イギリス南部のグッドウッドという大邸宅の広大な庭で行われるイギリス最大の車の祭典、
フェスティバル・オブ・スピードに行ってきました。10万人収容できる庭ってすごいよね。
去年も行きました。オットは駐在期間が延びるにつれ、今年もこの時期にイギリスにいるなら絶対行く、と言ってたんだけど、ずっと滞在期間が1か月ごとに伸びていたのでチケット買えずにいました。5月末になってやっとチケット買うことにしたら、なんともうVIPチケット以外は全部売り切れで、オークションサイトでチケット購入。
車が大好きなオットにとっては大イベントでも、私にとってはそうでもないこのイベントをもっと楽しむために、車柄の布でシャツドレスを作ってコスプレ気分で挑みました。
型紙は
マッコールの6696番。
ちょっとスカート短すぎたわ。
I went to the UK's biggest car show event,
Festival of Speed. We went there
last year, too. Since our expat stay had been extending almost month-to-month, we were not sure if we could go this year. By the time we decided to buy the tickets in the late May, all the tickets except for the freaking expensive VIP tickets were all sold out and MOTH had to try his luck on eBay.
In order for me, who is not a car enthusiast, to enjoy this event, I made a shirt dress for this occasion using a classic race car printed fabric. Spirit of cosplay.
According to MOTH, the printed classic race car is probably a Jaguar Type D. So I took a photo in front of a similar Jaguar classic race car to commemorate this event.
The pattern is
McCall's 6696, shirt dress pattern. I made a View A, a sleeveless bodice with pleated skirt and belt loops on the waist band. The fabric for the main bodice/skirt is aforementioned gray poplin, and the waist band, button placket, collar stand and collar were made using black cotton voile for accent.
I cut a size 10 and graded up to size 12 for waist band. I kept the skirt as size 10 and just adjusted the outermost pleats to fit the size 12 waist band.
Other modifications are:
-Shortened skirt by 3" at the hem;
-Took in 3" at center back for back bodice to narrow the bodice;
-Changed the back bodice gather to back darts;
-Cut back skirt piece on fold;
-Raised shoulder point by 5/8";
-Shortened bodice 1" horizontally above bust both front and back;
-Lengthened bodice 1" at lengthen/shorten line to restored the length;
-1" swayback; and
-Narrowed shoulder width by 3/8".
Oh, and I added a flat piping at the yoke seam.
Since the poplin does not have any drape, the skirt turned very poofy so I pressed the pleats all the way down.
By the way, looking at the McCall's website photos, I noticed that the white sample the model is wearing is different from the pattern: there is no yoke or back gather and it's a simple one piece bodice with back darts. False advertising?
I really like the buttons. They break up the harsh contrast of black button placket in the center.
I french-seamed all the raw edges including pockets. I watched
Kittenish Behavior's sew along videos for the french-seamed pockets. And yes, I watch the daily waffles.
Since I read previous reviewers' comments about the size of the pocket, I deepened the pocket about 2". My cell phone fit in the pocket perfectly.
I made 3 mock-ups before I got to the actual fabric but the fit in the bodice is still not right. The side bust darts are too high and there are drag lines in the front bodice. The center front needs to be lengthened. I also somehow messed up my belt loop markings so the loops are not placed symmetrically in the back. Skirt is definitely 2" too short. But overall I'm quite happy with the dress, and it's always fun planning and making a garment for an objective in mind.