Friday, September 30, 2011

I shall call you HIPPIEDOOM!

Image from www.panilisnewska.com
I bought 4.8 meters of Lecien's "My Folklore" quilting cotton on a whim a couple of weeks ago and I knew I had to make some kind of maxi dress with it. The fabric is a strange brownish eggplant with a blue and yellow flower motif and a really sweet looking border. I was also set on trying my hand at making a Gunne Sax-esque dress I've been drooling over at Etsy for the past couple of days.

Image from etsy.com

Image from etsy.com

Image from etsy.com

Image from etsy.com
The whole dress is self-drafted, but heavily based on the Weisn Dirndl from Burdastyle. I love the princess armhole, the pleated looking skirt and the slightly puffed sleeves.

I made the princess armhole bodice from my basic sloper and added sleeves. I eliminated the button down at the front and put a zipper at the back. I embellished the front bodice with cotton lace, bias piping and bias tape before I sewed the pieces together. The bodice I drafted was a little too short, so I added a "belt" so the waistline would sit right at my waist instead of above it (I felt that a too-high waist made my own waist look bigger). I also pleated the skirt, rather than gather it.

And after about three days of sewing (about an hour a day, it was so hot in my sewing room),  voila!




HIPPIEDOOM!

I love this dress, the skirt has great swish and I feel pretty wearing it. The bodice fits me perfectly and my waist looks smaller than usual. Wearing it reminds me of my younger days as a Goth (though I am still a Goth, I'm hardly what you would call "young") when I used to wear long skirts even in tropical weather. This is definitely a wear-again for me, but now that I'm older, I'll wait for cooler weather.

Lyra, all of nineteen years old in 1999.

5 comments:

Wendy Bayford said...

Wow you look amazing!!!I have this summer become a bit obsessed with 70's style hippie dresses, and yours is just wonderful!

Lyra said...

Thank you for the wonderful comment, Wendy!!! :D I know what you mean about having a 70's hippie dress obsession! I've been such a crazy etsy stalker lately. I want them ALL.
*hugs*

Sewingadicta said...

Wow! Totally breathtaking! I used to use maxi skirts when I was young too ... your dress is absolutely beautiful, love the addition of small white lace, so cute!

Lyra said...

Thanks Rosy! Coming from you, it's high praise indeed! I love the look of Maxi skirts now that it's a little cooler here (just a little, it's still hot all year round.)
Can't wait to wear this outside! Haha!

Alexandriaweb said...

That is such a pretty dress :)