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Offered: Handmade reproduction apron dress using fabric designed by the dressmaker herself!
Nalo says: It's a handmade repro apron dress that I made from a vintage 1060s sewing pattern, using a fabric I designed; I've only worn it once.
Sewing pattern; Mail Order 9372 (not included), probably from the 1960s. The front panel wraps and ties at the back. The back panel wraps and buttons at the front.
Fabric; "Balance", a design I made based on a Victorian trade card I own. (I have a small cache of rare flattering Victorian depictions of black people.) For this dress, I had "Balance" printed up on 100% cotton.
Size; Bust 38" to 40", knee length.
I think of this as a "first pancake" dress. You know how the first pancake of a batch won't look perfect, but it'll taste just as good as the others? It's like that. I'd never made this pattern before, or used bias binding as an edging. I should have made a practice muslin first, but at the time, I lacked both patience and the money to buy more fabric. The dress is shaped correctly and fits well, but in the interest of truth in advertising, I'll point out that:
- the binding is pleated and uneven on curves and sharp angles
- I made possibly the clumsiest bound buttonhole ever
- the button is sitting on a patch I had to make when I realised that I was only supposed to make one buttonhole, not two
- the bodice front is pieced so that the design on the fabric all runs in the same direction. That creates a seam across the chest.
Opening bid: $20
Auction closes at 5 p.m. Pacific Time, December 15th 2011
Please see Mod Note here for bidding instruction changes/reminders