When Emily of Mai Attique and I decided to sew 1970s inspired dresses, I knew I wanted to make Simplicity 8013. What a beauty! I think the 70s get a bad reputation–polyester leisure suits, right?–but this is the era of DVF\’s wrap dress. Come on. That\’s glamour.
And oh my gosh, how glamorous do I feel in this dress? When I think glam, I usually think sixties, leopard, blah blah, but in this dress I feel like I could walk onto the set of American Hustle at any second. (That\’s the best movie, fyi.)
Before we get into the technical details, swing by and take a peek at Emily\’s dress.
This pattern is really a fabric hog–10 yards with lining–and the recommended fabrics are pretty luxe. Making this up in a silk charmeuse would be quite an expensive project. I thought for a bit and ended up using a rayon challis which has the lovely soft drape needed but at a much lower price point. I got mine for about $6 a yard. The only problem then is the wrinkling! I steamed the heck out of this dress right before I took these pictures; you can\’t even tell.
I do like that the rayon doesn\’t have a sheen, I think it makes this dramatic look a bit more wearable. I\’m not quite sure if I\’ve sewn up a maxidress or a gown, and I\’m hoping it will go both ways depending on styling? What do you think?
Confession: I make a big mistake and misread one of the pattern pieces. It said something like \”side front and back\” and I assumed it meant it was the piece for the side covering front and back (like, no side seam) and didn\’t notice it said \”cut 4.\” I cut two only and by the time I realized I was missing two whole pattern pieces, mid-assembly, I could not be bothered to cut any more panels out. This skirt is plenty full already. Now I have a couple more yards to make a little blouse or something with.
I also switched up some of the construction and style choices:
1. changed the bodice lining to facing in (so the darts are enclosed),
2. enclosed the bottom of the bodice between the skirt and the skirt lining (no raw edges),
3. left off back darts and just eased in the bottom edge a bit,
4. left off the button closure at the wrists since I could fit my hands through the cuffs without messing with buttons,
5. french seamed sleeve seams,
and one thing I would definitely not do next time:
6. attached the bodice and skirt before attaching the sleeves, which is my usual construction order. However, in this case, that means wrestling with ten yards of fabric when you\’re attaching your sleeves which is not easy.
I also added about 5 inches to the length after holding the pattern pieces up to my natural waist. As you can tell from the pictures, I didn\’t need it! I think the weight of the skirt stretched it out enough and this dress just has a little baby hem instead of my usual deep hems. (For reference, I\’m 5\’7\” or 170 cm.) I have a few events coming up that I want to wear this to and I will be rehemming it and cutting several inches off (like maybe 5? haha) before I wear this out. Even in my tallest heels it drags a bit.
Finally, a big thank you to everyone who shared a 70s creation! The 70s fall way below the 40s and 50s (and even the 60s) on the popularity scale, so it was fun to see what type of clothing y\’all came up with.
Klara from The Robot that had a Heart shared two pieces: a skirt and a dress! She has the dreamiest photography, take a peek!
Pearberry Lane shared the cutest 70s-inspired pants that she made for her daughter (love the sass):
Gorgeous Tiffany from Eleanor Meriwether shared a dress and said the 70s are her favorite decade! She is definitely channeling Stevie here…
My mom and allie J. guest poster Diana (who confessed that she sewed 1970s patterns the first time around!) shared a linen tunic, inspired by a tunic she remembers her own mother sewing in the 70s… three generations!
It was so much fun to see your 1970s creations and I hope you have found some inspiration and perhaps a few new blogs to follow! Thanks for sharing, y\’all! And thanks to Emily for co-hosting!
xoxo,
Your dress turned out wonderfully! It's very Ossie Clark, and Rayon Challis is one of my favorite fabric choices (you know with my whole channeling Stevie/Boho/Prairie Girl thing)but yes the wrinkles, it is as bad as linen sometimes. One day when I find a continuous 10 yards of something fabulous I will make this dress. The pattern is already in my stash! Everyone else's projects look so great also! Thanks for sharing my blog, and I can't wait to see what you make next!
