The Summer of Store-Bought Clothes

Editor's note: I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this post-- they just take my money, that's all. 

I'm sure most of my readers have seen these clothing in the stores long before I did, but in case you live up in the hills or out on the farm, and don't get into town too often (or maybe you are like me and would rather make it yourself, and don't shop for clothing), let me alert you to the fact that there are modest, affordable, and pretty clothing to be had NOW!

I know finding decent clothing is difficult for many of you, as I have read comments on other people's blogs about the lack of pretty, modest clothing, or the lack of sewing skills to make them. When you find something just right in the stores (not too low, not too tight, not too short), snap it up because the styles may change next year, and you won't see the likes of these items for another ten years.

These are what I call "classic" styles, for those of us who don't want to follow the fads.
It's been a while since I have purchased ready-made clothing, but as this summer is so busy, I am glad that there is something out there I can buy to replenish my wardrobe until I can sew again.
A note about hem lengths in these photos:  my dress form has become tired of standing up straight and tall, and would rather sink and shirk. Most of these outfits are mid-calf to ankle-length. 

 At a NW store, Bi-Mart, this smocked sundress comes in several colors and prints, and some with an embroidered hem. This is paired with a crocheted bolero from Chadwick's catalog. 

At Costco: very long tiered skirts with many details such as cotton lace and a ruffled hem. These are rayon. 

These come in several colors. Costco also carries these t-shirts with a lace overlay.

The lace helps take the t-shirt up from the "blah" level; it also helps to have a texture so that the shirt doesn't seem so cling-y.

Same skirt with another crocheted sweater from Chadwick's catalog.

Long denim cotton skirt from Chadwick's. (Just pulled it out of the package so it is a bit wrinkled!)

Yoke detail on the skirt.

I went to Walmart to get t-shirts since they were around $4 each.  I noticed the selection varied from store to store in my area. I like these printed t-shirts because if I have to buy t-shirts, at least I can find some that aren't so plain that they look like a t-shirt. I did buy some solid colors, but I prefer the prints.

Walmart had white broom-stick skirts, but they weren't easy to find. They were right in the middle of the clothing dept., so you had to wind your way through all the junk to find them, The great thing about a basic white skirt for summer is that when it has outlived it's usefulness as an outer garment, you can wear it as a petticoat. 

 The printed shirts are nicer than the solid ones for mothers-- just the thing for when junior spills his juice on mom!

Cottage Dresses

That sounds so much nicer than "house dresses," don't you think?
(I have not seen any "Cottage Dresses" for sale around here for homemakers, so if you ever see that phrase written on a label, remember you saw it here first! )
What is a "Cottage Dress?" It is a very comfortable dress, allowing freedom of movement, with the ability to adjust it to be looser if needed. It is made of soft cottons that only get softer with use. It is a pretty, feminine dress, done in colors and prints that make you happy. It is a dress that looks good enough to wear to the post office, but isn't too fancy, so that when the baby spits up on you, the toddler smears jelly on you, the older child plops a mud pie in your lap, etc. that you would have ruined something expensive.

"Cottage Dresses"

I decided to use what was in my stash, and match up what I could to make a complete dress. I chose a pattern that pulled over the head, with no zippers or buttons to fool with, and no gathers. I cut 6 dresses from the same pattern, hoping that I could "assembly line" sew them to some degree, my goal being to be done in a week.

Well, of course it took three weeks longer than I had anticipated.

The patterns I chose were very easy, but the adjustments made to each dress and the details added took extra time. And life must go on whether I am sewing or not... laundry and dishes have to be done and sewing has to wait for spare time.

Professional seamstresses beware: the rest of these posts may curl your hair. I am all for shortcuts in sewing and am not very precise!

Note: I combined two patterns from Butterick, the top from this one and the skirt from another Butterick, that had box pleats instead of gathers to take up fulness in the skirt.

Blue Cottage Dress

The ties have decorative stitching to coordinate with the other trim.

The sleeves have a strip of the calico, plus some decorative stitching.

When I was finished with the dress, I found the bodice was too plain, so with a contrasting thread, I used some of the decorative stitches on my machine to make a design.

A zig-zag scallop, a thick straight stitch, and some little cross-stitches were used.

Decorative stitching sews up the hem.

Here is how the bodice decoration was done:

First, I used a teacup to trace around for some gentle curves.

Then I laid tracing paper over the teacup curves, traced the design, cut around the tracing, and....

...flipped the tracing paper over and traced around the edge to get the lines on the other side. From there I just stitched along the lines, then the next decorative stitch or thread color was a presser-foot edge away from the last line, etc.

Cream & Calico Cottage Dress

For this Cottage Dress, I decided to do something different than adding ties, and did tabs and buttons instead.

Close up of the bodice above. I did no research on vintage styles, but the tabs strike me as a sort of 1920-ish detail.Close up of decorative stitches above and below

The dress at work.

Purple Jumper

This has turned out to be one of my favorite Cottage Dresses.

I used up some metallic thread I had left over from a project to stitch around the neckline.

Here is the jumper with the peasant blouse. Looks like something out of The Sound of Music, doesn't it?

The ties can just be done in a knot in the back....

...as the bow is not really "in style" anymore. But I like the bow anyway:)

Here is how I made the tie: if you sew, you will recognize this piece. It is a scrap left over from cutting the skirt. I did not have much fabric left after cutting out the jumper, so I just hemmed up this piece, gathered the wide end, and sewed it to the front of the bodice, over the box pleats.

All of the dress bodices are fully lined, but this one needed a facing. It is too confusing for me to turn a pull-over-the-head dress into a jumper and figure out how to turn the lining out (if you have ever made a lined vest, you'll know what I mean), so I just traced the armhole to make the facing. Facings are not my favorite thing to sew. That is why I line my bodices. Later on I will show you how I got out of more facings:)

Down on the Farm

I enjoyed experimenting with a twin needle on my machine. This fabric was very light weight and lent itself nicely to pin-tucks. As this dress started to go together, I thought it looked so plain! The sleeves made it look even duller. Somebody may not have a problem with it, but I decided it needed a burst of color. I also decided to turn it into a jumper. Here you see this dress in the designing stage. It looks rather awful now, but you have to use your imagination. I decided the material could not support the weight of a pocket, so that element was out. But the border and the trim could stay.

Here is the result! The bodice was lined (as I was going to add sleeves) and so to turn it into a jumper and add trim at the same time, I made my own bias tape and sewed it around the raw edges of the sleeve, and the finished edge of the neckline. No facings this time.

To add the border on the skirt, I cut a section out the skirt bottom, used that section as a pattern to cut the print border, and sewed the border to the skirt and the bottom of the skirt back on.

Here is the jumper with the peasant blouse.

A close-up of the bias edging.

A close-up of the border.