Groovy Girl

I wanted to surprise Heather with a retro jumper/sundress!

She wanted to proudly model mommy's new creation, starting with the criss cross back!





Then more smiles!







Golly gee willickers, the oldest and the youngest famous Brady daughters have upcoming birthdays in August (Marcia/Maureen will be 51 on the 5th and Cindy/Susan will be 46 on the 14th. In my heart they forever young in "TVLand"). The middle daughter already had hers in April. Here's a tribute to their "far out" fashions.

Pattern Description
From 1975 "Child's and Girls' Dress or Jumper in Two Lengths: The top-stitched dress or jumer with skirt sitched to bodice above normal waistline has back zipper, patch pockets and self fabric shoulder straps butttoned to front. Longer length V. 1 and 2 have self fabric rffles. V. 1 and 3 have rick-rack trim. V. 3, 4, and 5 are approximately 3" shorter than V. 1 and 2. V. 4 features embroidered eyelet edging trim."

I sewed view 3, the jumper/dress without the ruffle trim.

Pattern Size
Girl's size "6".

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, although the dress was knee length for my 4 y.o.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes for advanced beginners and beyond. Like many late 60's and 70's patterns that I discovered the instructions were organized into "units" and the specific steps beneath them. It's interesting to see illustrations of the pattern pieces on the back of the envelope.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I liked the aline shape of skirt portion which gives it a retro vibe, the criss cross of the shoulder straps at the back and the basic ease of constructing the jumper/dress. I have seen current jumper type dress patterns but not with these particular details.

Fabric Used:
Cotton with bold print and a splatter of tacked on sequins from Joann's for $3.49 a yard. I was able to get it at 50% off from the original price per yard because the bolt was placed in the wrong section!

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
My thin 4 y.o. normally wears a RTW 4 or 5, depending on the manufacturer, style or fit. I shortened the dress by 1 1/2". I graded 1/2" from the side seams. The directions for sizes larger than a girls' "6" required darts in the front bodice, but not for the smaller sizes. However, I ended up including what seemed like 1/8" wide darts to my modified bodice to make it better line up with the seams of the skirt.

I thought my 4 y.o. would choose a pair of happy face buttons that we purchased from Wal Mart's fabrics/notions section months ago. Instead she decided on a pair of colorful and attitudinal JMB's Jane Buttons and which one button bears the title of a currently popular penguin movie.

Surprisingly, I encountered just a little give as I zipped the back of the dress which is quite a change from a quick zip and finding the dress loose fitting on my 4 y.o! Fortunately, I could unbutton the straps prior to unzipping the back. I'll keep the pattern intact if I plan to make the dress again.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes in the near future with a different fabric (i.e. stretch cotton twill) I highly recommend this pattern or something similar to it (past and or present) if you are looking for sewing a "no-nonsense" dress with distinctive characteristics, that is both retro and current. Ebay and other retro/vintage pattern sites are wonderful sources!

Conclusion
My 4 y.o. and I just visited the McCall's patterns site and came across the "Stuff" by Hilary Duff patterns. We bought a few for $1.99 each at our favorite fabric/crafts store. The styles even for the 3-4-5-6 set still seem more appropriate for the preteens. I still prefer the Lizzie McGuire series.

Although my daughter insisted upon arriving home after shopping that I sew one of the new "stuffs" by the now brunette Hilary, it was really great to see her ecstatic reaction to her "new" jumper/dress that looked like something mommy wore 32 years ago!