I was really thrilled to be asked by Sew Over It to help pattern test their new pattern the Joan Dress. The version shown here was made using the test version of the pattern. I graded between an 8 at the bust, and 10 at the waist and hips.
The design is a vintage-inspired wiggle dress, named after Mad Men bad ass, Joan. I don’t regularly sew vintage or vintage inspired patterns, but I love them! The very first garment I made, outside of school, was a vintage dress. I do however sew lots of indie patterns, so a vintage-inspired indie pattern is perfect for me:)
I have a bad habit to rush through sewing projects, so I really enjoyed that this dress encourages slow sewing. Not only because it is lined, but also because it includes lots of lovely details, including that adorable collar and six darts. There is also some hand sewing involved, which I know not everyone enjoys, but I do as it allows me to sew while sat on the sofa with Phil of an evening. Much more social than sewing alone at my machine.
This was my very first time sewing a kick pleat, and I actually made a dumb mistake when I first ‘finished’ making the dress – I sewed the kick pleat on the outside. Alex at Sew Over It pointed me to their kick pleat tutorial which I found really helpful and would recommend as a general guide to sewing a kick pleat for any pattern. It looks much neater sewn on the inside;p
The lovely big kick pleat means that this dress is actually pretty practical despite being fitted, although I do need help with the top of the zip as I can’t quite reach up with the dress on.
I made the dress in a Mustard Crepe supplied by Sew Over It. The fabric has a beautiful colour, weight and drape.The colour is most accurately represented in the photo below. I couldn’t bear waiting until the weekend to get some photos and blog about the dress, but sadly it’s already dull by the time I get home from work now, so the other photos are slightly washed out. The dress is lined with a nude rayon, which worked really well as it doesn’t show through at all (a darker lining would). I fancy trying the dress is a wool next. I love that the Sew Over It website allows you to search suitable fabric for each of their patterns, and they have some lovely wool fabrics suggested for the Joan Dress.
Lovely as this crepe is, it was a trickier sew than making the dress in a wool as it shows every crease, and easing the sleeves in was fiddly. I redid the sleeve heads and I still have some puckers!
Now for the giveaway!
Giveaway now closed
Sew Over It have provided an extra copy of the paper pattern to give away! All you need to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post. Let me know your all time favourite TV show for beautiful clothing – is it Mad Men, or do you have another favourite? Twin Peaks is a favourite of mine, Audrey always looks superb. The giveaway is open internationally and please make sure to include your email address in your comment if it is not easily available in your profile. The giveaway is open until midnight on Monday 05th October, after which I’ll randomly pick a winner and announce it on the blog.
Giveaway now closed
October 1, 2015 at 11:02 pm
I always think watching Darling Buds of May as a child gave me my obsession with floral 50s style dresses! x
October 2, 2015 at 2:23 am
I love the clothes from Mad Men! My new go to TV show full of BEAUTIFUL clothing though is Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries- great 1920’s clothes🙂
October 2, 2015 at 3:18 am
What a beautiful dress- that color!! Even though it’s not my style, I always admire Lucy Liu’s wardrobe on Elementary. So chic!
October 2, 2015 at 3:30 am
Its lovely Charlotte, long sleeved dresses always look so elegant! I love watching Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries for the clothes, Phryne has a spectacular wardrobe!
October 2, 2015 at 5:30 am
Beautiful dress! I love the costuming on House of Elliot. And I watch Mad Men for their amazing wardrobe! xxx
October 2, 2015 at 6:02 am
Your dress looks fab! I’m so glad I read that. I’m just about to go off to Brum to buy some dress fabric today, so will think about the creasing of crepes. I also love Mad Men for their styling.
October 2, 2015 at 6:08 am
Love it. That color looks great on you.
It’s not totally relevant to my life, but I really enjoy the clothes from Downton Abbey. What can I say.
October 2, 2015 at 7:20 am
This looks fab! I’ve made their box pleat skirt from sew over it vintage in this fabric and I love it – the fabric is so soft🙂 I’d love to win a copy of the Joan pattern – I love mad men but also call the midwife for their 50s/60s fashion and I love the great gatsby film for all the sparkly 20s dresses!
October 2, 2015 at 7:20 am
I love Downton Abbey for the beautiful costumes and accessories x
October 2, 2015 at 7:40 am
You’ve done a cracking job – you look fab in mustard!
oh this is a tricky one: Mad Men (I would wear everything!) and Downton Abbey (more for oohs and aahs at the fabric and draping)
http://www.mancunianvintage.com
October 2, 2015 at 7:44 am
That colour really suits you. Lovely job. I love seeing the ladies in Bones. Thanks for the chance K xXx
October 2, 2015 at 8:36 am
Ah the kick pleat dilemma. I don’t think I’ve ever done one perfectly but yours looks great! I like any Agatha Christie adaptations for the 40s/50s outfits – the recent itv Tuppence & Tommy one was full of beautiful outfits.
October 2, 2015 at 9:00 am
It has to be Mad Men: the attention to details is amazing. I remember a scene when a young secretary was wearing a skirt with a massive hem, surely made to look like she’d shortened her skirt herself to follow the super short mini skirt trend. A visually brilliant show!
October 2, 2015 at 9:01 am
Great dress! really like the colour on you too. Im currently watching Mad Men so am pretty obsessed with their clothes but always love re-watching Sex and the City and lusting after their outfits too!
