With some very minor pattern alterations out of the way, I went to work...
Wishing you a Happy and Blessed New Year!!
When my last dress worked out for me, I knew that my dream to make a Christmas dress out of a piece of gorgeous red poinsettia fabric I've had in my stash for years now was finally going to come true. With some very minor pattern alterations out of the way, I went to work... Because I was going to pipe the neckline and the waist insets, I figured up how much I needed (somehow I under-measured??) and went about making my own piping. This was the third time I have made my own piping and I find it rather fun (in addition to being so much cheaper than buying it pre-made!) I made the waist-tie for this dress out of the same black material for a contrast tie, unlike the self-fabric tie of the previous dress. A lot of pinning, basting, and top-stitching ensued. I am happy to report that the piping matched up at all of the side-seams except for the bottom of the zipper...which was not something I could readily remedy and so decided to let it slide. :} I had another "first" for me in this project--double-layer piping: The finished dress was, for Christmas Day, paired with black-leggings (because I was cold!) and I tried to get a 1940's look with a red (nylon) snood and black hair-flower. I didn't put shoulder pads in...might have given it a more period appropriate look, but I forgot to, then didn't want to worry with them. :D Hope y'all had a very Merry Christmas!! Wishing you a Happy and Blessed New Year!! --Racheal--
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Generational spanning...that's what we'll call it! Technically though, since this fabric was bought several years back, it probably is more like 2016 does 1970's does 1940's...at any rate...I pulled out another 1940's pattern I had yet to test, a hunk of fall-color-schemed material and went to work. Now I don't normally wear a vintage 16...but I keep finding that sizes that I "don't wear" are working for me with some minor tweaking. Running a few measurements on the pattern pieces (I confess I never did "fit" this one on myself), I determined I needed a little more room in the hips and left the rest of the pattern as it was. As it turns out, I could have stood to remove a little width from the shoulders and a slight bit of length in the back, and in the torso under the arm. But like I said...I didn't fit it. It also didn't occur to me to perhaps shorten it under the arms. The only other "alteration" (other than a pattern piece I had to draft) was to narrow the sleeve seams from .5" to .25". About that pattern piece though: The pattern piece for the back waist inset was missing...so I looked at the drawing on the pattern inset and let go and drew. I think it worked pretty good. :D It was a really simple dress to put together, the most complicated part being the waist inserts...I basted them before top-stitching. Next time, I think I will try to make sure front and back insets match up a little better...but I let it go with this time since it's very busy print. I decided to "jazz" it up with ruffles--at the neck, the sleeves, and the hem. I think the neck ruffle was a bit of a flop, so I ended up doing some folding and tacking to make it look better (and make it stand up). Anyway, with a little more tweaking (narrowing the shoulders and shorting the upper portion of the dress), I think I'll be quite happy with this pattern. As is...it is quite wearable. --Racheal-- I am very bad about getting good outfit pictures. Possibly because I usually get my stuff made on a deadline and then immediately wear it without having time and opportunity to pose in my clothes. (Hmm...almost a rhyme there.) Anyway, because I was singing Tenor in the annual performance of Handel's "Messiah", I needed a black skirt (which I already own a couple of) and a black jacket (which I also own at least two of)...not satisfied, I decided that, no...I must make a new suit! Based of course, off my favorite 1940's suit pattern (which I still obviously haven't gotten a picture of since last one I made). I used a polished cotton twill--supposedly the same stuff (only black instead of blue) that I sewed my riding habit out of. Seemed slightly lighter weight to me...but maybe it wasn't really. I faced the jacket with some of the black polyester lining material I had not yet put away from the bomber jacket repair. I tacked the lining down, as well as the collar points. At any rate, I switched up the neckline and drafted a rever-style collar for this particular suit. The skirt was unaltered, except for the curved seam in the waist band like I did in the last skirt I made from the pattern. I hereby confess that I did not take oodles of progress pictures. I was on a deadline, somewhat foggy brained, and trying to spend my time doing a good job making the suit rather than doing a good job of taking pictures of the process. So without further ado, the two that I took: Skirt and Jacket... Of course I had fit problems. Why did you even ask? :D I seriously need to make a muslin to use as a pattern for this suit. The skirt was a bit big (I've lost a little weight again, so that helped that) and the jacket was close to immense in a few spots. In the end though, I was quite happy with it. And so far...this is the only photo of me wearing the thing (sent by a kind friend): And now I have snatches of "Messiah" dancing through my head. I'm already looking forward to next year and, Lord willing, I will sing better (and not get lost in the middle of "His Yoke is Easy and His Burden is Light" during the actual performance. The one and only time I got lost in that piece...and the thing was live! :D) --Racheal-- |
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