Seersucker Dress, As Promised

Here's the seersucker dress (the Duro Junior pattern again) I promised to post when I got back (and I did get back, despite my flight being canceled; I got the next-to-last seat in the last row of the flight that left before my flight, and ended up arriving half an hour later than my flight was supposed to -- myriad and strange are the ways of airlines).

(The antepenultimate and ultimate seats on that flight -- i.e., the two seats next to me -- were occupied by Masters of The Universe who were swapping stories of the first-class seats they'd lost when their flights were canceled. Oh, woe!)

Anyway, I wasn't wearing this dress on the plane, although I did actually wash it during my trip so I could wear it twice! The weather was so horribly humid, and this dress is so cool, that it was a necessity. (Also, being seersucker, it dried in about twenty minutes after I hung it up.) I wished I had eleven of these so I could change into them twice a day.

At first I was a bit worried that this was too "swimsuit coverup," but after wearing it for a while that wore off.

There's a few more changes I want to make to this pattern: I want to make the pockets wider and deeper, and sew the top of them into the waistband for extra support. I need to lengthen the front bodice another half-inch; and alter the seam across the top of the shoulder so that it curves down a bit. (I like the sleeve to follow the arm, not stick straight out.) I lopped two inches off the skirt before I hemmed it, but it would be more efficient if I altered the pattern piece instead ... and maybe make the skirt a teeny bit fuller, too, if only to better accommodate the bigger pockets.

Right now I want to make it in lemon-yellow linen with brown linen banding, dark gray poplin with red, a pink-and-maroon floral fabric (better than it sounds) ... the list goes on. Maybe for my next trip I really will have eleven versions!

Oh, and maybe next time I'll match the stripes. But probably not:



And quickly: Jen at MOMSPatterns has started using "fauxlero" as a key word, meaning you can search for fauxleros on her site. AND she's running a 20% off sale from right now thru Sunday night, midnight EST with coupon code 'fauxlero'. (And there's a nice history of the word fauxlero and list of fauxlero patterns on the Vintage Pattern Wiki ...)

Comments

[sixties sewer]

Erin, loving the stripes and how you used them. I didn't notice the mis-match until you pointed it out...a common compulsion with sewists to make sure everyone sees the errors!I don't think 11 dresses would be too many.

[Renee]

Great dress - I love seersucker for summer. Is this a current one? I have a skirt that I made a few years back out of something darned similar. The wide band at the waist is perfect.I always alter that shoulder seam in cap sleeve dresses - I'm always afraid that I'll end up looking huge shouldered like some 80s mistake.

[Miz Shoes]

I love seersucker for Florida. It is my favorite fabric.By the way, last night I had a sewing dream. I found the perfect pattern, and the perfect print, but the fabric was only available in velour, not the perfect fabric. It came in a light-weight cotton that would have been perfect, but the color was wrong. Then I spent the rest of the dream looking at sewing notions and patterns. You are starting to have some weird effects on me, woman.

[the_lazymilliner]

Summer seersucker sews so sweetly since spring sucks.

[Deborah W]

Love the dress. So southern and feminine! I actually dislike matched stripes, so I love yours!

[Birgit]

How cute! I actually really like the way the stripes don't match 100%! It gives the construction nice definition, and an almost artful effect. Great colors - and it does not look like a cover-up at all...

[Tricia]

No, don't match the stripes! Then you'd have weird Vs on the chest and weird lines going down the front. The effect is very nice with the mismatched stripes.

[Lydia]

I agree with the people who like the mismatched stripes. On a bold, duo-tone striped fabric, matching is crucial, but with these multi-stripes, the mismatch is much more pleasant.

[AnotherErin]

Really cute and summery dress :). I'd love to see the dark grey!

[La BellaDonna]

Erin, I'm not sure I understand the "swimsuit coverup" hesitation.I've seen lots of nice tops, wraps, trousers, and yes, dresses, sold as "coverups" for swimwear, and I have happily bought items in each of the above categories and worn them - never once above a swimsuit! It's no less a dress because it's a "swimsuit coverup" - wear it and enjoy it the way you do the dresses that are "bra and knicker coverups"!

[Jean]

Now, if you only had the Ric Rac shoes in say brown? Cute dress, I'm all for the changes too, sounds great.

[Anonymous]

This is a lovely dress--it exudes coolness in every sense of the word. I think I like this version better of the duro junior.I have 4 yards of a super soft cotton seersucker that are waiting for a project. (Why do people even bother to make seersucker out of poly? Ugh!) It's nice to see something made up in order to visualize my own project. (My problem is I want to make EVERYTHING out of seersucker so I can't decide how to sew mine.)Goshdarnit Mom's patterns-I just bought from you yesterday! Could've used the extra discount. I did notice the use of fauxlero. Also, Jen loves to use the word "killer" in her descriptions. Hard to pass up any item that has that word.

[Chantelle]

Normally I'm a compulsive stripe-matcher but with this multi-stripe I think the dress looks much better. It shows off the wide band and front bands better than matching the stripes would have.I must remember this for my next multi-stripe dress :)

[Little Hunting Creek]

Silly Me, I thought you DID match the stripes nicely until you said something. I thought that the design was intentional. Super cute - now I need to make one!

[Cookie]

That looks GREAT! It reminds me of Big Sur circa 1973; very cool and restful. I think it would look neat with rough turquoise or amber jewelry, and Mexican sandals. Very nice Go-Anywhere dress.

[Erin]

Cookie, you need to stay around and help me accessorize. I have tons of jewelry I never wear ... I spend all my time thinking about the dress!

[Cindy]

Erin- you might see a double walking around of you...i want to make the exact dress. it is perfect for summer! cindy

[Anonymous]

Terrific summer dress; love howyou worked the stripes!Enjoy wearing it.

[jasun]

Seersucker is great, and I also really like the line-up (/non line-up!) of the diagonals at the front. An actual line-up would be too smooth and look vague and confusing, I suspect.

[Cookie]

Cookie, you need to stay around and help me accessorize. Im not going anywhere, and am happy to offer my impressions for accessory opportunities. The other jewelry that would look nice is that heavy silver, Mexican inspired (?) jewelry that I think saw a resurgence in the late 60s and early 70s...Im not sure how to actually classify it, except my mom, the merry California divorcee, used to wear it with rough woven skirts, leotards and shawls, etc, and it has blackened etching. You would just need a necklace in that style and a few silver bangles on one arm.

[Cookie]

This is sort of the vintage style I mean, though I don't see exactly what I'd pick. The necklace shouldn't have stones, and could be a loose choker length, like, hitting the hollow of your throat, single strand. Don't carry a straw bag, or people will wonder if your burro wandered off.http://www.glitterbox.com/mexicansilverarchives.htm

[Pam]

I really hope no one takes offense at this, but it made me think:Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Duro!It's awesome. I love it. I would wear it with my wooden hoop earrings and bangle and a big floppy hat!

[3KillerBs]

That dress looks wonderfully cool and practical. A modern version of your Secret Lives "Tuesday dress" that can go all over town or relax at home.

[Theresa]

I love it. Cookie - I love the part about the burrow wandering off. I always thing seersucker looks like baby fabric. I am officially changing my stance.

[Cookie]

It's interesting looking at that vintage Mexican jewelry on that site! Some of it's from the 1930's...I wonder what started a vogue for it back then? There are interlocking seahorse patterns I've seen elsewhere, sometimes poppy patterns...and some of it has Art Nouveau and Art Deco influences. I also like the pins and bracelets that look like fish, with abalone shell inlay!