Faux Heirloom Sundress

This is the quintessential modern project for old fashioned Nanas.  I love this easy care/faux heirloom dress.

It may seem early to be thinking about sundresses, but the commercial  pattern companies have already put out their spring and summer pattern books. I’ve had to think about it because Faux Heirloom Sundress is another class I will be teaching in Myrtle Beach at the end of the month.

The beauty of this summer frock is its easy care properties.  It’s no surprise to heirloom loving grandmothers everywhere that ironing organdy and Swiss batiste beauties is a real problem for busy young mothers.  This wash and wear, easy care, easy sew pop-over meets many of the requirements for an heirloom garment.  And still, it comes out of the dryer ready to wear and is as sturdy as Old Navy.

The fancyband on the skirt and front yoke are applied, rather than inserted.  Nothing is cut away behind thee bands.  The base fabric is intact under these embellishments, maintaining the structural integrity of the solid fabric.

The “faux handloom” embroidered insertion sets the heirloom mood.  It   is polyester based, but very good quality, as is the fabric, rice colored Imperial broadcloth and gingham check.  The inclusion of  just a little genuine heirloom trim, the Swiss beading, lends credibility to the heirloom status of the garment.

Gingham is so popular right now.  Using gingham rather than ribbon in the beading and as borders for the embroidered insertion adds playfulness to the otherwise demure look of ivory and pastels.   Because the entredeux holes would reveal the base fabric, they have been threaded with green twisted cord thread which matches the green vine.

As I was designing this project, I kept wrestling with the bias binding.  Traditional heirloom standards requires that  it be machine stitched to the right side of the garment and hand whipped to the inside.  More casual styles use topstitching which violates one of the strictest rules of heirloom sewing, that no machine stitching show except for tucks.  But the solution lay in two staple of heirloom sewing, 80 wt. thread and #60 needle.

By carefully stacking the folded edges of the bias ties and stitching a tiny zig zag W. 1.0 and L 1.0 over the fold and then into the air, the finish is nearly invisible without magnification.  This same technique was used to join the gingham in the fancyband to the skirt.

As I usually do, I am making kits with a variety of embroidered insertions, Swiss trims, gingham and Imperial colors.  If I had more time, I would love to make up several of these for Laurel in readiness for summer.  Also, I just want to see the combinations made up.  But as the Sewing at the Beach class progresses, I will have that satisfaction.

I am rather excited about faux heirloom.  What do you think of it?