This dress almost ruined Christmas 🎄 Making a 1970s dress for
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- Опубликовано: 17 дек 2021
- In which I make a 1970s dress in the style of Gunne Sax but with a festive twist.
But I had a crisis halfway through and the dress almost ruined Christmas before a mince pie saved the day and the dress.
This video is part of a collaboration hosted by my friend @GwensShenanigans called #GunneSaxmas so make sure to check out all the other amazing folks making Gunne Sax dresses for the holiday season.
Watch the playlist of videos! • #gunnesaxmas
All the photos of GunneSaxoween dresses were used with the kind permission of their owners.
Nikki's video with much better instructions for how to do this kind of centre front opening: • Making A Captain Ameri...
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My sewing machine: Brother LX27NT
The fabric:
Snowflake cotton (out of stock in blue): www.fabricsgalore.co.uk/colle...
Blue Velvet - AD: tidd.ly/3qb4CFy
The yarn - AD: tidd.ly/3L7Pmmv
The pattern Style 3992 - AD: tidd.ly/32iDFrr
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My scissors www.williamgee.co.uk/shop/fis...
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Хобби
As the owner of an original Gunne Sax, I can honestly say you nailed it, Claude. I was in my teens when that craze was going on. Jessica McClintock would be proud of you. The dress is absolutely lovely on you. I have wondered with the cottagecore trend, if the Gunne Sax would make a comeback. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I was a young teen during the height of the Gunne Sax craze. It’s so much fun watching these videos. My sister and I were absolutely crazed for these dresses. Her prom/wedding dress was Gunne Sax. They were quite pricey which is why it served a dual role. Then, they came out with the patterns and we made GS dresses for every occasion, though not for Halloween! Several Christmas dresses and Easter dresses too. It was so much fun.
I did try to find an original Gunne Sax pattern but it seems they were less common here in Britain and so are very collectible and expensive! I know Jeanette from A Perfect Touch used an original Gunne Sax pattern for her dress I wonder if it's the same one you had?
Me too! My friends and I were also crazy for these dresses! It was fun!
I’ll have to look. They only made a few patterns and I remember them being very expensive for the time period. So we bought only the one and improvised.
Claude, I am so appreciating your videos, having only recently "found" you. Your voice is lovely, you are articulate and take us through the ups and downs with honesty and candour. The dress is very lovely on you, I particularly like how you rescued the collar. Take care and have a wonderful and blessed Christmas. Australian Grandma here 😊.
You might not have matched the Christmas decorations but I can assure you that you would fit right in at any Hanukkah party!
I think it is beautiful on you, it looks marvelous with the silver-white decorations on the tree, and your take on your experience makes a perfect motto for Christmas amongst those of us with SAD. Thank you for a lovely holiday video!
ditto from those of us with MDD x
Despite its challenges, I think the dress turned out lovely! You were right- the peter pan collar works so much better; I'm also a fan of the little ribbon bow tie and the mixed textures :D enjoy your holidays!!
It looks great and as you had your low point my cat started headbutting the screen to give love. So youve got a little furry ginger fan sending hugs!
Awww how sweet! 😻
Isn't it strange how something can be objectively fine and subjectively not fine at all? The dress is actually lovely on you, from an outsider's perspective.
Beautifully put! Yes, even when I watched back the footage from my crisis I thought, "why was I so upset about it?" But in the moment I really thought I'd ruined Christmas 😂
I like the finished dress. Thank you for taking us on your journey. And chapeau for using velvet.
As for the collar, you know that blocking is essential in knitting, even with laméyarn 😉😉. And now enjoy the holidays and restore some spoons for new projects. Fröhliche Weihnachten!
so good to hear you use the term tacking. Everywhere these days it is called 'basting' which is not what I learned early in my sewing journey. Love how your dress turned out!
I agree, basting is what you do to a roast. It's great to hear correct wording, (thanks Claude, it was also correct in American historical sewing books). So many British, Australian & Kiwi RUclipsrs have Americanised everything they do or say to chase more US subscribers. Some go to the extent of changing their accents & natural phrasing, many even give measurements ONLY in Imperial, when they've never been educated in anything but metric - UK has been metric nearly 60yrs, Australia & NZ nearly 50yrs. I'm all for being inclusive, but be yourselves FFS creators.
