Magnified Dot Shift Dress

In the spirit of my obsession with 60s shift dresses I finished another one during the weekend.

Would you believe that it’s so hot where I live that this 60s mini dress is too hot to wear today?

I’ll have to wait till it cools down. Sydney weather in a small apartment means I can only wear singlets and shorts.

Fabric and pattern: I was doing some sewing with my niece some weeks ago and we were using Burda 7056 to make a shift dress, it was turning out so cute, I had to make one for myself. I cut a size 8.

This pattern has much looser relaxed fit than the previous shift I made.

The fabric used is one I was not too precious about because when I’m sewing a pattern I haven’t tried before I tend use the fabric that I’m not madly in love with.

I must have bought this fabric a couple of years ago from the clearance table when I worked at a fabric shop. I think its a stretch sateen, it has a nice weight to it. Looks like it could have been used for cushions or home decor, but I think its dress/fashion fabric because it has a light sheen too it and a little bit of stretch.

When I worked at the fabric shop I just bought meters and meters of a fabric if it was cute and very cheap ($5 or under). I am so glad I did because don’t think you can get much at that price anymore.

I get all my zippers from the remnant warehouse because you pay $1 per zip, rather than the $4-5 they usually cost. Isant that mad? longer zips (over 45cms)  in Australia are usually $5 each or more!

Changes made: Initially I changed the armholes (on the pattern and fabric, extending them) in order to make the dress bra-friendly, but it ruined the whole look, so I ended up cutting out the armholes the way they were intended to be.

I ended up shortening the hem considerably. With such a loose fit, I feel like it works better to make it shorter, but I shortened it so many times that I lost count of home much I shortened it by (I hemmed it twice which was rather annoying).

I also changed the neckline, I lowered it considerably because It was one of those necklines that was so high that the original cut was quite uncomfortable (which meant I also had to redraft the front facing BORING but essential).

While we are on the subject of facings: These facings are tedious! I almost think that its probably quicker to sew an entire lining than getting these facings to behave, but I guess I am getting better at them, good practice I suppose!

Thoughts on the project good/bad:

When I tried the completed project on for the first time I felt like it needed something, but now I think the opposite, best to keep everything (except makeup) minimal when wearing this dress. I like how streamlined it is!

My one issue is that the darts are a touch high on me, also whilst the back does not pucker at all, I wish I took some time to select how the print/dots would fall on the back

I was worried that the massive dots would look too clown-like, and perhaps they do look a bit clown-like, but I think its kind of cool. I do really love the mod look so I guess this fits the bill.

My hair is pinned back and I think that it suits the dress more. I have had a fringe/bangs for over 7 years but I am growing my fringe out, because I want to get a twiggy-esque haircut where the hair is longer at the front a super short at the back.

A hairdresser once told be that I would not be able to pull off very short hair, but I feel as if I should forget what he said and give it a try. What do you think?

I have been on such a sewing kick lately. Much more to come!