Vintage Bodice As Dress – First Sample.

It was one of those Sundays when you know you need to focus on a few unfinished projects, and the one that caught my attention was the Gil Brandao – Conjunto Pratico.

The original idea is detailed in my post Gil Brandao, Conjunto Pratico and there’s an additional post that will help you make it your own size: Grade Rules – Gil Brandao Conjunto Pratico.  I’ve even made a detailed worksheet as a PDF download that you will find here:  Vintage Style Pattern Making Worksheet.   This worksheet will be useful if you find the blog post doesn’t have enough detail.

I was very pleased with my first samples for this vintage top (above).  As a garment, it does have some limitations, particularly in the way we wear our clothes today.  Yes, it would work over a skirt that has a high waistband.  But the last thing I want is flesh sticking out between my top and skirt.  So a dress version of this idea was the best solution.

Before I go onto the skirt drafting I’d like to take a moment and discuss the making of the top.  As you can see in the above diagram, the top is a simple shape but the finish on the edges is awkward at best.  In my first sample I simply used a self bind on all the edges but found this to be quite difficult to finish well when I came to the pointy tie ends at the shoulder and waist.  So my suggestion to you is to make the top as fully lined with very small turnings (seam allowances – 7mm ⅛”), and simply bag out the whole top, except for the waistline.

Considering the top is a wrap that ties at the back, I felt the most suitable skirt addition would be a circle skirt with extra fabric for a decent wrap at the front.  The diagram above is a draft of a half-circle skirt that will fit the grey top that I’ve made as a AUS Size 12.  I’ve used an 80cm waist for the half-circle calculation.  And I’ve made the skirt 60cm long, from waist to knee.  You will find more detailed instructions for making a half-circle skirt in one of my pleating posts.

Then I’ve extended the CF line of the skirt with 20cm of extra fabric for the wrap.  That means it will wrap across the whole front of the dress and give you the best solution to modesty for wrap dresses.  I’ve then added this skirt to the waist of my Gil Brandao top, leaving a 5cm 2″ gap in the right side of the waist seam for the tie to feed through.

Now that this sample is finished and largely successful, I’m thinking of digging out a piece of summer weight cotton so I can make myself a lively summer frock.  Do you think this is the kind of dress you’d like to make for yourself?  And is it a good design to add to my online pattern range?  I’d love to hear your ideas. 🙂