Show us what you've made!

[Tenuki]

Thanks, sheeplady.

 

[vintageTink]

Made a different version of the dressing gown.

Gorgeous!

I made a plain aqua flannel nightgown. Yours is better!

 

[katiemakeup]

Navy cotton velvet dress I made last week. Brian (my dog) just wondered in and sat down. Ain't he cute!?

LOVE this!! Navy is awesome. I also love your dog

 

[Emer]

In terms of simplicity, which pattern would you ladies suggest for a first timer? I've made pillow covers for a couple years now but that's about the extent of my sewing skills on my machine. I'm really itching to try a dress pattern this summer, especially from the Butterick line (their stuff is so cute). Oh, and is a dress form unnecessary? Or can I just measure myself?

 

[Lady Day]

I'd recommend a skirt before a bodice dress. A skirt will give you the opportunity to fit something to your form, but is much more forgiving. Plus you can work on a zipper, button hole, hemming, etc.

You don't *need* a dress form, but it makes fitting much easier. Nearly thoughtless easy. Just make sure you measure things for you, and not sizes. Modern patterns have the dress size (which is on the outside label) and the finished garment size, which is the actual size of the completed garment (generally on the largest pattern piece).

My best piece of advice is do mock up, and don't jump into a garment with real good fabric. Take your time, get good at sewing, then go nuts

 

[rene_writer]

Hope I'm not too off topic here, but while we're talking about sewing, I was hoping you ladies might be able to help me. My grandma really wants to make me a dress. She's an excellent seamstress. She used to make all of her own clothes and all of her husband's suits because he was 6'9" and could not buy them back in the day.

Anyway, she's tried multiple patterns and multiple adjustments and declared me impossible! I have an hourglass shape and 12" difference between my bust and waist measurements. Basically, she has been unable to get the waist small enough and the bust big enough. Can you recommend any particular alterations or link me to a sight that might help?

Thanks!

 

[vintageTink]

Hope I'm not too off topic here, but while we're talking about sewing, I was hoping you ladies might be able to help me. My grandma really wants to make me a dress. She's an excellent seamstress. She used to make all of her own clothes and all of her husband's suits because he was 6'9" and could not buy them back in the day.

Anyway, she's tried multiple patterns and multiple adjustments and declared me impossible! I have an hourglass shape and 12" difference between my bust and waist measurements. Basically, she has been unable to get the waist small enough and the bust big enough. Can you recommend any particular alterations or link me to a sight that might help?

Thanks!

I always have to adjust darts, do an FBA, a petite adjustment, sloping shoulders, a swayback, and full heinie. Has she done an FBA (full bust adjustment)?

 

[rene_writer]

Yes, Vintage Tink, but I guess it's not enough. The problem may have been the size she started with too because by bust measurement I'm a 16 and by waist I'm an 8, so she started with a 14 and tried adjusting from there. Does that sound right at all?

 

[vintageTink]

Yes, Vintage Tink, but I guess it's not enough. The problem may have been the size she started with too because by bust measurement I'm a 16 and by waist I'm an 8, so she started with a 14 and tried adjusting from there. Does that sound right at all?

What about upper bust measurement? Take the circumference above your bust and under your arms. Use this to determine what size pattern for the top, especially if you are over a B cup. For example, say that your upper bust corresponds to an 10 but your bust is a 16. You'd cut/trace the 10, do an FBA, then at the waist take it in to where you're comfortable.

http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2010/12/helpful-links-for-bust-alterations.html

 

[lareine]

Yes, Vintage Tink, but I guess it's not enough. The problem may have been the size she started with too because by bust measurement I'm a 16 and by waist I'm an 8, so she started with a 14 and tried adjusting from there. Does that sound right at all?

As a busty woman with a [comparatively!] small waist, this is not the approach that I'd take at all. You do need your upper bust measurement (across from the armpits) to get a good idea of what size to start with. Get a pattern that fits your frame, not your biggest squishy bits, and then make the adjustments to fit the squishy bits.

If I went by my waist size I'd be in a modern 22. If I went by my bust size I'd be in something like a modern 24 at the very least (I haven't actually calculated but it is something huge). As I've discovered, I am actually a modern 16 as far as my frame goes and that needs to be the starting point for my pattern rather than a 22 or 24, otherwise things hang off my shoulders and form folds at my armpits and stop me from lifting my arms properly and flap loosely around my hips with big pockets of excess fabric all over the place.

Of course the adjustments for a big bust and small waist are very different from a big bust and big waist. I can't offer concrete advice there except to say that the internet is full of very useful tutorials

 

[rene_writer]

Thanks, ladies!

 

[Maudelynn]

Here is a dress I made from a 1936 pattern I got on ebay! I used Aunt Grace's Garden Party Cotton in Cherries and Stripes and grosgrain ribbon for the belt and sleeves binding. The buttons are vintage!

 

[Katinka von K.]

Here is a dress I made from a 1936 pattern I got on ebay! I used Aunt Grace's Garden Party Cotton in Cherries and Stripes and grosgrain ribbon for the belt and sleeves binding. The buttons are vintage!

Looks fantastic! I love your colour choice. Screams summer by the sea to me

 

[Maudelynn]

Looks fantastic! I love your colour choice. Screams summer by the sea to me

Thanks so very much! I had to look around for a bit to find just the right pattern, but I did find it! It is such a great casual pattern! I will have my hubby take a pic when I am wearing it and post it sometime!

 

[Drappa]

Really lovely dress!!!

 

[Tenuki]

I used the One Hour Dress instructions to make a silk flapper dress for one of my dolls, Maisie, who is 42 cm tall for a Pick a Decade sewing challenge on Den of Angels (a bjd forum). Ironically, it took about an hour to make the dress because I had to re-arrange some of the assembly instructions and make a couple guesses about fitting, due to the scale I was working on. The booklet is easy enough to follow that I think anyone with basic sewing skills could make a human sized flapper dress easily enough. I also made the not-a-cloche hat from handmade wool felt I made a while back. I strung her pearl necklace on buttonhole thread.


flappermaisie_3564 by Tenuki Handcrafts, on Flickr

 

[Stray Cat]

Maudelynn,
I love the dress.
I love, love, LOVE the mirror.

 

[Maudelynn]

Maudelynn,
I love the dress.
I love, love, LOVE the mirror.

Thank you so much!
And thank you for the compliment on the mirror! I had always wanted a very ornate floor mirror, and treated myself when we moved down to LA

 

[Maudelynn]

Really lovely dress!!!

Thanks so much!

I have worn it a couple of times and it is so comfy!

I am working on a 1930 dress from EvaDress patterns at the moment. The one above gave me more confidence in top stitching

 

[vintageTink]

Here is a dress I made from a 1936 pattern I got on ebay! I used Aunt Grace's Garden Party Cotton in Cherries and Stripes and grosgrain ribbon for the belt and sleeves binding. The buttons are vintage!

Beautiful!

My Easter dress, sans petticoat. I need a poofier one.