·1950s Bow Back Dress·

Years ago, we found some cardigans that I really liked and bought all three colors they had.  Only problem was, I didn't have anything that matched two of them.  Sooo, this blue cardigan sat around, waiting to be loved, until I made an outfit to keep it company. :-)  I'm not usually drawn to blues, but when I saw this fabric at a going-out-of-business sale, it was love at first sight!  It looked like it would go great with my lonely cardigan, so that was that.  I found a darling vintage 50s pattern on Pinterest, but I couldn't get my hands on a cheap enough copy so I just made it up instead. :-)  I used Butterick 5605 as my starting base.  I was really excited when this pattern came out, because like I mentioned in my Black Eyelet Dress post, I have a love/hate relationship with regular kimono sleeves.  I love that this pattern uses princess seams, as that will increase my design opportunities without having to deal with a yoke seam like on Vogue 1044!  I loved the pleats in the skirt on the pattern, and decided to make the pleats in the front, too. :-)

 This dress used to be even cuter, because the ribbon trim at the waist was originally polka-dotted, but I made the unfortunate discovery that it does not wash well. :-(  I'll just remove the trim from the sweater before I wash it, but given my self-imposed design specifications, there isn't a good option for the dress.  Unless I find washable ribbon!

I altered the neckline to suit, and then added a bias strip to make the collar and added a bow in the back.

The cardigan that started it all! (Yes, this does mean that I've joined the ranks of women who buy accessories they like and then need an outfit to go with it.  No, I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. ;-))  Since embellishing sweaters is so much fun, I added the ribbon and buttons to coordinate. :-)

· Pictures by Kathryn ·