I was watching Little Women a few months ago- the new movie is absolutely gorgeous, but the 1994 version with Winona and Trini Alvarado has my whole heart. This dress is undoubtably my favourite in the whole movie. The dozens of handmade little pennants in the two decorative sleeves and at the hem catch me every time. I decided I want to make one for myself!
I’m not a recreationist, though, so I’ll be drafting a pattern for a garment that fits into my wardrobe. I’ve got several shirt dresses, but they’re all short sleeved and have no waist, and are mostly pretty short. My vision is longish, long sleeved, loose, cropped waist, and gathered skirt. I’m not sure if I want below the knee or just to it, we shall see!
For the bodice, I decided to start with this J.Crew buttondown that is I think roughly 17 years old. It is my favourite shirt and I love the fit, even though the sleeves are like five inches too short. As an adult I usually buy men’s buttondowns because they fit me in all the right places- very wide shoulders, very long arms, no curves. But! This is my favourite shirt of all time.
I marked out center fronts, laid the shirt out on paper, and marked lines, curves, and corners by poking through with a pin.
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In the next installment, I’ll take you through my first muslin and first pattern adjustments.
Happy sewing!