It reminds me of going up to London to buy fabric from the Laura Ashley shop sometime in the mid seventies. Yes, I am that old!
Wooow the dress looks soo pretty on you. By the title, i was expecting much bigger disasters!
And the lights on the tree actually look very blue. You match amazingly.
The little sketch/plan thing you did gave me massive sewing bee vibes. I miss the sewing bee
Thank you, and yes I admit I was being dramatic 😂 there is a sewing bee Christmas special which shall have to tide us over until the next series 🐝
I got married in 1977. I was in medical school and quite cash poor. I was the 2nd oldest of 8 kids, and my dad was a music teacher (not wealthy). So, I found a Gunne Sax dress that looked like a vintage wedding dress for $40.00. I made my own veil and was very happy with the result.
Ooh I felt for you at the point you thought you had ruined it. I get sewing moments like that and the best thing is to walk away and come back at another point - normally after a cuppa and some time. The finished dress looks lovely and it’s really inspiring to see how a pattern can be changed like that.
Your reaction to the nearly finished garment is so relatable. I cannot count how many times I've been grinding away at a project that is giving me the worst time but I just love the idea/pattern/fabric/vision so I keep going anyway. Then, some part of construction happens and it dawns on me..."oh no. I hate it" You really turned this one around though! I love the contrast you created with the velvet panels, ribbon trim, and subtle patterning in the fabric. Your peter pan collar turned out so nicely and the second go with construction really let it shine. Very nice!
I’ve had so many UFOs due to the offensive nature of 70-90% done appearance. I got fed up and either recycled or completely scrapped them. It is most surely one of the circles of hell 😂
As someone who was around in the 1970s, and can just about remember what "The opposite sex used to look like," I can confirm, "You nailed it!"
I actually loved it as a standing “pie crust” neck. I grew up in the Gunnesax period and was gifted 3 of them. They all had the standing collar. The pie crust is actually the correct way lol
I grew up in the 70s and most of my classmates wore gunnesax. I could never afford one but still sigh over how pretty they are. You did a great job on yours! The colors are perfect and it definitely sparks a “how pretty” sigh.
Right there with you! The dresses were so expensive and my mom wasn't willing to sew me one.
@@hambeastdelicioso1600 my mom probably would have made one if I asked … but … she didn’t believe cutting on grain or finishing seams were worth doing so by that age, I had experienced enough clothes coming apart and hanging wrong that I never asked🤣. Bless her heart, it was in the right place🤣 and as a consequence, when I sew something, it’s locked up like Fort Knox and will wear out right in the center well before any seams fray.
I grew up in the 70s too and I’d heard the name Gunne Sax, but I don’t remember this style at all! I was near Boston, where were you?
@@lovemesomeslippers Cherokee Oklahoma
Oh gosh, the utter heartbreak of wasting precious energy on something you aren't happy with when you're chronically fatigued! I cried and threw a dress in a corner for a few days recently. The final dress is beautiful though ❤️ The sad piano playing did make me chuckle!
I like this dress. You rescued the collar.
Weeeee! This gorgeous dress doesn't have to be just for christmas! You look fantastic ☺ Thank you for sharing the making of this dress!
I think it turned out great and you look fantastic. And mince pies solve Everything
Oh i love the idea of a silver blue christmas dress!
I just love that you did 70's hair and makeup to go with the dress!
It did turn out very nicely in the end, despite the first version of the collar trying to do your head in.
I think you had a great perspective at the end 🌲
I think what that exercise proved was that RED is definitely your colour, Claude! High praise though for sticking with the plan👏
Some tea and pie always help when things get a bit dark :) Also, you really nailed this dress, and I love that it incorporated the knitted collar as well! The final dress with the hair and makeup - perfect!
This color scheme is beautiful. Thank you for sharing your struggles. It makes my own easier to bear.
This was my favorite gunnesaxmas dress - I would wear this all through January - I think you made the right call on the collar!
I was so sad as you were working your way through this dress, but then OH MY! How lovely it finally turned out! It's just adorable!
