polka dot summertime

For some reason, this post is exceedingly difficult to write. Not because I don’t have anything to say, but crafting an enticing opening paragraph around what is essentially a very simple piece is proving to be frustrating. So I’m just going to introduce you two:

Polka dot top, this it the blog.

Blog, this is the polka dot top I made a couple weekends ago.

Whew—easy, right? If you follow the Elegant Musings Facebook, you may have seen me post about this 1950s midriff top pattern back in May. As soon as I spotted it, I knew it’d be perfect to add to my little stash of 40s midriff tops (which I wear a lot in July and August), and it looked like a great stash busting pattern to boot. (A great way to use up this polka dot cotton I’d had in my stash for years.) It ended up taking me much longer to make the pattern than I had intended, but I finally got it done in about an evening and early morning of sewing.

I did make a muslin of this top, which was an excellent move on my part. (Sometimes on “simple” pieces I just make adjustments and fit as I sew the garment.) I ended up taking in the side seams and shortening the halter 2” to fit properly.

the original pattern illustration.

You may also notice that it’s missing the button back that the pattern illustration shows—this was intentional. As soon as I saw Gertie’s tutorial on adding shirring to a bodice, I thought it would be an excellent pairing with this top. During the summer I have a tendency to swell a bit due to the heat and amount of water I drink, so wearing something that gives and expands a bit throughout the day is preferable. To adapt this pattern, I drafted a new back piece that was an even width across the width and followed the angle of the side seams of the original piece. Rather than line the piece (as the pattern indicates), I hemmed the top and bottom edges and added the shirring, then sewed it to the side seams.

The front section is lined. To do this with minimal fuss and working around the unlined back piece, I sewed the front to the back piece (after sewing the darts and center front seam), and then attached the finished halter to the top edge. The front lining was then stitched to the top edge, clipped, turned and top stitched. The sides and lower edges were turned along the seam lines, pinned to the front piece side seams and bottom edge, and topstitched. Easy!

more photos here.

I wore this piece for the first time on the Fourth of July, and have worn it quite a bit since. The only change I’d make in the future is to add more ease to the back piece. I went by Gertie’s estimates and added a total of about 4-4 1/2” extra to the back piece. I didn’t want to add too much so the top would be loose, but it needed enough to be able to slip over my head. I think it could safely use another 2” for to make putting it on a bit less cumbersome.

Pattern: 1950s midriff halter top, available as a PDF here.

Fabric: medium weight cotton polka dot (less than the pattern called for; I added a solid lining).

Pattern Adjustments: took in the side seams, shortened the halter, and converted the back piece to allow for shirring.

Techniques: shirring tutorial from Gertie (see posts #1, #2, and #3).

What have you been sewing lately?

July 13, 2011 · 46 lovely thoughts
posted in sewing · tags: 1950s, 2011 sewing, sewing