Wednesday, June 25, 2014

A Classic Striped Shirtwaist Dress

Gollies. I am so touched by all the comments on my last post, and the #mybestrosieface pictures on Instagram had me grinning as wide as I can! Thank you, thank you, dear readers! I continue to be so grateful that blogging has giving me so many truly wonderful and kind sewing friends, and that we can meet on the internet daily to gab and giggle (and sometimes lament) over this craft we all love.

Today we return to business as usual - silly smiles and shirtwaist dresses. This pattern is my own design, one I drafted in my pattern making class and have been slowly tweaking. I call it The Hallettsville dress. 
I had such fun plotting how I could use the stripes to their best advantage. I chose horizontal on the bodice, vertical on the skirt and sleeves, and a bias-cut cuff at the sleeves. Then I did a touch of piping around the neckline and down the front to really make the shirtwaisty-ness stand out. There's an invisible zipper in the side, too, so I can easily get in and out. Although I think I might lower those darts just a touch looking at these close-up snaps.
The fabric is cotton sateen from Hart's Fabric, and it was an absolute dream to sew. Amazingly, I have never sewn with cotton sateen before, and boy have I been missing out. It's so soft that I hardly wanted to take the dress off to go to bed the first time I wore it! 
An instant favorite! There's just something about stripes that's so comforting, yet stylish. Don't you think? 

34 comments:

  1. it's gorgeous. so stylish! i love cotton sateen. it's so easy to sew and wear. a little bit of knit comfort with the sewing ease of a woven.

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  2. Sheesh, you knocked this one out of the ballpark! I love everything about it: the stripes, the simple neckline, the gathered skirt and the cute cuffs. Love this!

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    1. Thanks, Rox! It has all my favorite things, too!

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  3. My goodness! This is adorable. Your play with the direction and positioning of the stripes is really fun and adds a really cool visual element to the finished garment!

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    1. Thank you! I saw a lady at Pattern Review Weekend who did a striped cuff like this and just knew I had to try it, too.

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  4. This is the best, comfiest-looking dress ever! And you EXPERTLY lined up the stripes; I stand in awe! And I've never used cotton sateen either. I'll have to check it out!

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    1. Thanks, Emileigh! I've given myself lots of practice this year with matching pattern, but this is the first time I really nailed it on an invisible zipper! I was so happy!

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  5. So cute! I love the thin stripes!

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    1. Thanks, Paige! They are a nice size, aren't they? You can never be quite sure when you order online.

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  6. Very cute and perfect with the red shoes!

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    1. Thanks! I have a small red shoe collection... I swear they go with everything!

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  7. This is a fabulous dress. So cute!!

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  8. This is just so perfect! I love the different directions of the stripes & you've made me want to go out & get some cotton sateen to sew with!

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  9. What's strange is that I just purchased a navy/white cotton sateen which is going to be made into a shirtwaist dress! Great minds think alike! I'm also into stripes at the moment and just finished a striped top. Your dress is so lovely and perfectly sewn as usual. We are anxiously awaiting the Rosie Wednesday pattern line!

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    1. Great minds indeed! Maybe some day on the pattern line! I like drafting a lot, but I'm not sure I want to get into all the grading and figuring out how to do PDFs and such. But it's so fun to work on the patterns!

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  10. This is gorgeous. I haven't tried cotton sateen, but would love to get my paws on some. Also, your stripe matching in the bodice front is amazing! :)

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  11. You nailed it! I love the crisp, neat look and your playfulness with the stripes! Way to go!

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  12. Don't you just love when a pattern comes together. Your stripes match up perfectly. Excellent, looks great on you ; )

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    1. Thanks, Joe! I hadn't found your blog before; I'll start following you to see your sewing adventures!

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  13. I love how you say you did a 'touch of piping' like it was no big thing! This dress is beautiful! I love stripes so much, I usually wear them in knit tees (I know, I know, I need to try to sew my own Coco!), but I could really stand a striped dress or two in my closet. And I think if done right they can also pair with other prints. I especially love how you changed their orientation on the different parts of the dress. Lovely job!

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    1. Thanks, Tasha! I love the idea of pairing with other prints!! Wow, that could be a ton of fun.

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  14. Super stripe matching and delightfully directional in the palcement of the stripes too. Fabulous x

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    1. Thanks, Caroline! The other nice thing about changing up the direction of the stripes is less matching. :0)

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  15. Very cute! i love the stripes! xo

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  16. This dress is perfect and I want one!!

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    1. Thanks!! It had been in mind head for ages, so I'm glad I finally got a chance to sew it. Sewing with stripes is so fun.

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  17. I love your stripe play and your pop of piping! I didn't notice the bias cuff at first but it's a cool extra detail :-)

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    1. Thanks! I saw a similar detail on a dress worn by a fellow attendee at a PR Weekend. I had to give it a try!

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