the sew weekly "collar me beautiful": leanne marshall to the rescue

The Facts:

Fabric: re-used fabric from this dress, plus cotton batiste for bodice
Pattern: Simplicity 1755
Year: 2012
Notions: zipper, petersham ribbon
Time to Complete: 1.5 hours
First Worn: august 23, 2012
Wear Again: yes
Challenge Theme:  “collared”

almost two years ago, i fell in love with this print and used it to make mccall 3928, a pattern i picked up at an antique show with my mom.  almost immediately after finishing, i realized it was a LOT of print and made the dress look much too frumpy, but because of the unusual bodice construction of M3929, re-using it would be complicated and possibly impossible.

since then, finding a way to make this dress wearable has been one of my sewing obsessions.  six months or so ago, i took the dress apart.  my original intention was to make another skirt from the burda handbook, because i love the layered look and the ability to use small bits of fabric in cool ways.

finally, though, i stumbled upon this new pattern from leanne marshall’s simplicity line.  it doesn’t read “leanne” to me, and i detest the raglan sleeve pattern illustration, but i was inspired by the great raglan/halter top and the ability to re-use both my collar and my skirt.

 

i’m really happy with my choice.  the bodice was well-drafted and easy to tweak using my sloper for a near-perfect fit.  because i already had the skirt and collar constructed, i concentrated on putting together the bodice cleanly and completely and was really satisfied with the results.

the light batiste ended up being (dare i say it?) a brilliant choice to break up the intensity and whimsy of the liberty print.  as had become my custom, i threw a crinoline under the skirt to really emphasize the excellent fullness.

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