Sewing Vintage 1960's

After being in a creative slump for nearly a year, I think I'm getting my mojo back! Hooray! I started cleaning/de-stashing my sewing room this weekend and dug up this cute little sewing pattern from the 1960's. It's Butterick 9911.

T. "needs" another Sunday dress, so there was my excuse:) I used the Cream Polka Dot from Riley Blake's Daydream collection. It's really a lovely Butter Yellow. Perfect for Easter.


I liked this pattern a lot. The midriff was something I've never done before & it was fun learning a new technique. I got too impatient to photograph the midriff assembly, but here are a few photos from construction.

I chose to sew View B, which has the lovely Bateau or Boat Neckline. Normally I do a lot of top-stitching in order to give my finished garments a clean, crisp edge, but I didn't think it would look just right with this dress, so I opted to understitch the neckline.


This basically means you are stitching the facing and seam allowance together. Very clear, I know. Check out Collette for a great little tutorial on understitching. The top will look like this...


This dress came together in an afternoon and little T. loves it! She wants to wear it 24/7. I like it, but I'm not sure if I LOVE it. The midriff is the part I'm unsure about. Maybe I should have kept it all one fabric. Maybe I should have left out the hanging sash. Not sure.

Also, one thing you learn with these vintage patterns is that the pictures always show VERY poofy skirts, when in fact the finished products are a much toned-down version of the artists interpretation.