A '70s Halter: Simplicity 6358

Finished! Simplicity 6358. From 1974.

I saw this pattern, and knew I had to make it. View 3. And I knew the fabric, though theoretically, I'm kind of calling this a muslin. Bust 34 is a bit small for me, and certainly through the waist I had make some serious width adjustments. I also did a highly technical measurement from the center of my neck in front, down around under the arm, and then back up to the center back, and determined that I needed to add about an inch to both the front and back "armhole" length.


The fabric I used is a black and white plaid cotton that I bought for 50 cents at an estate sale. One of the reasons this fabric and pattern called out to each other was that I only had about 2/3 of a yard. And it's a plaid. I'm not sure my matching is spot on, but did you see the mention of muslin above? The armholes have facings, but without enough fabric, I just used self made bias tape.


Also, that collar! It's supposed to be 4 inches wide. FOUR INCHES! My neck is not that long, people. The pattern piece has you cut it out in one piece, on the bias, and then fold it over. Easy, but I didn't have enough fabric for that, even narrowing it to 2 inches. I added a 3/8" seam allowance to the fold line, and cut a 3" wide bias strip which I had to piece. Then from a scrap, I cut another strip that became the collar facing.


I would have liked to add a bit more length to the entire thing, but there was that lack of fabric thing. Next time.

See how short it is? It's not tucked in. I did add waistline darts to snug it up a bit. Hmm, that picture looks oddly blurry. The skirt is an old one of mine from Ann Taylor. Do you like that length? It's hiked up to just under the boobs. Here's what it looks like at it's original length, and when I looked at the picture I thought it looked a bit dowdy.

You are supposed to put hooks at the back of the collar, but I left those off for fear that they would just catch in my hair and be annoying.

This kind of top can be really versatile... throw on a blazer or a cardigan, and the covered up look goes to the office or church.  Take the jacket off, and it's ready for evening. And it's also the perfect backdrop for a great necklace. You'll just have to take my word for it, because I was quickly running out of daylight, and the dogs and the husband were anxious for dinner.