Tracing the Dress Pattern and a Decision

Alright! I'm almost done tracing the dress pattern. I've decided to make a couple of changes to it. Out of the envelope, the pattern is lined and faced. Instead, I'm going to make the bodice self-lined with the silk. So I only needed to trace off the main pattern pieces (CF, SF, SB and CB).

I also decided that for the jacket, I'm going to morph the neckline and CF closure from Marfy 9821 onto the front of Marfy 9665. I joined the new Club BMV over at Vogue Patterns, and I picked up a Claire Shaeffer Pattern, 8259. I don't like the jacket, but it has the 3-piece sleeves á la Chanel, so I thought it would be worth studying and seeing if I could morph those onto the sleeve for the Marfy. Gee, it's starting to sound like Frankenpattern, isn't it?

Now I have a thought. The princess seams on the dress are armhole princess seams. I was thinking of perhaps morphing them to shoulder princess seams, like the base jacket. What do you think? Will it matter? What would Mademoiselle do?

Here's the Deal, Neil

Okay! I got precious little done on my muslin today. Work, you know? Tonight I'll get it cut out when DH is home and I can foist the kids off on him have him help the kids with their homework. But I did decide on which fabrics to use for the dress/jacket combo. Here they are.

For the skirt and jacket shell,

Just Shoot Me Italian Bouclé
Oh man, that bouclé is fabulous, and I can't wait to cut into it.

For the bodice and the jacket lining,

Silk Crepe in Soft Pink
It's less saturated than it looks on my monitor, and it picks up the pinks in the bouclé perfectly. Next question is what jacket pattern to use? GoPatterns 4001 is a given for the dress. After conferring with Sewing Diva Phyllis, I think a close-to-the-body look will work best, and not look frumpy. I want something that doesn't come down too far on the hips, given that the dress has a seam at the natural waist and is reasonably close-cut. These are three suggestions that Phyllis came up with from Marfy:

This one I like, but I'm not sure about the yoke.



This one I like, but I would eliminate the ruffle.


This is the one that I like best. I would have to think long and hard about the contrast and decide if I want to use it or not. But hey, I have time.


What do you think? Oh, and this is for Paco - I understand you perfectly and I will be visiting Your Blog to learn from you!

Happy sewing!

Back at It Today

Wow, what a crazed week it has been. Today, though, I'm heading back into the sewing room. I'm going to make the muslin for the GoPatterns LBD (4001). But here's a thought, and I'd love your feedback. I was thinking of making it á la Chanel - i.e. make the bodice from a silk, and make a jacket (which I plan to make for a series of posts over on BeSewStylish.com) lined with the same silk I use for the bodice.

What do you think? I worry about two things: one, that it's a bit too 'precious', and two, that it's a look that ages the wearer, ie. me.

Anyone? Anyone? Beuhler?

Calling All Petites!

I got a note from Peaquah this morning that I would like to open up for discussion here:

"Thank you for keeping up such a great resource sewing site! I am your visitor from Fukuoka Japan, but I'm actually a native Montanan teaching English abroad. I have a question about petite patterns. I'm too small for a vogue 6 (I fall somewhere between a 2 and a 4) so I have to size down EVERY pattern I buy. While I don't mind making minor adjustments, the mass alternations I have to do make it almost not worth it to buy patterns at all. Do you have any advice for us petites? Is there a pattern company that sells smaller patterns? Or should I just invest in a good "make your own pattern" book--in which case, what do you recommend? Thanks in advance!"

First, thanks for visiting Peaquah! It's good to hear from you, and I'm enjoying your blog. Now to the question at hand. I'm not a petite, by anyone's definition, so I can't give you personal experience, but here's what I can tell you from my own adventures in trying to fit my neice, who is a size 6P in RTW. It's tough to find patterns that fit her. While not meant as any kind of disparagement of the McCalls company, which publishes Vogue, Butterick and McCalls patterns, I can honestly say that their patterns tend to run on the roomy side. You can find a limited collection of petite sized patterns from Burda, and Burda World of Fashion magazines also has petites on occasion.

Simplicity carries more patterns in the smaller size ranges. Many of their patterns start at a size 4 (29 1/2 bust, 22 waist, 31 1/2 hip) and go up from there. Modern Sewing sells patterns based on your actual measurements. I haven't used them yet, but I have seen some reviews of their patterns and they have been positive.

I know Simplicity has teamed up with Unique Patterns to create custom measurement patterns. Unique had some issues in the past. I sewed one of them for a client and was underwhelmed with the fit, which I had to adjust pretty extensively. But that was over 2 years ago, so hopefully they have worked out the bugs. Anyone have up-to-date info?

As far as pattern making books go, I own Helen Armstrong's book Pattern Making for Fashion Design which I have found useful and clear. Other folks highly recommend Coni Crawford's book, Patternmaking Made Easy. I don't own it so I can't give a personal review.

So, dear readers, does anyone have any other recommendations for Peaquah? I'd love to hear them, and I'm sure she would too.

Happy sewing!

People? Can I Ask You to Gather 'Round?

Okay folks, Rachel just posed a great question, and I'm going to throw it out to all my über-fashionable friends in Cyber-land. Here's the query:

"love your website
(Thanks sweetie! Love you too. Really)
and I wanted to email you this question but I could not find an address.
(If you want, you can always contact me through the gorgeousthings.com contact page.)
Anyway, I am in love with this Nanette Lepore dress seen on this website:
Nanette Lepore jumper
In case the link breaks, and since the original photo from eLuxury is no longer available, I'm going to put it here too:




Do you have any suggestions as to a pattern I could use to make it? Thanks."

Oooooh, I love a challenge like this! Scour your brains, and let's see if we can collectively come up with a pattern that would work as the basis for this jumper. It's a princess-line sleeveless dress with a flared skirt, a back-waist tie, and a surgically enhanced - er - removed bodice.

Me? I would start with the HotPatterns Classix Nouveau Indispensable Dress:


It requires major surgery, a la what I did to my McCall's Jacket. Also, since the design is sleeveless you might be better off starting with a sleeveless dress, perhaps a sundress. I am going to ruminate on this one. Anyone have any suggestions?

Happy pondering!