Inspiration:

Being Scottish myself, I've always been especially fond of traditional costumes from that country and instantly fell in love with this pattern. I also wanted something to wear out to Scottish festivals, so I would "fit in" :).

I was also very inspired by N.C. Wyeth's Paintings for The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter. You can purchase the (excellent) book at amazon.com.

Materials:

Simplicity pattern 8855, wool plaid for the skirt, white cotton for the blouse, red cotton for the vest, gold eyelets for the vest, red & gold cording for lacing, pearl button for blouse cuffs, hooks and eyes for attaching vest to skirt, zipper for skirt.

Construction:

The blouse was the first thing I made and was pretty simple although we changed the cuffs on the sleeves slightly (the pattern didn't seem to know what it was talking about in regard to the aforesaid).

The vest was at the time very tricky and I had the same eyelet experience I had with the peasant dress. But usually the second eyelet you punch in usually stays. I also attached hook and eyes to the vest and skirt so that they would hook together. This made it more like a one piece dress and it was much more comfortable. It also kept the blouse from showing where the skirt and vest met!

The skirt was my first experience with a zipper, but it wasn't that bad. I made the skirt extra large so that I could widen it as I grow. Unfortunately, the hook and eyes have been ripping away from the waistband and I'm going to have to do some repair work. I hate repair work! :)

The Finished Dress:

This is one of my favorite dresses to wear, and to make it more comfortable and practical I sometimes exchange the blouse for a white T-shirt. This dress is really worth making!

(Oops! I blinked for that last picture! Oh, well... :)