Sweetheart Red Dress

Another week, another Sew Weekly challenge! This time around the challenge was Rule Britannia – to make something based on the colours of the Union Jack.

I pulled out a whole bunch of red, white and blue fabric from my collection. Turns out I have quite a lot! The one that really grabbed me for this weeks’ challenge was a length of red cotton drill – a good trans-seasonal weight, great for wearing as a plain dress in summer or with tights and a cardigan and coat in winter. Since we’re nearly in winter here, it seemed like a good fabric for this week.

The Facts

Fabric: Approx 2 metres of cotton drill from my stash ~$12
Pattern: Vogue 6082
Year: c. 1947
Notions: 50cm invisible zip, $6, and a vintage hook and eye
Time to complete: 3 hours. (Yes, this dress only took three hours! Including half an hour fabric cutting!!)
First worn: For lunch with Steve’s parents, then to a baby shower for my friend Sara
Wear again? Yes, I love it!
Will I make this pattern again? Definitely. I can see this becoming one of my go-to patterns. I may try making it up with little cap sleeves next.

Total cost: ~$18

Vogue 6082 was one of the patterns I got in my last stash off TradeMe. I wasn’t 100% sure about it before I made it up – it’s got a dropped waist, and that makes me a bit nervous about things fitting me! But it was all good – the pattern came together like a dream – only 3 hours, including fabric cutting time! Amazing! I think it’s now down as one of my favourite ever patterns. 🙂 I did my usual alteration to it and moved the fastening from the side to the centre back so I don’t get stuck trying to get in and out of the dress.

And now, to borrow a format from Mena’s 7 in 7 Challenge posts….

Things I’d do differently next time

I’d interface the armholes. Strangely, the pattern didn’t call for interfacing them here, but I don’t like how they’ve turned out, so I’m considering unpicking them and cutting some interfacing for them. Next time I’ll interface them right from the start.
The armholes are a little bit too tight – next time, I’d drop the base of them down by about 1 cm for a little bit more room.
I think the shoulders sit just a fraction too wide and make the neckline gape open just a bit too much when I lean forwards (eek! Something to be careful of in the office!) – next time I’ll figure out a way to take about 1 – 1.5 cm from the centre of the top of the bodice. (The middle and lower bodice fit fantastically, though, so no need for alterations there.)
I’ll remember to do a small bust adjustment, since I completely forgot until I’d cut out the fabric. Oops!

Things I loved about this pattern

It only took three hours to make up! Amazing!!
The fit is fantastic and it’s very comfy to wear
The sweetheart neckline and the ‘v’ details in the front and back of the dropped waistline are gorgeously sweet and make me smile lots
I can see the potential for a few variations on this pattern. I’m going to try making it with capped sleeves, and maybe even long sleeves at some point. I think I’ll play around with a few variations on the neckline as well. Which will make for a very versatile pattern, really. 🙂

This dress makes me smile. It’s a lovely bright shade of red, and I love the way it fits. It’s good with or without a belt – I wore it with a vintage navy blue belt I found in an op shop for the photos, to add a bit of blue to the Rule Britannia challenge. I was wearing it around today with a white cardigan (also an op shop find) as well – adding a bit of white to the challenge, and also coz it goes well with this dress.

Steve and I went for lunch with his parent’s today, and then he dropped me off at my friend Sara’s place for her baby shower afterwards. We found this little park on the way – just a few swings and see-saws, lots of lush grass, and native bush nearby. Gorgeous! The sun was super-bright off the grass as we’ve had a bit of rain – when I was wearing my white cardigan, you can see it glowing! It made for very colourful photos. Colour makes me happy. 🙂