A Colorful and Cheerful Easter

That Mod Girl Marlo Thomas looking chic in a red peacoat and her flip hairdo.

Marlo during the early and mid 1970's was creatively fun and free in a wide collar and zig zags . Zig zag trims seemed to go beyond decorating Easter eggsI I wonder how many odd stares she would receive if she strolled in this outfit today.

Flashback to 1977, the year there was an outbreak of Saturday Night Fever.  1977, however, was not all butterfly collars, platform shoes, bell-bottoms, and slinky disco dresses a la Studio 54.  I found this rare jewel from ebay and liked the sleeveless dress with a folded, cowl collar.   The description on the back of the envelop was  a "high waisted, back zippered dress has cowl collar, ties included in front darts. A, B has bib and sleeves gathered into buttoned cuffs."

I sewed view "C", the sleeveless version. This is the first project that I sewed for 2012.  Entering PR's vintage contest will hopefully return my sewing mojo.

Sizing:

Although a size 12, bust 34 is printed on my pattern envelope, all the pattern pieces were for a size 10, bust 34.

Heather and I enjoying the Sunday sunshine after Easter mass. 

 

Indoor pic

Instructions

They were clearly written and supplemented with helpful diagrams.

Fabric

Cotton rayon jersey from EOS.

Favorite Features
*Cowl neck style created from a "collar piece" that encircles the entire neckline. Just in the past year, I have noticed a vast selection of dresses with varying degrees of "cowl".

Ulla Popken dress for $59.99 at Amazon.com

 

Bar III Striped Dress from Macys.com for $59.99

Jones New York dress from Macys.com for $129.99

 

*The unique construction of the tie belt: Each tie is originally basted to the front at the location of a front dart. During the construction of each front dart, the "raw edge" of the tie end is "sandwiched" between the layers of the dart, and thus becomes "hidden" from view. The belt makes it possible to either wear the tie loop at the front or the back.

*Sleeve and dress length variations.

*The only thing I disliked was what seemed to be an inordinately large "collar" piece that is cut on the bias. On a cotton jersey that I was using, the collar "bunched" and draped. On a woven, I could easily imagine a rigid scarf type of a neckline, where the collar is turned to the inside along the lengthwise "half fold", until the edge meets the inner neck seam (where the collar was sewn to the notched edge of the collar, right sides together).

Pattern Alterations/Modifications
*Eliminated the back seam for zipper attachment.

*While cutting the back bodice, I pivoted the pattern piece about 10 mm, swinging the center back downwards to reduce the "extra fabric" just below the back of neck and at my upper back. After trial and error, I have had lots of success on several tops with this adjustment.

I found this helpful blog post, referenced by a number of fellow bloggers, detailing and differentiating adjustments for swayback,  adjustments for petites, and specific types of adjustments that get mistaken for being those for swayback.  The method I am referring to can be seen after scrolling the viewing window downward and looks similar to the "pivot" one that I am familiar with.
 

Sherry's "Pattern, Scissors, Cloth" blog
Many thanks to Sherry, the owner of this blog, for her post.

*I skipped my typical petite adjustment at the waist (3/4"-1") due to the "high-waisted" style of the dress. The bodice-skirt seam landed at the waist instead of just below my bustline (or an empire waist style), which I anticipated would have happened after a petite adjustment.

*Due to using a knit, I omitted the back zipper and sleeve facings. I turned in the raw edge of each armscye and topstitched a 5/8" hem.  If I used a woven, I would have lined the entire dress which would dodge the need to face the sleeve edges for a sleeveless dress.  The attached collar piece for the cowl neckline would have to be taken into consideration when lining the dress. 

*I sewed a center back seam, for the collar/cowl piece. I additionally took in the central seam to compensate for my "back pivot adjustment" that shortened the width of the neckline.

*I removed approximately 8" from the lower edge to shorten the dress to a smidgen below my kneecap.


Future Use/Recommendations
I plan to use this pattern again after finding the ideal fabric with it ("soft" fabrics such as challis, crepe de chine, etc). If you could find it, I recommend it. The "carefree" patterns in general seemed to produce stylish and enjoyable outfits with minimal challenges in construction. Although the pattern's recommended fabrics included challis, surah, synthetic crepe, and matte jersey, I did not encounter much problems with cotton rayon jersey.

This is the third pattern from the "Marlo's Corner" series and so far, I have had lots of luck in terms of style compatibility and fit. 

Wearing a crochet cardigan with bell sleeves.

Happy Easter and have a lovely spring!