Sunday Strategy 2/24/13

Last week recap:

1. Make my muslin for my Sew For Victory Dress.

• I got really far on my muslin and it fit really well. I decided to make it into an actual dress. I added a lining and some ric rac. I ran out before I was done so I have to pick up some more tomorrow so I can finish. 
2. Fitting adjustments made and transferred to pattern paper.
• Nothing much  to change. It fits really well. I might shorten the bodice at the waist 1/4 of an inch but I will decide that after wearing the dress for a day.
3. Choose fabric for my dress.
• I didn't get around to picking out my fabric. If my wearable muslin turns out as well as I think it will I don't have to pick out any more fabric anyway.

This week:

1. Finish up my wearable muslin for my Sew For Victory dress.
2. Finish putting trim on my Sweetheart Dress. I had this dress almost finished a few weeks ago. When I was putting the final strips of bias binding on the sleeves, it got all wrinkly and refused to lie flat. Turns out, the tape wasn't actually cut on the bias. I had to rip it all out. I got a new pack and should be able to finish in a few hours.

Sunday Strategy 2/17/13

Last week recap:

1. Find inspiration for the Sew For Victory Sew Along. I was originally just going to make the newly released Simplicity 1692. Then I saw all the Sew For Victory Inspiration posts popping up all over with glorious clothes. I think I want to try and make something a bit more exciting. If I have time and the inclination I can make the top too at a later time.
• Blogged here.
• Pinterest Sew for Victory Inspiration board here.
2. Start drafting up a pattern if I choose something that I don't have a pattern for. I really can't justify buying any new patterns and I have been reading a ton about pattern drafting lately. I should probably put that information to good use.
• Blogged here.

Next Week:

1. Make my muslin for my Sew For Victory Dress.
2. Fitting adjustments made and transferred to pattern paper.
3. Choose fabric for my dress.

       

Sew For Victory - Drafting the dress

I decided I would like to knock off the Du Barry 6542 pattern.

I have never made anything with a yoke so I will have to branch out a bit. I also have only made one dress where I use contrasting fabrics. I need to do more projects like this that help me move out of my comfort zone (aka rut.) I am not sure whether to make this from cotton or linen. I know that is not historically accurate since Nylon, Viscose and Rayon were the in thing. I love my cottons and linens not only for how they feel but also the amazing variety of prints available. I also think the cotton would be best to get the nice crisp pleats on the skirt.

I am not sure if I am going to do the yoke as 2 separate pieces (a bodice top and bottom) or just make a regular bodice front and then make an overlay for the yoke parts. I will try it one way on the muslin and if it doesn't work well I will try it the other way on the next go around.

I am using the new book I got for Christmas from my mother in law to help with drafting the pattern. It is called Practical Pattern Designing, originally published in 1947. I have a reprint from the 80's. It is a great resource filled with tons of useful information, diagrams and step by step instructions on how to recreate 1940's fashions from basic blocks.

This will be another dress for my 52 Dresses participation.

First Shot at Pattern Resizing

I made this Stars shirt for the Noodle and my friend Steve really liked the style. Since I couldn't find the exact pattern in adult size, we decided to draft the pattern into a (much) larger size. I used this tutorial I found at CraftStylish.com to resize the tiny baby pattern from Making Baby's Clothes into an adult size shirt.

Final result

We had a few small problems when we were altering this pattern. However, I don't think it is a problem with the enlarging process; I think that the original pattern is disproportionate. Anyway, we resized the pattern using the ratio of waist size. In the end, the waist fit him comfortably but the shirt was to short. We ended up adding a 5 inch band around the bottom to make it long enough for him to wear. Since the fabric is black you can barely see where we added to the bottom. The shirt was also a tiny bit tight on the back. It was not bad enough to make it unwearable, but tight enough to notice when you are wearing it. With a few more tweeks this could become a good pattern but it is going to take some work.

Even considering the problems we had with this project I am still glad we did it. All the pattern pieces fit together well. It did not take too long to go through the process either. We finished resizing all the pattern pieces in one morning. I did have Steve sit there and do all the math for me though. I just drew lines and called out numbers for him to multiply. I think I will be able to use this to resize vintage patterns to fit me.

Rose's "It's Not a Date" Dress

I drafted and sewed this dress for Rose to wear on her "not date" with her "not boyfriend." It is made from 100% cotton polka dots fabric from Hobby Lobby. It is actually Christmas fabric that was on clearance for $3.50/yard. The dress used 3 yards. It has a full circle skirt and a fitted bodice.

The bust is a wee bit big at the sides but it is not to bad. I will have to tweak it a but for the next version. Overall I am happy with it, considering it is the first pattern I have ever drafted.