In 2015, I bought 1.9 metres of the tartan fabric you see above for under $10 with the idea that it would be used to make a dress for me. In 2017, I used a little of it to make a pincushion for a friend. In August 2020, I used some of it to accent a dress and purse for my grandniece Cauliflower, cutting out the pieces for my dress first to make sure I would have what I needed for it, and could feel free to use what was left for Cauliflower's dress. Then, once I'd finished the dress for Cauliflower, it was time to turn back to the pieces I'd cut out for my dress. I had a certain dread of making it, remembering what it was like to make a tartan skirt from a very similar fabric years before.
This is the pattern I picked out for the dress: Vogue 8873. It's a 2013 pattern that is no longer available on the Vogue Pattern website. I love it -- it's a wearable, practical, yet stylish design that can work as either a day dress or for something more dressy, depending on the fabric chosen. It's flattering too. When I searched for an image of the cover to use in this post, my search pulled up many a dressmaker's version of it, nearly all of which looked lovely on the wearer. And it even has pockets, which makes it practically a unicorn among dress patterns.
But... it was probably not the ideal choice for this tartan fabric. I keep side-eyeing the sketch of view F (see bottom right of the pattern photo above) done in a tartan fabric, which shows the dress in a tartan fabric and the bodice overlay with the same tartan orientation as the skirt. Be warned: that sketch is a liar and a deceiver. The draped bodice overlay section is cut on the bias, while the skirt piece is cut straight along the grain. I had two fears as I made this dress: that I would accidentally cut one piece of it beyond repair (I had no fabric left to recut even the smallest pieces); and that it would look like a discordant mess when I was done (I hadn't had much leeway for pattern matching).
Here's the finished dress. Yes, the tartan of the skirt and of the bodice are wildly at variance, but I am inclined to think that this fun contemporary tartan doesn't require the kind of fabric matching that a more traditional tartan does and that it looks fine. But I may be totally deluding myself.
The fabric itself has a very sturdy quality to it and it should wear like iron. The style is not likely to ever date, or to become too young for me. I'll definitely be keeping the pattern for future use.
I can't resist doing a little show and tell on how I'm going to style the dress. Some years back I scored the handbag you see above at my neighbourhood Salvation Army thrift shop for $8, and the suede pumps that sit beside them at a Le Château outlet store on Toronto's Orfus Road for $33. I spent perhaps $50 on the dress (the fabric was super inexpensive, but I had to buy the pattern, a zipper, and I splurged on a good quality lining), so the total cost of the outfit is under $100. The colour didn't photograph well, but the handbag and shoes are a rich teal, not the more turquoise-like colour you see here, and the two are an excellent match, with barely a few shades' difference between the two. As for jewelry, I think I'll go with some simple silver pieces, such as the sterling silver rose pendant necklace I wear a lot.
Still not decided about that tartan mishmash -- will I be making every dressmaker who sees me in it cringe? -- but I'm very happy with the total outfit. I also managed to get a dress, contrast fabric for a second dress and a purse, and a pincushion out of less than 2 metres of fabric that I paid under $10 for, so I'm happy about that too.
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