Oops! Apparently I've accidentally deleted all of my images. I'll see about fixing that soon.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Blue Shirtwaist Dress: Part 2

With tweaks to the muslin complete I made a pattern for the dress. Now I know I usually use junkmail for my patterns, but several years ago my grandmother gave me a bag of bits and pieces that included some of the oldschool pattern material. I don't usually use it as I'm not often sure of whether I've really got a pattern I'm going to reuse. Now I think I might have something worth reusing, so I went for it.

laying out the pattern pieces


I did a preliminary layout of the pattern pieces, but didn't cut just yet.  I decided I wanted a little bit of extra detail on the front of the dress: pintucks.  Now I could have done all of the math and incorporated it into the pattern pieces, but it seemed to make more sense to sew up the tucks and then cut the pattern pieces out of the already embellished fabric.

they show up better in person

Another something unusual I did (unusual for me anyway) was that I tried using 'invisible' thread. I had purchased a spool for my wedding so I could add some beading, but I had never used it in a machine sewing setting previously. Someone encouraged me the other day to give it a go, and since I really really didn't want to buy more thread I decided to jump right in with it.


With the tucks stitched and pressed I cut out the bodice front pieces and added the darts.


With the front ready, I turned my attention to the back.  If you recall, I made a last minute change to create a back yoke after noticing the alterations left the perfect space for one.  I like the stability and clean look of a back yoke so I had no concerns going into it. Then this happened:

it's upside down but that's a point, right in the center of the back yoke

Unless I've suddenly started sprouting a third boob right between my shoulder blades I had a problem.  But with a little tweaking and reshaping I quickly got back to the gentle curve I was originally going for. The ease with which I was able to fix the issue means that it's an amusing part of the story for me more than a frustration to look back on, so that's nice. :)

fixed!
 Next I attached the front and back at the shoulders and added the sleeves.


And then I was stuck again as I was still not sure about the collar and the cuffs.  I need to add the cuffs before I stitch up the sides, but I can't add the cuffs until I decide what fabric I want for the collar and cuffs (which I want to match). I'm also thinking I want to make a belt to match, and I'd love to be able to use up some fabric that I already have.

So, while there are still some decisions to be made, I'm really happy with how it's turning out.

Hope your week starts out nicely!

1 comment:

  1. Looking good, nice idea on the pin tucks, never tried that technique before.

    ReplyDelete

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