Tuesday, April 6, 2010

New Project - Vintage Gown

I'm going to make a declaration. 2010 is starting out to be: The Year I Got My Favorite Vintage Patterns Out of My System. All of us vintage addicts have at least one or two or 20 patterns that we have to get out of our system, right? My recently finished red wool dress was one of them.

My new project is also one of them. However like a lot of these drop-dead gorgeous, vintage concoctions, it's not something you'd wear every day... or even once a year. It's a 50's formal gown in all of its opulent glory.

The good news is, I actually have occasion to wear a couple of formals this year. In the autumn, we are going on a cruise with two formal nights! Some people pooh-pooh formal evenings on cruise ships as being outdated or a chore. But oh no, not I. Not ever! It's an OPPORTUNITY to dress to the hilt and relish in the glamor of it all. There are so few occasions in which to dress formally that I will do my part to keep it alive.

So I'm going to make McCall's 3101 - in the full length version.
It's going to be in dupioni silk; I have about 10 or 12 in my stash, most with enough yardage, although I'm not quite sure which one I'll use. The one I'm currently favoring is embroidered, which means a nap layout....which means after it's all lined up to match the pattern, there may not be enough. I just pressed the pattern pieces and now have to lay them out to see if it will work. If not, I'll use a solid.

A little bit of this particular pattern's history: Original Owner only used the bodice pieces. All of the skirt pieces remain uncut. The poor bodice pieces were sliced in half, probably to lengthen, then taped back together with that horrible, old fashioned Scotch Tape which is now yellowed and brittle. I'll need to take great care with these pieces. They are fragile, but thankfully, still 100% there. I'll copy these and save with the pattern.

In the meantime, this is one of those projects that will be an adventure. It will turn out either: a) amazingly amazing, or b) an utter disaster that ends up a wadder. Feel free to take bets and stay tuned!

9 comments:

Debi said...

Oh! What an AMAZING pattern! I am so excited you are doing this! I might also be tackling a formal dress pattern later this month as well for a fancy dress ball.

Karin (the mrs) said...

Oh wow, that gown looks gorgeous. I can't wait to see your version, exciting!

Sarah @ ColorKitten said...

Stunning! I can't wait to see how this one turns out.

Suzanne said...

I dressed up on our formal nights on our last cruise...love to dress up. Looking forward to seeing the photos.

Trudy said...

I'm betting my money on amazingly amazing.

Pattern Junkie said...

Ooh! Can't wait to hear about the progress on this one. What a gorgeous pattern!

Jenni said...

Oooooh, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I am betting most definitely on it coming out super fabulous. I can't wait to see all the details of this one.

Annette said...

I can't wait to see this dress completed. Love the pattern.
Annette

Chantelle said...

I'm so in love with this pattern... I think it'll look gorgeous on you. I can't wait to see the final dress!