Country Singer Dress

Quite a while ago, I discovered this vintage Western style dress on Pinterest and was never able to get it out of my head.

I just adore that combination of rick rack and fringe! And it's so clever how the fringe is sewn into the seams of the tiered skirt. I knew I wanted to copy the dress at some point, and it finally happened. I think I've mentioned here that I sing in a little local rockabilly band, and I needed a good performance dress. Obligatory guitar shot!

The pattern I used is from my upcoming book Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book. It's a variation on the Plaid Rockabilly Dress.

As I've mentioned, the book has included patterns for interchangeable bodices, skirts, and sleeves. This design uses the Basic Bodice (V-neck variation), Puff Sleeve, and All-Around Pleated Skirt. I did a little trick where I sewed the neckline facing to the wrong side of the bodice, and then turned it to the turned it to the outside, so it's a design feature on the outside of the dress. This gives you a place to insert trim, like this rick rack.

So for my Country Singer dress, I did the exact same thing with the exact same pattern pieces, with one big exception: for the skirt, I shortened the pattern piece to about 10 inches, and gathered it at the waistline instead of making the pleats on the pattern. Then I cut reeeeeaaaaalllly long 10" strips of fabric to make the lower tiers, and used a ruffler foot to form the gathers. I inserted fringe into the seams of the tiers, and then topstitched rick rack above the seams.

This used an obnoxious amount of fabric. The lower tier is over ten yards long!

I used the same neckline facing trick as in the book, but inserted fringe instead of rick rack. 

I love how it turned out! (That's a portrait of my grandmother next to me. Isn't it amazing?)

Hey, what's that fabric? It's a design from my upcoming spring collection! It's a dotted swiss cotton with strawberries and blue roses. Swoon! Here's a close up of the texture. It's not available yet, but I promise to post about it as soon as it is.

Side view with super big Country Singer hair! (I just discovered this product and it's a total game-changer). The puff sleeves have a little binding at the hem.

I lined the bodice only in white siri cotton. I found the perfect color crinoline to wear under the skirt. This is the Hell Bunny 25" petticoat in turquoise. 

It makes the skirt even swingier. 

And since I always get foundation garment questions, I'm also wearing a longline bra and high-waisted panty to get a really smooth line. Wearing vintage-style foundations definitely helps to achieve the right silhouette. 

I wore this to a performance at an Irish dive bar, and got some hilarious comments from the local drunks, including: "Are you Cinderella?!" and "Did you just come from a rodeo?" Sigh.

Anyway, the book has the pattern pieces for this design (without tiers), as well as detailed instructions. It's coming out in less than a month now! I'll be posting more photos and designs as we get closer.