Hello to you all!
Its Rosy from @RosySewsModernVintage and I’m so happy to join the Lamazi bloggers team! I hope you are doing well and have managed to keep yourself occupied during these strange months of 2020!!
Today I want to talk about a vintage dress I made using this absolutely gorgeous bamboo lyocell twill in Grandeur Red! It’s one of the most luxuriously soft fabrics I’ve ever worked with and on top of that, the stunning scarlet red colour just speaks to me! I absolutely love red!
When I chose the fabric, I was planning to make a dress for an upcoming wedding, but even after that had been postponed due to the virus, I decided I would still make it. After all, it’s not like the wedding won’t be happening at some point! Plus, I quite enjoy taking an evening or two and getting all glammed up…just for the fun of it!! We attended a virtual quiz night the other day and my husband and I both got all dressed up; he even wore his bowtie!! We also did it for the first episode of the new series of Britain’s Got Talent!! Any excuse really! Haha!
Last year, Gertie Hirsch released her fourth book, this time entitled Gertie Sews Jiffy Dresses. The idea of these patterns is that they are very simple to make but still give a really pleasing vintage style outfit at the end! I chose the Chemise Dress. I love a straight skirt and this dress looked like it would be really easy to make.
I love to sew vintage style clothes, as I find the shapes and silhouettes to be very elegant and flattering. I enjoy looking at old photos of Hollywood actresses like Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn, so I can try to emulate their look in both clothes and hair styles. So Gerties book really appealed to me, as it means I can create some lovely vintage style outfits, even when I dont want to think about a complicated pattern.
I don’t know about you, but during the early days of lockdown, I couldn’t get my head around anything too complicated! The really great thing about Gerties book, is that she offers advice on how to do certain hacks to each pattern. Unlike my fellow blogger Sylvia (aka @theravelout) who recently blogged about her amazing hacked dress version of the Saraste Shirt in Lamazi polka dot viscose, I’m not very good at carrying out a pattern hack without very clear instructions! So, this was great for me! One of the hacks was to create a square neckline and add a button-down ¾ belt. Imagining it in this glorious red twill made me smile so much!
The really great thing about choosing this particular pattern, was that being straight, it didn’t take too much fabric. I managed to squeeze it out of just over 2m, as this twill is 150cm. I did lengthen the dress slightly, as I’m a little taller than average, but if I hadn’t done that, I could have gotten away with about 1.9m I think. When you want to work with a luxurious fabric, a dress like this is great, as it keeps costs down.
The construction was very straightforward. I got in a bit of a pickle with the facing for the square neckline, but eventually I got there! I paired it with a cute little picot cardigan (ready to wear) and an original 1950’s velvet skull cap that I picked up from eBay for an absolute bargain price! Plus, I wore a pair of short black gloves, also from eBay, bought years ago.
I’m so pleased with the final outfit. I feel so glamorous and yet comfortable at the same time; this fabric really lets your body breath. Perfect for the spring and summer. The bamboo twill was an absolute dream to sew with and I can’t wait to try some of the other colours! I am imagining some tapered trousers like the Pietra Pants or Marigold trousers and maybe a little bolero too!
Well, that’s all from me this time. I hope you have been inspired to try out some of this lovely fabric and sew a vintage garment! In the meantime, take care, happy sewing and see you all soon!
Wow! I am considering to buy the book, and I found your post while researching it. The colour and fit looks amazing on you, I hope you got the chance to use it! I am considering making the same dress in blue gingham cotton, and will be buying the book now :)
Rosy, you look absolutely stunning in this dress!!!! 😍 I hope the wedding is rescheduled, and you can wear this gorgeous outfit!!!!! ❤️
What a beautiful dress! Love this style so much xx