Vintage Sewing – Vogue 6572 from the 1960s

I’ve seen thousands of vintage patterns in my time of collecting and sewing them, but sometimes I run across one that makes me stop and dream of being the woman in the illustration.  The cutting table I recently bought came with several hundred patterns, most of them not of interest.  But while flipping through them, I stopped at this one and pulled it out for the “make” pile.

The last thing I need is another dress.  I have enough to cover the occasions in life where I’ll need to wear one.  But I just loved this design so much and began to dream of fabrics.

After days of thinking about this pattern I began to realize that it was not the dress I loved, it was the neckline and upper bodice.  In the 1960s designers must have gotten tired of trying to redesign the plain sheath dress, and so they got busy cutting the bodice into pieces and reassembling them.  Look carefully at mid-1960s sewing patterns and you will see what I mean.

Or just look at this one great example.  From the princess seams that shape the bust, to the sleeve and upper bodice yoke, it’s the seaming that makes this otherwise plain design interesting.  Add a tie neckline and a keyhole and you have plenty of interest in the design.

Still, I did not need a dress.

But I can always use another white knit top.  While looking through my accumulated fabrics, I ran across a white cotton knit that I’d been meaning to use to make a tee shirt.  Instead I decided to up my knit shirt game a bit by making the bodice of my new favorite design.

The pattern was not designed for knits, especially not one this thick and stretchy, so the slash keyhole is a bit rounded.  I also decided not to press the binding of the neckline flat, as I liked it rounded, especially with the tubular ties.

This is the sleeve.  Just a tiny curve makes it lie flatter, and gives another interesting element to the design.

The back of the dress takes a zipper, but I knew I’d not need one with my knit.  I love how the yoke meets the bodice in a point.

And here is the full view of the back.

I’m sorry about the dressform photos.  I promised myself sometime ago that all sewing projects would be modeled by me.  But after battling a cold for over a week, I think the dressform looks a little less scary.