bridgerton but make it brat???
laura ashley & mcall's 4547
first, thank you for your very kind words on my last post and even subscribing to this??? it’s simultaneously gratifying and horrifying that anyone subscribed at all. like, oh cool people are interested in my silly little sewing projects and thoughts also I have (I don’t have to but you get what I mean) to keep doing this?? I’m still figuring out exactly what I want this to be, for now I’m settling for a little bit of what goes into sewing projects and a little bit of everything else that runs through my mind while I’m doing it.
I am feeling pretty overjoyed that I’m back with a project that I am absolutely besotted with!!! it’s been a while since I’ve finished a project that left my heart feeling quite full and proud of what I’ve accomplished. shockingly the sewing part went rather smoothly, even with our household going through a period of pure chaos. one thing I, for some reason, hadn’t really acknowledged in my last post is that while I can plan and schedule as much as I like to try and get my ass working on a project, you can’t really plan for the way a kid going through it (very intense molar teething in this case) will drain every ounce of energy from you. so, I had to sort of grit my teeth and push my schedule a week further and, guess what, nothing bad happened! I was very pleased with myself for stopping and saying, “y’know what the vibes are NOT right for trying to do a zipper tonight let’s wait” and it truly paid off.
typically when I get frustrated about a project not working out or taking longer than expected, etc. I find that a huge part of my disappointment is not being able to share the perfect image I was holding in my mind of what I was working on. this then, inevitably, sends me on a spiral of why am I even doing this, why do I feel the need to share any of this, no one cares, etc. unhealthy, I know, but I am working on it!! all part of sharing bits of yourself and your work on the internet I suppose.
anyway, back to the dress!! sometime around the end of 2019 into 2020 I developed a huge preference for vintage sewing patterns. some (my husband and credit card) may even say an unhealthy obsession. I found that the big pattern brands of the 70s and 80s were a much better reflection of the style I wanted to pursue as opposed to what they sell today (many of which are quite good still! also they seem to be reprinting A LOT of vintage patterns). so on I went and spent more than I should have on many, many vintage patterns. I became particularly fixated on laura ashley patterns (you can see the other two laura ashley patterns I’ve made here and here) and this mccall’s 4547 was one of the many I purchased at the time.
sitting down to write this out I thought, hmm I don’t think I really followed my sewing rules that closely but, going back to re-read them now, I actually kind of DID, which is rather shocking! I didn’t schedule in the sense that I wrote it down in my planner BUT I did make sure to take time to work on my project (even just for 15 minutes sometimes) during naps and after bedtime. a couple people recommended backstitch (currently in beta testing but sign up! I got in pretty quickly), which I love so far, and I did kind of start working on a project plan there but wasn’t super attentive to it. most importantly, I TOILED!!!!!
well, okay, I only toiled the bodice but since my pattern was a size 14 and I’m currently fitting closer to a 12 I knew in my heart it had to be done. while I want to be a more detail oriented, by the book sort of sewist, I tend to work rather chaotically/with a vibes based approach and, oftentimes, not do things in a way that make the most sense. doing a little toiling goes a long way in this respect.
the deets
the pattern comes with a standard ease, mccall’s bodice piece and a laura ashley specific piece which has less ease for a closer fit, I used the latter
from the front bodice piece I took off a ½ inch from the center. this was mostly to accommodate bust sizing but I typically also need a narrow shoulder adjustment and this helped with that too
from the back bodice piece I took off a ⅜ inch from the center back seam
added a lining to the bodice and skirt
added some lace to the sleeve hem
presently, I’m committing to sewing through a good portion of my fabric stash and ended up using three different fabrics, a cotton lawn from the stash, leftover cotton swiss dot, and (literally) shreds of a cotton poplin that were leftover from a previous project. initially I had planned to dye this in dharma trading’s hot pink dye but when I went back and counted how many things I’ve made in this color (four) I thought it might be time for something different. being the easily influenced person that I am and also obsessed with charli xcx’s brat I ended up going with rit’s formula for “lime punch”.
ultimately I am so, so pleased with how this turned out. the sewing process went beautifully and I think I owe a lot of that to trying to slow down, make sure I don’t rush things, and knowing when to step back. kind of funny that having less time to sew seems to have maybe affected my sewing mindset in a really positive way??? anyway I am obsessed with this pattern and how the dress turned out. one of the things I really love about these laura ashley patterns is the number of fun little details (the construction of the drawstring neckline, the bodice band, etc), which I think is sometimes what’s missing from contemporary patterns. the one thing I was worried about when I started this is that it would look too historical regency costume-y (which of course isn’t a bad thing! just not what I was going for) but I think I got it to a good point of evoking that era while still looking pretty contemporary.
I am rather happy with how my sort of renewed sewing journey is going but don’t want to push myself by opting for a hard rule about how often I’ll push out projects. aiming for a happy medium between structure and vibes seems to be working so far?? hopefully I can be back soon with some future sewing plans?? tbd. until next time!!!
some other things on my mind and in my ears while i was sewing
despite the title of this post I have not yet gotten around to watching the new season of bridgerton but I did watch pride and prejudice (2005) THREE TIMES while I made this and sense and sensibility (2008) once. dan stevens IF you’re reading I am happy for you that you’ve found a great little weird guy character actor niche but if you could do like one more period drama romance it would fix me.
it’s a really amazing time to be a fan of female artists imo!!! here’s the albums I listened to A LOT while making this:
charli xcx’s brat …obviously
hannah jadagu’s aperture
lizzy mcalpine's five seconds flat and older
everything by clairo and most recently charm which came out on friday and I have been listening to incessantly!!!
the very talented and hilarious mindy isser (who also has a fabulous substack btw) wrote about astrology app parenting for slate which made me wonder if I should be parenting and sewing based on what’s going on astrologically???
i love it sooooo much and i’m honored to be mentioned