Artistically Inspired 80s Dress

Forgetfulness is a strange thing -- I made this New Look 6344 Dress way back in September, and then forgot to blog or review it, and also forgot to wear it all winter once it got tucked away in a corner of my closet. I retrieved it today and wore it again, so thought it was also time to share it!

I found this wonderful vintagey pattern in a local thrift store, and thought that the shorter length would be perfect for a lightweight floral polyknit I found at Fabricland. I originally decided to make this dress as soon as I saw the fabric -- I was planning on going to an artist's talk by Amanda McCavour for her beautiful installation at Gallery Stratford -- thread work poppies, so gorgeous and peaceful.

When I saw this fabric I knew I had to make a matching dress! But there were only 3 days until the talk, so it had to be an easy to make dress. This 80s dress fit the bill.

It was a pretty straightforward sew. Even with the shorter length I had to shorten the skirt some more. Perils of being only 5'2". I left it a bit longer than I would usually though, as I liked the longer, flowier feel of this design. Of course I added pockets, with some seam tape along the edge of the pocket/skirt seam to reduce stretching.

It's then sewn together and an elastic casing formed from the waist seam allowance. Thread through the elastic, turn under & stitch the neckline and sleeve hems, and then leave the hem unfinished -- I couldn't face stabilizing all the very long hem and it looks perfectly fine unfinished. I like the easy way when possible!

Such a full skirt :)

In any case, finding something in your closet after 6 months which you've completely forgotten about means it's like a new dress :) I enjoyed rediscovering this colourful comfy dress today and also realizing that I could share it with you all. I hope you've enjoyed this little visit to a gorgeous art installation from September!