Sewing Lessons & FAQ

[Lady Day]

Thank you Laughing Magpie! I think will go for a half circle to start with, less material to mess up too!

I have another question now!

If I had a very simple shirt dress, and wanted to take it in at the waist a bit so it fitted more vintage-y and flattering, would it be easy? Would it be a case of just sewing a curve into the seam, or even a V? Like )( or >< sort of thing. Or would that not work, and I'd need to put in darts or fancy stuff and really I should take it to a professional? Thank you again!

You mean 'darting' the dress, pinching an area of the fabric and sewing at an angle until the stitch tapers off the fabric. Darts are your friends Dart away. Its super easy and makes a garment fit like a million bucks.

The trick is not to make darts too deep, and keep them even on both sides of the garment. You can make them > snaped or ) shaped, or even 'doubble' or 'tripple dart, depending on how dramatic you want the shape at the waist to be. I tend to use > sarts, because they give a more dynamic cut to a garment.

Good luck!

LD

 

[Snookie]

If I had a very simple shirt dress, and wanted to take it in at the waist a bit so it fitted more vintage-y and flattering, would it be easy? Would it be a case of just sewing a curve into the seam, or even a V? Like )( or >< sort of thing. Or would that not work, and I'd need to put in darts or fancy stuff and really I should take it to a professional? Thank you again!

If you only need to take out a little, you can remove it from the side seams. If you can, get someone to help you fit it, and pinch out from both sides the amount you want. Pin in, and also pin your "0" points -- where you'll start and stop from the original sideseam. If you pinch out more than, say, 1/2" from both sides (that's 2" total!), you should use some darts, too.

If you want to take in starting from the bottom hem, you can use the darts that LD mentioned. But since it's a dress, you'll want to use a fish-eye dart. It's shaped like a very skinny diamond (<> turned 90 degrees) with the wide part right at your waist point (widest part of dart = most fabric removed). Again, you can pinch out the amount you want when you fit it. Since you're new to this, pin out all amounts -- both sides and front and back. A little bit goes a long way, sometimes. And, like LD said, when you sew keep the amounts even.

 

[kerry]

Hi, Does anyone know by how many inches a garment can be 'taken in' before you start running into problems?
Thanks

 

[Elaina]

Frankly, it depends on the garments. A good rule of thumb (I use) is 2 inches, in or out, before I have to do some serious alterations. My proportions don't get off, things still fit and it's relatively painless. Anything more and my large kiester and large chest (with narrow shoulders) goes all hinky.

There are differing opinons of course. 3 is about the most that most shops will do, although it depends on the garment (pants usually is 3, my alteration shop will do skirts more.) The 2 is just from my own experience before I have to remake it completely.

 

[kerry]

Thanks Elaina

 

[Elaina]

No worries.

 

[olive bleu]

i want to make some 40's style wideleg pants. I don't have a vintage pattern, but have some other patterns that i can adjust. my question is regarding fabrics and what i should use to make them as authentic looking as possible.any tips?

 

[Lady Day]

Linen, wool, cotton twills. Those types of things.

Personally, Id go for a suit wool with a light plaid. Those wools drape so so nice mmmmmm. Any color could work (suiting fabrics are generally in very conservative colors anywho) so go nuts.

Good luck!

LD

 

[olive bleu]

oohh...i'm a sucker for plaid..you shouldn't have mentioned that, I'm getting dizzy just thinking about itlol . that really does help .at least i can start thinking about the fabrics now..

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

Thanks for the advice again ladies. I haven't actually got the dress yet, so I'll see when it arrives how it fits and go from there!

 

[KittyT]

i have been desperately looking for a petticoat that isn't too full to wear under a 50s dress of mine that needs a little volume. ebay is coming up dry, or way too expensive! the petticoat pictured in this thread is exactly what i need. unfortunately, i'm a terrible sewer and no amount of sewing directions will ever make much sense to me :-(

 

[Lady Day]

***Merged Threads***

Hi ladies, I merged the petticoat/ crinoline thread to the sewing FAQ. so we could economize

Thanks,

LD

*all that info for tha thread is at the beginning....cause its older.

 

[Amber DeCadence]

Hi Ladies, I hope you can help me. I am just getting back into the whole sewing thing again and am having a little trouble finding vintage patterns the right size that I also like. So my question is, how easy is it to resize a pattern? the ones I have been looking at have a 36" fitting whereas I know my measurements are 39-30-38, am I getting too ahead of myself with this kind of thing? Failing that would it be easier to go for bigger patterns and size them down? Thankyou in advance

 

[Snookie]

Sizing is the biggest hurdle with vintage patterns, isn't it? I personally like slim fitting clothes, so I usually prefer a smaller size. According to measurements, I should be using size 36 patterns, but Simplicity 34 always fits me perfectly, and my favoritist blouse pattern ever (courtesty of Lotus Leroux!!) is an Advance 32. So if you think you might like a slim fit, get some cheap fabric and test your pattern -- you don't even have to finish the garment, just use it as a test. Try to replicate the feel of your final fabric, though -- don't use unbleached muslin for your mock-up if your dress will be from rayon crepe.

On page 12 of this thread Lauren posted instructions for determining ease in a pattern. That also might help you decide if the pattern is too small, or if it's okay.

Let us know if you get in the thick of it and have more questions!

 

[Lady Day]

Sizing also dependso n how the garment was cut, how its suposta hang, and how you want it to fit.

What era are you looking for?
As Im sure you know 20-early 40s tend to be a bit more 'loose' in fit. As the late 40s and 50 offered a much more sculpted look. If you are interested in resizing a pattern, there is tond of info on it in this thread. But as for fit. Id go by the guielines on the pattern for era specific fit.

LD

 

[Amber DeCadence]

Thankyou ladies, I will have a good read this evening once my boys are in bed Oh and to answer your question Lady Day I tend to go more for 40s/50s patterns as they suit my shape a little more and they're the eras I love the most

 

[Small Town Girl]

Hi ladies, I merged the petticoat/ crinoline thread to the sewing FAQ. so we could economize

Thanks,

LD

*all that info for tha thread is at the beginning....cause its older.

Thank-you very much for doing that!!! I hadn't even seen the other thread and have been looking for petticoat information for quite some time!

 

[Amber DeCadence]

oops me again just a quick question with regards to dressmakers dummies - are they really necessary? I know you can make your own but thats not really an option as I dont have anyone to help and I really cant afford to buy one for a long while off yet. Is it possible to manage without?

 

[Snookie]

No, you don't need a dummy. Fittings just take longer (you try on your garment, think you want to remove 2" from the back, so you take it off, pin, put it back on, change your mind, etc.). If you're just doing basic sewing from a pattern, you don't need one yet. Having someone help mark your hems can be very helpful, though. (Mine always end up too short!)

 

[Kim_B]

I'm not sure where else I should post this, but thought some of you might be interested...$5.00 sewing patterns, no limit on the quantity!

http://www.vintagecat.com/5sewing.htm