Thursday, April 29, 2010

I Had Liberty Once Dress - Style 2225 (OOP)

See!

This picture was taken in the early 1990's when I was still in college (the first time). How I was able to afford this fabric, I really don't remember. I think it took three yards, so it must have been on sale. But I do remember that I bought it at G Street Fabrics in Rockville, Maryland. I hope one day to find that I still have a scrap of this left somewhere. This fabric was so gorgeous. It was a floral with white flowers outlined in black on a true red ground. I have searched the Liberty of London site and I thought it was no longer manufactured. **If anyone knows of a great resource to track down old Liberty prints, please let me know! I would love to know the name of this one and when it was designed.
I did find one similar, called Capel at Shaukat, the British seller of Liberty fabrics (they also carry Liberty oilcloth!) I believe my print was more densely populated with flowers, but then, this could just be a bad shot of the fabric.


Update: I found another picture of Capel and I think it actually is the same one!

I used Style 2225 (OOP), View 2 for this dress. It turned out wonderful, a real twirly, girly dress. I remember how crisp and light the fabric was and wearing it while riding my bike to class. I even made tiny covered buttons for it. Of course you can't see them in this picture, but you can see on the pattern front that they went down the center front from neckline to hem.

Style 2225 (OOP)

Unfortunately, my waistline eventually expanded and I could no longer wear this dress. I wish I had had the foresight to keep it as the skirt was full enough and the sash long and wide enough to make a blouse. However, this was before I embraced the concept of refashioning. For me, I made an item, usually only once and then let it go. I was so prolific with my sewing then that the items were not as precious as their memories are now.

2 comments:

Diane Drexel said...

I had a dress like that in the 80's. It was my "magic dress" because that large waistband, paired with a generous skirt and strong shoulders gave me such great curves. Mine met an untimely end because I caught it on something and ripped it. It's probably all for the best as I am certain I would have worn it well past its style expiration date. :)

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

What a beautiful dress! I can see why you still pine for it. The style is so flattering and it looks very well made--especially by a college student!