October 2, 2015 at 9:03 am
There are so many shows where I love looking at the clothing. But recent favorite is Nashville, there are so many stunning clothes there, it’s insane. But Mad Men’s era reflects better on my style.
October 2, 2015 at 10:45 am
This is lovely. Mad men is brilliant for clothing inspiration but so is another show of a similar era-Pan Am! I love the hats!
October 2, 2015 at 11:07 am
Such a great frock! The back is particularly awesome – from the little collar details down to the kick pleat! I do love the Mad Men era stuff, but I found myself coveting the First Lady’s wardrobe in House of Cards even more. Super stylish and a more modern twist on classic outfits.
October 2, 2015 at 12:20 pm
Love this dress so much! I’m not sure I’ve ever given much thought to the styling on tv programmes with one much adored exception: Ru Paul’s Drag Race. Admittedly not for styling in my own life but my word. Those dresses. THEY’RE HEAVEN!
October 2, 2015 at 12:26 pm
I love your dress. Surely the dresses of Mad Men are adorable, but I like very much seeing the costumes of Downton Abbey. Thank you and SweOverIt for the giveaway!
October 2, 2015 at 1:23 pm
The colour and style look fab on you. I like to look at what celebrities are wearing and we’ve a show called loose women on on a lunch time in the uk which I like to watch – for the styles of what’s current.
October 2, 2015 at 2:04 pm
What a happy colour. Awesome dress. I love the costumes on Downton bur my favourite is Mad men.
October 2, 2015 at 2:16 pm
Oooo i love it!! That’s one of my favourite colours.
I Love what Jess wears in New Girl but also what Chuck wears in Pushing Daisies🙂
October 2, 2015 at 2:52 pm
Gorgeous colour! I think you did amazingly to do this in a fine crepe – well done for persevering with the sleeve heads. I know it’s a film, not a tv show, but I LOVED American hustle for clothing – the film had such a strong feeling of faded 70s glamour but the outfits (female particularly) were absolutely stunning! (From )
October 2, 2015 at 4:16 pm
I’ll definitely pick Mad Men as my style muse too.
October 2, 2015 at 4:28 pm
I haven’t watched TV for years! I am usually inspired by other sewists. I instantly fell in love with the dress when I saw it on instagram.
October 2, 2015 at 4:42 pm
I love the clothes from Suits. Just gorgous!
October 2, 2015 at 5:54 pm
I love the clothes from pride and prejudice- or anything Austen style!
October 2, 2015 at 8:29 pm
Lovely colour on you! The dress turned out very nicely! My all timd favourite apart from Mad Men is Hart of Dixie – Lemon Breeland has the best TV wardrobe!
October 2, 2015 at 10:45 pm
The recent Partners in Crime series – the character called Tuppence Beresford had an amazing wardrobe and great hats too.
October 3, 2015 at 7:14 am
Love the Joan dress and it looks amazing in that mustard shade. Love the Downton frocks and most BBC period dramas – they always seem to get it right.
October 3, 2015 at 10:21 am
Love this dress. And I’m so glad to see it in a wool crepe which is exactly what I’m about to use for my first attempt. Thinking of underlining with silk organza instead of lining. Never done that before but thinking it might give a bit more structure. Have you any experience of doing this?
October 3, 2015 at 11:53 am
For both sewing and knitwear I adored everything on Our Zoo
October 4, 2015 at 11:35 am
Your dress is so beautiful – I wish I could wear mustard, but it doesn’t look good with my ginger hair! I loved Land Girls but you can’t beat a bit of Mad Men too!
October 4, 2015 at 2:44 pm
House of Elliott, or boardwalk empire. Both full of great twenties fashions.
October 4, 2015 at 6:36 pm
The colour of your dress is gorgeous on you!
I’m totally with you on the Twin Peaks clothes vibe.
I also remember the delightfully decadent costumes from the BBC’s House of Elliott 1920’s beaded drop-waisted dresses x
October 4, 2015 at 8:16 pm
I really like your dress. I’m a big fan of Libby Masters’ outfits in Masters of Sex. Randomly I also like most of the outfits in Buffy the Vampire Slayer too.
October 5, 2015 at 10:52 am
You have made a lovely dress there. I’ve just finished watching the first season of Agent Carter and I love Peggy Carter’s clothes. kayjaybooth at hotmail.com
October 5, 2015 at 11:28 am
Oh Downton Abbey for me – not that I’ll ever be able to recreate THOSE styles. Would love to try the Joan dress though🙂
October 5, 2015 at 11:49 am
Ooh that’s lush! I’ve had my eye on this pattern for a while, and they’ve finally released it🙂 I actually adored all of the costumes in the BBC adaption of Lady Chatterley’s Lover a few weeks ago. It did annoy me how she went into the woods in a gorgeous floaty white dress though – it would have been RUINED by all the mud!!! email:
October 6, 2015 at 12:02 am
Great design and colour, brilliant sewing too. Definitely Sex and the City for me, loved the variety of styles and gawping at some of the outrageous outfits !
October 7, 2015 at 11:35 am
oh! Lovely dress! I love the design and the fabric colour is gorgeous! I’d love to have a go at making this dress. Might have to order the pattern. I am loving the clothes on Downton Abeey at the moment!
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