Linen NRA dress, a daytime version's progress.

It's been a while since I did a progress report on this dress. Mainly because every time I tried to start on it I got side tracked. Yesterday I dedicated most of the afternoon to working on it with only a distraction of taking Georgia for walkies to pick up some dog food.

I managed to piece together the front and back gores of the skirt. I construct my dresses rather unconventionally. In order to have good line up of the sides, I always attach the back of the bodice to its skirt, and the front to its, and then match them by the waist seam and sew both sides of the dress in one swoop (well, two really). That way I get to work out any unevenness of the arm holes or drape of the skirt and not have to worry much about pulling from a seam that might be a bit slanted if I were to attach the skirt to a finished bodice.

This bodice, because of its one piece shawl collar was a bit of a hassle. I had to construct the shoulders of the bodice, and for a bit of stability, I sewed down the side seams about half way. I really hate having to re-sew an area, like I'll have to do with the sides once I make the entire dress. Its a lot of duplicate sewing, and that's a personal peeve of mine.

Generally when I sew, I try and mentally work out a process that will have me make the fewest construction stitches as I can. That does not always work, but its a fun mental exercise to do none the less.

I wish I would have been able to do that with the bound button holes.

They went as you would expect. I didn't mean that sarcastically. They were fairly uneventful. I did narrow a few of the stitches, but thats no big deal for the number of them I did on this bodice.

Once I cut them open and turned them right side in, I hand tacked the fabric to the back facing.

Then I marked the placement on the facing for the button holes, sewed machine button holes in that piece and matched it to the bodice.

I sandwiched the bodice, collar, and facings together and sewed in one pass, yeah! I then notched where it needed to be notched and flipped everything the right way in, or out, or a round. Whatever. Finally I hand tacked the sewn button hole piece to the back of the bound holes.

Ta-da!

After that I pinned the skirt to its respective partners and I'm waiting for daylight to sew it all up.

I really like the collar on this one.

I paid a bit more attention to the drape as it was on the pattern envelope and using my slopers for fit (yay slopers!) I did raise the bottom up just a bit after the fact because it was covering one of the button holes.

I love the way it hugs my upper bust. Mmmm.

Finishing up a few smaller parts of the dress, I managed to complete the cuffs as well. The pieced sleeves are a bit uneven compared to the cuffs, but thats not a big deal at all. I think Im going to cut that part down and pretty it up with some soft cotton lace before I turn it inside and tack it down.

Even found the perfect buttons to work with this dress.

They are late 50s, but they are the right size and color so big whoop. I do like the box, and the note on the bottom.

Working on this dress has made me think of some...not lost projects, but some I've put on the back burner these past weeks.

My black plaid skirt.

I stopped working on this one because I used a zipper that does not have a locking pull so it kept opening it every time I put it on and I don't want to take it out. I think I'll use a hook and eye as a stopper, but I don't think that will work right well.

My drafted cloche.

Stopped working on this one because it was too warm for a flipping hat. Oh how the seasons have changed.

My ticking girdle.

I stopped working on this one because Aunt Flow was visiting (FLOW!!!). Never make a girdle when she's in town. There is no quicker way to make you feel gross about your body than that. I decided to try it on yesterday just for kicks and when I was first working on it, it took me 20 years to get it all hooked up. I managed this time in a couple of minutes! So now I have new motivation to finish it.

I think I'm going to take this month to knock these projects out.

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