Ahoy hoy!: A vintage sailor shirtwaist dress

Probably my favourite dress, so of course it has limited appropriate settings.

Please excuse the many wrinkles! I always iron my projects as I'm making them, but I'm less fastidious once they've entered my wardrobe.

This dress was my first major project with my new sewing machine earlier this summer. At the time I hadn't sewn since high school, and I'd previously only made one dress, with much help from my mother. I made this dress to wear to my roller derby team's championship game, and though it's not perfect I'm really happy with the result. The Chicks Ahoy! are badass sailors in green, so I used this New Look pattern for its vintage shirtwaist shape. I swapped out the button placket for a zipper and used this tutorial to draft my own sailor collar. Thank god for Cosplay nerds!

I'm completely obsessed with shirtwaist dresses, so saddened by the idea that this lovely dress wasn't really suitable for everyday wear, I made another version of it with a peter pan collar instead.

I have since developed an obsession with Peter Pan collars.

I was convinced by an overbearing fabric-seller to buy this linen. I love the print, but I hate how easily it wrinkles. Despite this, I am very happy with result of this project. I also recently went back and inserted some pockets, which are pretty much necessities of life for me.

Next time: Godzilla takes over my closet, and my discovery of Ikea fabric.