1950's - The walk away dress

This is one of those dresses I saw on the internet made by enchanted rose costumes on youtube and instantly had the urge to make that dress too. I wanted something for the summer that was nice but yet easy and comfortable and still looks amazing.

I think this dress did that and I can't wait to make another one of those! I learned a lot during the process and for one it the fit and how to make it better. I for one have small torso so I had to do some readjustment and the sides of the dress still peek through underneath my skirt so I think for the next time I will make some more changes and perhaps remake it to my liking in full.

However, I still like how this dress comes together and I love to wear it on a hot summer's day, straw hat on and a drink in hand.

When I bought the fabric I wanted it to be something from a second-hand store, the amount of fabric they have there are suitable for clothes so I went over there and found this precious jewel.

It was an old curtain someone didn't want anymore, there was some slight fading on one side but that didn't stop me as I think I noticed by touch that this fabric was 100% cotton.

Once purchased, thoroughly washed, and dried I did a burn test to see if it was cotton and it was. The yellow flame and parchment paper smell indicated it was cotton fabric, so perfect for a summer's dress.

Before I even started on this project, however, I changed a majority in this pattern already and did several tests where I don't have photo's off. But If you do want to do a test and or change the pattern there are some amazing videos that I will link that can help you make a pattern fit your body even better (I need to practice this even more still).

The video's that helped me fit my dress better:

• Making THAT Dress Fit || Altering Butterick 4790 by Enchanted Rose Costumes

• Drafting the Basic Pattern Set from Scratch // Basic Bodice Block Flat Patterning by TheClosetHistorian

After I cut everything out and laid aside, I then started with marking the darts on the inside of the fabric and sewed them all together with a straight stitch.

The bigger pieces of the darts I sewed down on the inside with a herringbone stitch. They're still easily concealed stay into place but the treads won't break once you move in them.

Then It was time to sew the back pieced together, Once sewed together I ironed down the sem on once side and cut the rest off and flipped the little bit of the other seam leftover and felt it down with a felling stitch. So the seam is completely concealed.

Once that was done, I tackled the shoulder seams. I didn't want to much bulk so I laid over a piece of bias tape and felt the piece down on the inside. Making sure not to puncture through to the other side of the fabric.

After the shoulder pieces, I sewed the skirt onto the bodice of the back and did a felling stitch to make sure all those raw edges were gone once again. After that, it was time to attached 15 meters of bias tape all over the edges of the dress and the neckline.

It was annoying and a pain in the ass, but you know what it also looks absolutely beautiful and all the raw edges are finished off immediately.

I then sewed in two closers to the front, and two fake buttons so it looks like the dress is held together by those two fake buttons.

On the back, I sewed three buttons to keep the dress closed.

I'm absolutely happy with how this all turned out but I'm going, to be honest, the worst thing about the dress is, even though I fitted it perfectly in mockup form something went wrong and now wearing it, it does hurt around the armholes. perhaps next time I can (and will) look into it how to make it better and comfortable on that part

and because I didn't have anyone or a mannequin to make the fit right on the bottom edge of the inside dress peeks out ever so slightly on the bottom.

Those are the two things I'm definitely paying more attention too whenever I will make this dress again!

And as a surprise, I made some pockets for inside the dress! A secret pocket for your keys or phone.

Thank you for reading! And If you want to see the full progress you can watch it on my Youtube channel.