I agree, this dress looks beautiful on you!! Well done you for your tenacity to keep going to end up with such a lovely dress. Tip: I turn on the lamp positioned near my ironing board whenever I turn on the iron, so that it reminds me that 'the iron is on'. Then when I turn off the iron, I turn off the lamp. 😊 Wishing you and yours a relaxed, stress-free, joyous Christmas. Sending best wishes from Down Under (where its stinking hot) ❤💐🇦🇺😎
Oh my this is genius! I must try this and happy summer holidays to you! 🌅
My gunne sax dress was white with little blue flowers, in a voile fabric. Very sheer. Pearl buttons, a bit of blue ribbon and crochet trimmed sleeves and collar. I loved this dress and received so many compliments on it.
Yay for Mum!
I was in high school when most of us had Gunne Sax dresses. My friends and I would trade them and wear them to different dances and events. I had four and I so wish I still had them now! Wherever they are, I truly hope they're being loved by someone! Taking the collar stand off was the right move..it looks so much better without it and I love the colors you picked out.
I agree with you on the roll foot. I can do the rolled hem in minutes with my fingers at the machine with an edge foot but it takes what seems like hours fighting with the roll feet.
Your dress is beautiful!
I'm glad it's not just me! Thank you ☺️
I prefer to press hems before I sew them. Some patterns/fabrics behave well and don't need pinning even if I just hold the fabric with my fingers to feed it under a general foot. Using the rolled hem foot gives me a perfect guide for a neat seam. Press the narrow turn, then press the hem to finished depth whether its just over again or very deep. On a rolled hem I get less wrinkles this way.
For the full Gunne Sax experience (I remember the 70s but couldn't afford them :( ) a straight panel addition to the hem of 1.5x circumference is easy. Slightly longer sleeve with bias casing for the elastic gives an additional ruffle for little work.
Almost any variation on use of ruffles/lace/ribbon works, just do it in moderation.
The original pattern you used. I recall a pair of dresses in 1973/4 with short puffy sleeves and 2" ruffles down the Princess seam. Ruffles, sleeve hem, tie hems were finished with satin corded bias binding and centre front buttons for show. One was navy edged with red, one was red edged with navy. They felt good to wear.
Ha. Blast from the past. Thank you for the reminder. Love your dress with the silvery fabric. Happy New Year.
Turned out great! You definitely hang in there until you get it how you want it, very admirable. Your scoliosis is not noticeable, you’re really beautiful.
Multiple layers of lessons! Thank you Claude, it actually looks beautiful on you- happy Christmas 🎄 xx
Seasons Greetings, Claude! Your perseverance paid off. And you gave us a good life lesson as well! Seeing your despondency, but also your determination was encouraging to me. I appreciate how you allow the light to shine in the dark times.
I never knew about the Gunne Sax craze, it was not a thing here in Australia. BUT - I did have one I have since realised after watching several vloggers. In Brisbane, in a tiny little 'out there' boutique back in the early 80's (when I was 16) I purchased a white cotton dress with big puffed sleeves and lace overload. It was like an 'Anne of Green Gables' dress, or that is what I called it. It was expensive compared to other clothing at the time, but I didn't care, I loved it at first sight. I wore it and patched it until it was no longer wearable. I never saw another dress like it, I constantly had people ask me where I had purchased it from. The lady who owned the store, used to get clothes from all over the world, so she obviously purchased some Gunne Sax dresses and brought them back. How I loved that dress and how privileged I feel to have been a part of the club.
That's so pretty. That fabric is so gorgeous and l love the idea of a collar like that
I found your channel a few days ago and have been binge watching and LOVING every video! I started crying for you when you were upset. Gah! I just felt like 'oh love, I've so been there and I just want to give you a big hug and make you a cup of tea'. Well done mum to the rescue. Delighted I found your channel. Thanks for keeping me company as I knit :)
Love the dress after you made the changes. I had a foster dd who wore a Gunne Sax lace dress as her wedding dress. It was given to her by a friend's mother wadded up in a sack and looked terrible. She was very upset, but when I saw the label I assured her a trip to the dry cleaners and it would be beautiful and it (and she) was.
Very nice jumper you are wearing. The contrasting cuffs and collar look great.
