Year Four And The 70’s Dress

“The only thing a person can ever really do is keep moving forward.”~Unknown

It’s the fourth anniversary of my blog! I started it in August so I always do my end of the year wrap up now. With each year that passes I always reflect on what has happened, where I was, and where I am going. But before we get to all that, I have an anniversary sew!

I had been saving this sewing themed fabric for a very long time. I decided that I needed to use it on a 1970’s pattern. The styles that the women on the fabric are wearing mostly from the 1970’s. I picked out this pattern from 1973 and got busy!

There were a lot of pieces to this pattern! Good thing I had enough of this fabric!! I laid out the pattern and started cutting.

So much fabric was needed for just the skirt alone!

See!! So many pieces to it!

The majority of patterns start off like this. You stay stitch the neck, and make the darts on the bodice front.

This dress had a waistband so I had to interface and pin that into place next.

I used up scrap fusible interfacing and you can see the little pieces in this picture. I sewed the waistband to the bodice.

Then came the work on the back of the bodice. I marked the darts, pinned them, and sewed them.

Because it has a zipper up the back, I ironed the back opening where the zipper would go.

I pinned the front and back together at the shoulders then sewed those up. Of course I was zig zag stitching my seams so they don’t fray.

Then came the neck of this dress. It has a high collar, ruffled neck. I was skeptical about it. I wasn’t sure, first off, if I could do it. Secondly, would it be comfortable or feel like I was being choked? Third, would the style look good on me? It was out of my comfort zone for sure!

I pinned the first part of the collar into place and basted it on.

Then I pinned the top ruffle to the neck. It sure looked like I was going to choke to me!

Next came some complicated sleeves. Why were they complicated? Because I had never done the techniques used to make them before. I read and followed the directions carefully.

The sleeves had a cuff so I prepped that following the directions. This dress could have a lot of ruffles and trim pieces if you decided to add them all. I figured that the fabric was busy enough, without all of the add ons.

Grandma Doris’ stash to the rescue with brand new, very vintage hem tape! I sewed the hem tape into place then did a blind hem stitch by hand.

Usually hemming it up is the last thing I do, but not on this dress! I was following directions exactly and it called for the dress to be hemmed before it was attached to the bodice. I was taking a huge leap of faith that the length would be right.

Now in between all of this my dog got sick and recovered. I deep cleaned and rearranged my living room. I went to Baby Bert and Baby Byron’s birthday party. I took part in a cruise night. All of this plus the day to day things to do. Sometimes a project sits for a minute because life happens.

But then I got back to it and finished and attached the sleeves! I picked out some buttons for the cuffs and put the zipper in. All which I did not get pictures of. Sometimes when I’m in the moment I forget to grab my phone and take a picture of what I am doing.

I made a matching clutch, because I like doing that, and the dress was done!

I didn’t choke on the neck but did feel a little like Pennywise the Clown.

The fabric is wild, the dress is wild, some might say I’m a little wild, so it will all work!

I tucked the collar in to see how it would look, and I didn’t mind that version either. As I write this I have not worn it out BUT it’s been over 100 degrees and I’m not going out in a long sleeved, high necked dress! I think it will be perfect this fall.

Now, as I reflect on this past blog year I did not have as many post or sews as years past. This year I gave myself permission to slow down and not sew at quite the fast pace as I had been. I prioritized things that I wanted to get done, and sometimes sewing wasn’t the priority.

It felt nice to have a break, and I actually considered quitting my blog. Not sewing or trying to sew all of the patterns, but the extra work it takes to document everything. Although my amazing cousin Christopher built my blog, and helps me when I crash it (yes, I think it was my fault), the uploading of pictures and writing is all me. It can be very time consuming. It also feels repetitive sometimes. Most sews and garments are made the same. I feel like I’m taking the same pictures and doing the same things.

I thought about it a long time and decided that I would not quit! I will carry on as best I can. Maybe sometimes at a fast pace, maybe sometimes slower, but I will keep moving forward! Grandma Doris once told me about the death of her brother Michael, and how it nearly brought her to her knees. She told me how hard it was for her to pick up the pieces and get on with life. She was devastated. Michael didn’t just die, he was murdered. How do you move on after that? She said she couldn’t say exactly but each day she got up and did her best and each day got a little better. “You have to pull yourself up and do it”, she said.

Now maybe a blog isn’t quite the feat as healing and moving forward after trauma, but if Grandma could keep moving forward when her world was shattered, I can keep sewing and sharing her and my other grandparents stories.

So now, in case you were following on Facebook and were wondering, I give you the voters choice of favorite sew of the year! This pattern from 1969, which I received from Grandpa Bert’s cousin Hila.

The Bird Dress! Usually I have a different favorite from the voted favorites but I agree with this one! I love that the fabric was some I found at a second hand store. I love that I matched the bird print right where I wanted it. AND I love that it looks like my bird embroidery that Grandma Young made. You can see the transfer she used on the shelf behind the dress.

Here is the post about “The Bird Dress” in case you want to revisit it!

The Bird Dress

Thanks for following me this far, and I hope you keep following me on this journey.

Another reason I decided to not give up is because I hope that my blog is and continues to be a little light of positivity in sometimes bleak world. In the past 12 month I have had 50 different countries look at my blog. So maybe I spread something positive to those 50 countries! If I’ve spread positivity to you, faithful reader, then that’s reason enough to keep going!

SO,

As for me, onto the next!