1912 purple dress: worn and loved!

Hello guys! In my previous post I talked about my new 1912 purple dress, all made of cotton using a Butterick #6093 pattern. Now that I made and wore the dress twice I can say I totally LOVE how it turned out! 

But let's take a breath and start from the beginning. 

As anticipated, this pattern as some fitting issues. The chart is purely indicative, the skirts are really tight so go ahead and plan to use at least 1 size bigger than yours. I ended in enlarging them of 10 cm to fit comfortable. Maybe they're a little too large but now but at last I can move in them without risking to rip the seams off! 

The bodice has also lot of ease in it. My suggestion is to measure yourself from side seam to side seam across bust at front and back and choose the best size. I used a size 12 for the front and size 6 for the back so yeah, measuring is totally necessary. The bottom of the bodice is then machine gathered to fit. Gathers can also avoided but you will need to use some math and draft a new bodice. 

A mock-up is strongly recommended, do not skip this step. Despite that, the dress went together really easily and straightforward. 

I used some black cotton in my stash to make collar and cuffs. They're both interfaced. 

I also pleated the skirts at front and back and added two more pleats in the upper part of the overskirt. The pattern calls for two overskirts for view A which in my opinion are a waste of fabric; if you have enough go ahead and add the other one and ignore my words, but if you don't have enough yardage skip it: the dress will look great the same and it will lighter to wear! For sure you don't have to skip the underskirt. 

I also shortened the upper part of the skirt about 3.5 cm to fit my body shape better simply folding the pattern and tracing a straight line onto the fabric. 

Now the best part: I have a zipper! Yes, you read it: my dress closes with an invisible zipper. I hate sewing hooks and eyes AND with the last 1912 I had some problems in dressing by my own. So I didn't bother about accuracy and inserted a discreet zipper in the left side seam of the dress. So easy!

The belt has the last step. It is interfaced and decorated with a bow. It closes with hooks and eyes. 

The dress is worn over chemise, corset and petticoat and a lace shirt. I'm planning combinations asap. I completed the look with vintage accessories and hat. 

And that's all! The whole thing took about a week to be completed, all by machine and serger. The only hand stitched parts are the black cuffs and the black bias tape in the overskirt. I sew for others and I work on my projects just when I have the time so I would say this dress would take about 2-3 days to be completed on a normal schedule. 

I'm so happy with this dress, it's comfy to wear aaaaand I didn't have to shorten the skirts: they were of my exact length! Yay! Plus, they're not super long so I don't have to keep them up while walking. It's definitely one of my favourite costumes ever.