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Sunday, May 1, 2016

Tennis dress obsession

I seem to have a tennis dress obsession. I don't actually like playing tennis (too much sport at high school on hot hot tennis courts). But every time I see a vintage sewing pattern pattern my lingering obsession takes over.

Here are a selection of tennis dress patterns I own. More on this Pinterest board.

Simplicity #5059 Tennis dress and short shorts or Mini dress 1972

Style #3046 Unlined Jacket, tennis dress, skirt and shorts 1980

Style #3572 Tennis Dress in Two lengths and shorts 1972

Sewing challenge

I decided I'd stretch my home sewing a little this year and am entering the Tessuti 2016 In Season Silk Sewing Competition 

The In Season Two fabric really appealled to me, it's an Autumny digitally printed silk crepe de chine. Apart from the fabric, the only constraints are that the garment needs to suit the fabric and suit me. I haven't sewn silk into a garment before now, so I've spent the last 6 weeks thinking my idea inside and out, making at least 2 toiles and am now ready to sew it up.

As I've become completely obsessed with looks from the early 1970's I'm basing my design on ideas from Vintage Vogue Pattern books from 1970-1974.



The garment is a collared blouse and long culottes both in the In Season Two fabric. The culottes have a faced waist and invisble zip at back. They are based on a sloper I've made for myself in a Craftsy class Patternmaking basics with Suzy Furrer.

The blouse is a mix between a vintage McCalls 1966 pattern and a bodice sloper I worked on in a patternmaking class with Brazen Hussy Cathy Boerema.

Things I'm paying special attention to (but not necessarily obsessing over given I've a week to cut and finish my garment)
- grain lines
- darts
- seams
- pressing
My friend Tim at Usethings made me a wooded "clapper" with some super hard hardwood

lots of handsewing to control the silk
controlling the silk while cutting was really important, I have a few of these large washers which helps.
French seams for all the main straight seams
self cover buttons

I left a week at the end to make it, and it took every spare moment of the whole week.