Staff Made
Beth's Vintage New Look Dress
23—October 2024
Beth from our online team has made up a beautiful slip dress using a vintage pattern!
Slips are essential in our southern hemisphere summer wardrobes, and this beauty made with a vintage New Look pattern by online team member Beth ticks all the right boxes! This vintage pattern was one that has been passed down to Beth from her Mum, a much-loved style she wore as a teenager in the eighties paired with her famous bell-decorated Dr Martens boots. Read on for details of Beth's process with adapting this pattern, plus loads of photos of the dress!
Pattern Used — Vintage New Look #6227
Using vintage patterns can be a little hit-and-miss, so it's best to be armed with an open mind and time up your sleeve when attempting one! Beth chose this pattern from her Mum's stash because she was looking for a quick, easy throw-on dress that would work all summer long. Beth's Mum made the long jumpsuit version in white cotton and tie-dyed it herself! To make the slip dress version, Beth used approximately 1.5m of our Olive Gingham Linen, which has a width of 140cm. She suggests paying careful attention to the measurements given for sizing and measuring the pattern pieces themselves, as she ended up going down a couple of sizes from her initial guess. Fit preferences in vintage patterns can be quite different to those of our modern day, so we'd recommend making a basic toile for patterns like this, as you'll be able to quickly see how the pattern fits before you cut out any precious final fabrics. A top tip from Beth is to also remember that there aren’t as many photos of finished garments for vintage patterns as there are with modern patterns, only the stylised drawings. In this case, the drawings don’t really reflect what the garment will actually look like. So a toile is extra helpful!
Beth said this slip was beginner friendly, but she did end up making some more advanced adjustments, such as adding french seams. She also sewed the binding to the neckline right sides together and then folded inwards for a cleaner finish, as well as cutting the front on the fold to avoid having a centre front seam.
Additionally, Beth swapped the ties on the shoulders for fitted straps, adjusting them for her shoulder height. She also added an inverted pleat at the back of the dress, along with some side ties. The original design of the dress was slightly looser, and she wanted to have a slightly more fitted garment with the front waistline accentuated.
If you're looking for, or have found, a cute vintage pattern and want a little extra insight before you start, check out this video from Retro Claude for tips!