Thank you, Allie for doing this 'twin project' and introducing me to your readers. This is the first collaboration I've done with a sewing blogger and I'm loving it! Ooh and did I tell you you look gorgeous in this dress! Especially the first photo! The big dangle earrings really compliment 70s style, too.
pretty! I love the color. It looks comfortable
This is beautiful! I love love love it! That's annoying that it wrinkles, but no one but a sewist would even notice!
This dress is absolutely worth all the time you put into it! It is stunning! The colour is brilliant!Love the earring you chose to go with it too 🙂
What a pretty dress, and I love the roundup!
You look amazing, it really suits you.
Love your dress, Allie! That colour is magnificent!
Thank you! I thought it would be festive for the holiday season of parties 🙂
Thank you! I love wearing this color but I've never(!) worn a wrap dress real or faux before!
Thanks so much! The earrings are kate spade 🙂
Thank you, Meg! It was super fun to get some other sewing bloggers involved.
Thank you! I know, we tend to beat ourselves up over this little stuff normal people don't notice!
I love rayon challis too. If you have slightly less fabric, you could always make the short version… but what's the fun in that?! Thanks for participating!
Thanks! It actually is very comfortable, since the fabric is so soft and swishy. It almost feels like wearing a jersey maxidress.
Thank YOU for going along with a holiday project, Emily!! Your dress is beautiful and so well-crafted. We'll have to collaborate again in the future–maybe we'll tackle the 80s?? haha
Oh my gosh, Allie, I'm lost for words! Your dress is incredibly beautiful. Just… perfection. The colour, the cut, the length… and it looks like taken fresh from the rack at some designer boutique! Totally professional. Great photos, too, you aced the tripod selfie :D.Thanks for featuring my photos, it's so nice of you :).
How difficult was this to sew? I am looking into making this for some maternity photos (I'm not very big yet) and I'm not sure if it's above my level of knowledge and experience.
Thank you! I'm wearing my verrrrry highest heels in these photos, so I actually re-hemmed the whole thing a little bit shorter so I could wear it with more reasonable height shoes! And I had to take a LOT of pictures to get these ones–I'm teaching myself and my husband how to use my camera, hopefully we'll be as talented as your Fish someday 😉
It would be gorgeous as a maternity dress! The difficulty will totally depend on the type of fabric you use. I thought the most annoying parts of construction were 1. cutting out and 2. wrangling yards of fabric as I attached the sleeves. I also made a lot of construction changes which I would recommend. What kind of garment sewing experience do you have?
And feel free to email me if you have questions! hello at alliemjackson dot com
this is so gorgeous!
I love everything about this dress! The color is gorgeous, it's so voluminous and beautiful. The 70's are definitely my *favorite* era, which, I know, is a little weird, but I can't help it. Everything just seemed so stylish then.
Wow!! This is amazing!
I made this pattern up in a slightly-stretchy very wide (70\”) lace over a satin charmeuse lining. I changed the bodice from the faux-wrap (not flattering on me) to a fitted sweetheart neckline, and did the sleeves with the buttoned cuffs. Such a great-looking and comfortable dress, it's got a permanent place in the wardrobe!
I made this pattern up in a slightly-stretchy very wide (70\”) lace over a satin charmeuse lining. I changed the bodice from the faux-wrap (not flattering on me) to a fitted sweetheart neckline, and did the sleeves with the buttoned cuffs. Such a great-looking and comfortable dress, it's got a permanent place in the wardrobe!
This is HEAVEN. Beautiful and the color is perfect for you and I may be obsessed. On an unrelated note, if you ever wanted to mention which MG fantasy novels you were reading, I'd be interested! ^^
A year ago I found your blog through this dress and as of today I've cut my lovely green rayon for a similar one – this inspiration definitely stuck with me!