left. The good thing about watercolour painting is that it uses very little paint because it’s watered down so much. I filled an old cleaning spray bottle with water and spritzed my fabric, making sure that it was thoroughly damp before starting to paint. This was so the paint could soak and spread into the fabric nicely, helping with the watercolour look. Then I just had some fun!
I gave the fabric 24 hours to dry, ironed it to heat set the paint, and then I was good to sew! The dress came together super quickly. It was really nice to follow the vintage instructions and to see how they would go about construction. I did make the front neckline lower, just because it cut into my neck a little. I also took in the side seams a little, but ended up undoing that because I just needed to accept that a looser look was the 60s silhouette.I also shortened the sleeves and the hem a lot.
The zip is handpicked into the centre back seam, and all of the hems are herringboned. Next time I’d french seam the side seams because in the instructions they just have you clip into the underarm point, which feels pretty weak. I think a french seam around that curve would wear better. The french darts do fit my bust perfectly, so I’m happy with that. I might go back and take in the back darts slightly for a more figure hugging back.
I wasn’t convinced about this dress when I first put it together. It’s a looser silhouette than I’m used to, but the shorter length definitely helps! It’s especially good for hot weather. I think the shoulders on this version are a little wide so I’d bring them in a bit for another version.
Thank you so much for reading!
Lauren xx