My most favorite skirt ever was a Gunne Saxe. I loved the fabric soo much! It looks like one except for the fabric…
Fab dress
Hi Claud, binge watching your vids! You inspire me to get my fabrics out and make stuff. Loving your work. Xxx
I still loved this style of dress. I had several in the mid 70s and my favorite was navy blue with tiny pink and red roses and white lace. I wore my tan knee high platform boots with it. I am picturing it now. Love love love.
Sounds wonderful!
I think you still match the tree (white goes with everything after all). And I totally felt your pain when you tried the dress on and it wasn’t what you expected. It is a terrible feeling when you think you have worked so hard and not accomplished what you set out to do. I am glad you were able to “save” the dress. It is really cute
I love the dress and it looks fabulous on you!
The finished dress is so Beautiful!!! (and it gave me a much needed idea, so thanks for that).
Your improvements made a huge difference, and yes, there were blue baubles on your tree!
You worked so hard on this dress...I felt your pain. But in the end, it turned out quite pretty. You look very beautiful. Don't be so down on it. It had a mind of its own as to how it was going to look and that's alright. It's just not how you envisioned it. The vlog was a success as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for sharing.
But you do match the tree! The cool white lights glow blue so you are a beautiful complement to the colour scheme especially with the silver accents on the dress. We have heavy mist here today in N Wales - very atmospheric. I love our changing seasons - winter is a lovely excuse for log fires, books and more sewing.
I for one enjoyed your journey..... and really love how your dress come out 🥰
Thank you for this! I didn’t mean to laugh, but your face when you tried on the dress - and then you took a break, and fixed the dress. As someone has been disappointed more than once after working quite hard, it was a great encouragement that anyone, even very experienced sewists, have times things don’t work out. But you pushed through , and rebounded nicely!
It's okay to laugh! I laughed when I watched that footage back too!
I am also not keen on Christmas and for the exact same reasons. It's nice to find a kindred soul in this, as I always feel guilty about it somehow. I am fortunate enough to be in a non-compulsory Christmas situation and can pick and choose where and how Christmas spirited I want to be. It's very nice.
I really enjoyed this video! 💚💚 Your filming and storytelling are progressively becoming even more refined and I was invested in every part of this process. Thank you so very much. I wish health for you this holiday season.
Thank you! I've been working really hard on my video making skills this year and it's so nice to hear it's paying off 💚
Mom made me a Gunne Sax dress for festival back in 82. I cherish it!
I love the flippy hair in the reveal so much and i love how the dress turned out despite all the ups and downs. The lame accents are so fun.
I think it turned out really well! Sometimes our projects fight us a bit before we get to the end...way to persevere!🙂
Growing up in the Gunne Sax era, the 70's-80's, this style was not all about calico fabric or hankering after Little House On The Prairie. It was also about Voile, Lawn, delicate sheer pale colored fabrics and underdresses of taffeta or silk. If you were to take that pattern and choose a soft cream cotton voile for the dress, and then make a slip or underdress with spaghetti straps you would have an entirely different feel going on. Just a suggestion.
your channel is a recent find for me but I love everything about it already! it's so nice to find someone else who's also interested in 1930s fashion, particularly adapting vintage lingerie slips as everyday dresses. it's a super underrated decade. if you ever make one of those dresses with the triangular underbust bodice panels or something eveningwear inspired i would watch the hell out of it
also, it's really encouraging to see someone else with a similar body to mine (small, wonky spine, easily fatigued due to Things) making stuff, and i love that you're frank about your process and the ups and downs. it keeps me working when all i want to do is lay down! [though I don't think I deal with stuff as bad, all the kudos to you :)]
thank you for sharing this process with us (: the dress fits you so well! hope you will wonderful in it on Christmas. Also, the editing and the video in general was such a great quality! it's quite obvious it was a lot work and the result was lovely. happy holidays!
Total suess!!
So many things about this. I grew up wearing Gunne Sax. My Senior Prom dress was - yep - Gunne Sax. As a teenager, I worked at a shopping mall store that sold - Surprise! - Gunne Sax. I LOVE this video because I get it...matching the deco and having a dress to sew! Also, last year, my Bernina "George" had to go to the shop for repair for the first time (I bought him new over 20 years ago) and I bought a Brother to help me not feel lost. I didn't know how to operate it and I still don't. I did love the buttonhole thingy. I should spend more time learning how to use "Brother Louie"... In any case, I don't know why YT sent me your video to watch, but I am so glad I did and I subbed. Your dress is wonderful and I love that you didn't give up!
