Crazy Eights

From 1965:





Pattern Description
From 1965: "Misses' Dress in Three Versions. Long waisted dress, with double-breasted bodice and five section skirt, may be sleeveless or have above-elbow length set-in sleeves. Notched shawl collar, cut in one with bodice fronts, is faced and interfaced. Skirt has pleat at left front in wrap-around effect. Dress with sleeves may have contrast skirt. I made the sleeveless version.

Size
Size 16, Bust 36"

Fabric
Cotton printed with rows and columns of ittle splattered stars. I spent $6 for 3 yds of fabric at W - M.

Directions
* The instructions and diagrams were overall good for advanced beginners and beyond. Only two or three diagrams needed more specific verbal directions so that a step would not be missed or misinterpreted.
* I was able to construct some parts with little or no instruction.
* Pieces have extensive markings: 5/8" seamlines, bodice darts (bust, two long ones in the front, under collar area, two long ones in the upper back), slash marks and reinforced stitching for the lapels
* The constuction of the front bodice along with the collar is similar to current shawl collar construction of tops or jackets.
- The left and right front pieces are sewn together, creating a center seam
- Below the center seam, the neck corners are reinforced before getting clipped or shashed. The edges formed are then sewn at the back shoulders of the back bodice piece.
* The slash marking at the front edge of the bodice are for creating the notches of the lapel.

Likes
* The overall style: the double breasted bodice, low waist, notched collar
* The bodice is also secured by eyes/hooks and snaps in addition to the buttons.
* The flattering elongated back darts


Dislikes
* The actual construction was more time consuming than I had anticipated. Those design sketches of what seemed like basic coat dresses on the pattern envelope were misleading!
* * The actual construction was more time consuming than I had anticipated. Those design sketches of what seemed like basic coat dresses on the pattern envelope were misleading!

* I was careless in following the instructions to attach the
back facing to the front facing (nearly skipped it!). Because I was doing my own thing, I attached the front facing to the neckline of the bodice and the rest of the facing to the right side of the dress. However, I was supposed to sew the back facing below the center seam and neckline of the front facing and its left and right edges to the seam shoulders of the front facing (before turning the entire front facing to the inside of the dress, and hence the right side of the back facing would land just below the neckline). Instead of ripping out stitches, I attached the back facing to the front facing after it was turned to the inside of the dress. I handstitched the bottom edge of the collar facing over the back facing.



Modifications
* Eliminated the front darts
* Used eight instead of six buttons (Aligning and adjusting the buttons to fit is easier said than done!)
* Although the instructions for bound buttonholes are useful, I used my machine's buttonhole feature.
* Larger lapels (I used a seam allowance smaller than 5/8")
* Eliminated the interfacing (fabric was firm enough)
* Maybe because I decreased the width of the back darts by 1/8", I discovered that the back panel of the skirt did not line up with the bottom edge of the back bodice because there was extra fabric. I cut the back panel of the skirt through the middle and added a center back seam at the back panel of the skirt. Actually the center back seam looked nice on the skirt!
* Shortened the length of the skirt by 4".


Conclusion
This dress would also look great in light woolens or a soft corduroy.

If I do make this again, I would skip making the skirt and convert the dress to a top.

I would not say that this 60's pattern is easy, but of moderate difficulty that requires a lot of time and attention to detail!