The Bark Cloth Dress

 

I've always had a thing about Bark Cloth fabric. It's a product of my early childhood. I remember seeing its giant motifs and often dark backgrounds usually in draperies hanging in the homes of my parents friends and neighbors in the Deep South where I was born. It has always entranced me and is a design so uniquely American and so "Fifties", all in a good way. Three homes ago, I could not find bark cloth like I wanted to fabricate draperies for the living room of that house when we did a major remodel.  I wanted a black background with BIG flowers. The closest I could find was a Waverly linen that filled the bill nicely but it wasn't bark cloth. I bought the Waverly. 

About five years ago, an aging neighbor needed to relocate to  facility for much needed care and her home went on the market. Her daughters had a wonderful estate sale and I was able to score various lovely fabrics at that event. She clearly was an astute sewist. There was a fabric table with Pendletons, other pure wools and suitings and one panel of bark cloth drapery that looked brand new. I got the whole shebang for about 3 dollars. The daughters were glad to know her fabrics went to someone who appreciated what they were. 

This drapery panel has haunted me ever since. Then in one of my fabric re-orgs, it ended up in a pile next to the teal linen blend and it was meant to be. Now for the pattern. 

Pattern:

In my stash I found this Simplicity pattern that I always wanted to try. I flat measured it and the extra small would work. That is usually where I end up with Big Four. It fits me as View A fits, not just a skim but a loose, slight A-line dress. I really like it. I did not use the tie but would like to try that in the future. It is very comfortable to wear and perfect on a hot summer day in the chosen linen blend. 

Fabric:

I used the bark cloth as my accent panel and the solid is a linen/rayon blend. It does not hold wrinkles and is very comfortable to wear.  I did not have enough bark cloth to make an entire garment so had to be creative with my useage. 

Bark cloth has a fascinating history which you can read about here.   Its origins are African but then it migrated to Indonesia, Japan, Pacific Islands, and then Jamaica. The bark cloth that became fashionable in the 40s-70s was mass manufactured with large flower motifs, cowboy designs, designs that depicted the new "atomic" era and other novelty depictions. That is the fabric I recall. 

 

It has slubs, some of which seem to have a sheen, what you see as white-ish in the photo above. My queen anne's lace blooms are up to ten inches across, a much large depiction than real life. My bark cloth also shows the large leaves, probably the most iconic image found on this fabric. I love the texture, Some slubs seem a bit shiny, others dull. It's ability to take dyes is vivid. I have washed this in the machine on gentle, cool and it came out just fine. 

For more interesting lore on bark cloth, Seam Work has a nice article on line here with some great photos. 

The rest of my dress was a teal linen/rayon blend. I think I may have picked it up at my local and fabulous quilt shop which closed one month ago, tears here. The owner, age 75, told me it was time she finally retire and she could not find anyone, in a nationwide search, that would buy her wonderful shop. We are in uncertain times, people. 

Construction:

This was a very simple dress. The first thing I did, after flat pattern measuring for fit, was to split the front of the dress into two sections, one teal linen, the other all bark cloth.  If you look at the line drawings on the pattern envelope you will see there are pockets. I used one pocket and lined it up so it matched the edge of the bark cloth section  where it met the linen in the dress. Other than this, the construction was pretty inconsequential, no zips, closures, just nothing to fuss over. At the cutting stage I reduced the length a couple of inches. Once completed and hemmed, I did not like the frumpy for me length. I took off two more inches and I like it much better. 

Other changes I made:

I decided to add a tie type of belt. It was a simple fold the fabric to the middle then fold in half and press. After that,  I just topstitched each edge and cut the bottom off at an angle. With a belt, I now needed belt loops. I had a bit of fun with this. I already knew several ways to do belt loops but went on youtube and came up with a ton more. In the end I tried something no one mentioned and it worked great. I went with embroidery floss. I took full strands, 6 ply, and braided them like hair braids. This took three full strands. Once I had a workable length of braided floss strands, I knotted one end. I put the other end into a large eyed embroidery needle. I inserted this into the seam allowance where I wanted my loop, inside the garment. I hadn't sewn the side seams yet. I then made my loop and then came back on the opposite side seam, entered it and knotted off. This was then sewn in more solidly when I sewed the seam together, using a 1.5 stitch length in that area. The braided floss looked really nice and it is very solid. 

I did my label a bit differently as I wanted both labels in the garment, The are set askew and right and left of center. I like it. 

I finished my facing with a triple zigzag and a line of pinking going on the edge. I did this to have no bulk when I ironed. The facing was backed with fusible woven interfacing. This all gave a non bulky flat finish.   All the seams had a Hong Kong finish. 

On the sleeves I used a bias strip of the teal linen to face the edges. 

In this pic above you can see that I topstitched the  edge that meets the linen and then turned and topstitched my pocket which is underneath and in seam. I used the triple stitch for that, the one mistakenly used to sew knits until you learn better ;)  .

In Conclusion:

I like my bark cloth dress, made with my treasured fabric. It is comfortable, easy to wear, doesn't wrinkle in the heat and let's me connect with a younger, far more innocent time. I feel a need to do that in my dotage as I look back on a very interesting life. Innocense is truly priceless and if you can reach back, even with a few stitches, it is so worth it. I am thankful for the innocense I had. 

Happy Sewing,,,,Bunny