I love how you thanked your mom for making you feel a bit better. And, your lovely dress looks beautiful on you!
the dress is adorable on you! thank you for persevering and finishing it. :)
I absolutely adore how this dress came out, the color was amazing and the work you put in really paid off. Lord knows how easy it is to get discouraged when the first version isn't what you wanted it to be. I feel you on that yarn though, I've used stuff like that before and it is so annoying to work with. It looked great so I think it was worth it, but I would not have had the patience to work with that yarn for that long.
Well done you for hanging in there. The final result is lovely.
this was fun to watch, thank you for sharing your journey making this dress! I think it turned out lovely :) i'm addicted to making gunne sax dresses after this trend!
Very pretty. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! Lovely! Press on! Glad you are feeling better!
Oh no, I want to join in but there is no way I can finish in time for Christmas, just no way, but like, I found a ridiculously gorgeous dress that would look so, so good on me... My dear, your videos are amazing and will ruin my Christmas, Thank you.
I think you look beautiful in that dress.
Lovely! 💙💙💙
Hugs! It turned out great!
I love how the dress turned out! The colour combo was so pretty.
Your finished dress is beautiful - the white/silver trim looks great against the frosty sparkling baubles. Merry Christmas!
Super cute 🤩
What an incredible rescue!!! When you did your first try on, I laughed so hard!! Only because I have been there myself more times than I can count!! Your redoing on the collar was genius! You are an amazing seamstress!
You look absolutely gorgeous in that dress. It looks perfect. All your hard work paid off. Blue, green and white go well together, so coordinated quite well with the tree. Please don't be quite so hard on yourself. I, for one, am so in awe of all that you do. You are an inspiration. Just sayin'.
Thank you. I am of course too hard on myself and I know it deep down. I shall have to be kinder to myself in the future 💚
I hope you had a nice Christmas Claude! You look beautiful in your dress, it's stunning 💙 I love that you went with a not so obviously Christmas colourscheme yet you still managed to make it look very Christmassy🥰🎄
I think the dress looks lovely! I am sure you'll grow to love it.
I got a vintage crochet lace gloves pattern book and some of it makes no sense to me at all. I am glad to hear that other people find these patterns lacking as well.
Your work is beautiful! It looks great on you! Merry Christmas from SW Florida! 🎄
Wow!!! You really saved that dress! It’s lovely! Well done!
I think your dress is wonderful and you look quite lovely!
You look lovely, great job.
Such a cute finished product! You should be very proud for persevering :)
My mother made my clothes; I actually had that pattern! Also had a couple of GunneSax copies made by Mother. 70s clothes are the best! I wore a size 7 Young Jr Teen pattern. Wish I had that figure back!
I love it!! Of course I did none of the work!! It’s perfect!!
Claude, you absolutely nailed the Spirit of Gunne Sax in your choice of pattern and materials. You understand that the folk art inspiration makes it different than a prairie dress. Your hand-knit collar is the cherry on top. I had to laugh when the neckline was too big. The fit of my Gunne Sax dress was a little wonky, but I felt so beautiful wearing it to my senior prom. You look perfect. Your video is my very favorite of the all projects in this challenge. Bravo Claude!
I love it when I learn something really useful in a video. Removing the tacking threads as you go? Of course! I should have realised... Thanks. I'll definitely use that for the next thing I make.
Your dress is lovely. It is inspiring to follow you through the issues during construction. Hope to remember when I come across the same problems.
Your perseverance paid off--it looks so good! I could never get the hang of those rolled hem feet either.
I cried with you! But in the end it turned out so pretty and looked wonderful on you! Happy Holidays!!
Thank you 😊💚
Rolled hem foot is hit or miss for me. Also, I have that same marking chalk pen, love it! And thank you for sharing your make with us.
your dress was awesome. i hope you get your bernina back!
Hey Claude, I just found your channel and this video is great, also loved the dress on you, so cute.
I think the finished dress turned out nice, so all's well that ends well.