We decided to go to a German style fest and my friend mentioned she had a dirndl. Not one to let a friend take a risk on their own, I said I could probably produce something German like in time.
Truth be told I have camping alot in my trailer so I had been away from sewing for most of the summer. I have been feeling ho-hum about starting a new project. In fact I started a super easy project for a jumpsuit and have been dragging my feet on it. This new project excited me and I knew it was the thing to get me excited about sewing again.
After my husband refused to go with me to Fabricland because I am too lazy to drive there myself…..I realized this project had to come from the stocked supplies in my cabinet. My prior hoarding did not disappoint!
First I thought I would use the Stitch Witch Basque Dress because it looked sorta like a Dirndl and was easy. I downloaded the pattern but then realized I didn’t want to tape it together. I went looking in my stash and found Butterick 6352. I had always wanted to sew it but didn’t find a close enough fabric to the picture until recently. I really wanted it in cherry print and Fabricland never had anything until this year. I already had the boning and pom pom trim and the pattern said the magic word – EASY.
I decided not to use my original fabric because in one colour it didn’t look Dirndl enough. I looked at a bunch of vintage dirndls on Etsy and decided to break it up into a couple fabrics. A bark cloth set of curtains I had bought 2nd hand to serve as the bodice, gingham check shirting I had bought to make a shirt for my husband for the body of the dress, pink piping left over from my capelet for trim (the pom pom was too thin to use) and the curtain lining from the barkcloth to use as the apron. The dress pattern doesn’t include an apron so I grabbed a tea apron pattern I had in the shop stock.
Since I chose a print like this for the bodice I had to plan out where to cut very carefully. I think it came together well, it doesn’t match perfectly but it looks good. And that is what counts!
The dress and the sleeves came together very quickly. I would recommend this pattern to any sewer as it is easy to follow. I had to take my bodice in about 5 inches even though I cut my regular size. I would suggest lots of trying on and taking it in on the sides if needed.
I decided to add lots of trim to my dress to make it unique and this is where I was so grateful for my 3 generation lace collection (Grandma-Mom-Me), Lots of odds and ends from thrift shopping and finally, yards and yards of cheap lace from china. If you have never ordered trim on aliexpress – I highly recommend it to round out your collection. I had lots to play with and I laid it out on the uncut fabrics to get an idea of what I wanted
I loved how it looked on the mannequin but at this point my friend told me she wasn’t wearing her dirndl to the event…..hmmmm….ok… 2 nights of work, a needle through my thumb nail, my sewing room is a mess and I have no where to wear it without looking like an idiot.
Then I put it on…..
This doesn’t normally look wrinkly but I was twisting my head. I wanted to show how nice the layout of pattern is
I love it! I am going to wear it out to this German event and make every woman in there who isn’t wearing one feel like the ass. Even if they stare at me…I think we know that they are just jealous they don’t have their own dirndl like mine nor the courage to be original.
Plus my husband loves it and that’s all that matters. I also told him he can punch anyone who laughs at me. Problem Solved!
Just general notes on the pattern, I found it so easy that I will sew it again but in a more neutral fabric to look less costumy. It has boning and I was terrified to try this notion but it was so easy to do. I am definitely making Gertie’s beach corset top next summer, I avoided it up until now because of the boning. The one thing to be mindful of is the fit, you don’t want a top with boning to be loose so I would just suggest adjusting the bodice before finishing the lining. I took mine on the sides and it didn’t affect the look of it too much. Or cut a smaller size in a muslin and see how it fits before committing to a size on your original fabric. In my tight deadline I didn’t have time to do a test bodice but I might do it next time.
I was so excited about the creativity in this project, I didn’t stick to the pattern concept which means I should do it more often in the future. I just ordered my first sequin mesh so I think that will be a good opportunity to make something very original.
Style Sewciety 