Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.....

I've fallen into a giant sewing hole and I'm battling my way out. Let's just say that drafting this pattern has become a nightmare. I should have made at least 2 more muslins, but nooooooo....I thought....3 is enough....I can do this.  HA! The karma in my sewing room has risen up from the threads on the floor and linted up my brain and taken more than a few pegs out of my sewing hubris.

"Needles" to say there have been tears and frustrations. I am battling on and I promise there will be a garment out of this yet. In the meantime, I'm keeping my eyes firmly on the pattern drawing and out of the overflowing waste basket in the corner of the sewing room.

Vogue 7321 - 1952 The Slim Chemise Dress

 I closed my eyes and jumped of the high diving board into pattern drafting with this project and I definitely feel like I'm drowning. Clearly, this is a detailed oriented skill that needs to be developed over time under the tutelage of an experienced drafter. After a lot of time, many stops and starts, and several rolls of paper, I got a bodice front and back.

 From there, it was another roll or two of paper and I think I have a first guess at my recreation of Vogue's 7321 Slim Chemise Dress from Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing.








Sooooo....I cut my first muslin. Not bad....but some issues exist. The collar is too high and the sleeves are not long enough to accommodate the cuffs turning back and finally the bust dart is not quite right.
Back to the drawing board!

A Revisit to the Plaid Circle Skirt

After wearing this skirt a couple of times, I realized the plain simple narrow waistline was just too large...but what to do about a "precut" circle? You just can't magically add fabric to make the waistline narrower. Gathering the excess isn't the answer either.

Here's my solution: It's a wide, fitted waist with a button detail.

Vogue 7630-1952 - The Portrait Neckline Blouse - Finished

Pattern trial number two gave me this. Four pieces, that except for the full bust, looked pretty similar to the illustrations in VoNBBS. I specifically choose to create "net patterns", that is, patterns without seam allowances. I found this gives me an easier time doing a couple of things, fitting on my dress form and "walking" the seams. 

Then, I got busy with the project and didn't pick up my camera until nearly the end....hemming the sleeve.

Here's the finished blouse with the slim skirt and my farmer's tan.

Here it is again worn as an over-blouse with the gingham skirt. The black color and poor lighting of late autumn in northern Europe sucks all the detail out of the photo.

Garment Finish: Good to excellent overall. This is a linen blouse, so I chose to over lock the seam edges to prevent raveling. The zipper is a lapped application in the side seam.  A-

Fit: Actually, I'm surprised. My first attempt at pattern drafting isn't bad. The fit is good, maybe a little large, but I've certainly had far worse at the hands of other pattern makers. For a first project: A-

Choice of Materials: It's linen. It wrinkles! It's clearly a summer blouse. I would choose cotton next time for ease of washing, or silk for something dressy. B+

Style and Wearability: This 1952 style still works today. I could make this out of a number of different fabric or colors. As you can see I have paired it with the more formal slim skirt and the casual gingham skirt and I've got two distinct looks. I could wear this with jeans and a blazer also.  A+

Overall: A-
Not bad for jumping in at the deep end of pattern drafting.

Vogue 7630 - 1952 The Portrait Neckline Blouse

   
     According to VoNBBS, the portrait-neckline blouse is "easy-to-make" and "has a way of making you look your prettiest and most feminine." Well, bottle that up and sell it! I'm buying. It's a blouse, a simple one at that. There are no sleeves, cuffs, collars or buttons. What's not to like?

     Plenty, when you don't have a commercial pattern at you finger tips. This week, I cracked open the dreaded "Pattern-Making for Fashion Design" by Helen Joseph Armstrong. I felt as if I'd gone back to school...the tables, the diagrams....the exercises...the revelations!

     The second chapter is an exhaustive discussion of fashion industry standards, how they are categorized and why they may or may not be used. Next came a five or six page set of exhaustive diagrams on how to take all 38 plus measurements from a standard fashion industry dress form. Many of these, such as bust, waist and center front length are very familiar, but others such as abdominal arc, bust span and strap length were completely new to me.

       As I don't have a industry standard dress form hanging around the work room, I took my own measurements and filled out a two page form from the book's appendix.  I had it on paper, me in Oct 2014, every roll, ripple and bulge. Then, I turned the page and found a table entitled "Standard Measurement Chart". Across the top of the table ran the headings grade and size, from size 6 to 18 and down the size ran a list of all the measurements I had just painstakingly recorded for myself. For kicks, or a malicious sense of self-inflicted pain, I circled my real measurements as they appeared on the table.

      The results were both humiliating and revealing at the same time. All my "vertical" measurements fell into the 6-8 size and all my horizontal measurements fell into the 16-18 size. This explains so many of my fitting problems with commercial patterns and why I cannot find retail clothing that fits. It also scares the heck out of me for pattern drafting.

     I won't bore you with all the gritty details of Chapter 3 - Drafting the Basic Pattern Set, but I will say that my 6-8 by 16-18 figure created drafted drawings that in no way looked like the illustrations in the textbook. The result was a lot of self-doubt, many repeated exercises and several rolls of pattern paper and a couple yards of muslin on the work room floor. In the end, I did get a skirt and bodice basic block pattern completed and fitted. I have not attempted a sleeve block. That will come later, perhaps in the spring.

     Using the block as a guide and skipping through dart and neckline manipulations, using only those exercises that applied to Vogue 7630 - 1952, I came up with this trial pattern.

 ...and this first muslin.

Hmmm...trial two....coming up.

Simplicity 1590 - Forties Blouse

Well, it's finished. I'm not sure I like it. I think the choice of fabric is all wrong.

The cotton is just too transparent. I'm also wearing it in October; this is summer blouse that needs a light colored cotton skirt underneath it.

The garment finish is good. I didn't spend a great deal of time on special seam finishes with this garment. The quality of the fabric just didn't warrant the effort. This project is much more about style and pattern testing than french seams and organza interlining. Garment Finish: B-

Fit: The fit is good. The back and waist are smooth and there is no gaping in the front. The full bust adjustment is a success. Fit: A

Choice of Materials: C- It's not a complete failure, but nearly so. The cotton is shear but very inexpensive. It won't wear well in the end and therefore didn't require the extra time and expense of lining the blouse. Given that, I still wouldn't want to spend a great deal time or money for a first trial of a new pattern. I think this garment would look better in a silk, charmeuse, or nice dress weight cotton. I will be worth trying it again before deciding if the pattern is a keeper.

Style and Wearability: B  The blouse is very much a success in someways and a dismal failure in others. As this project is a precursor to the completely self-drafted copy of the VoNBBS's portrait neckline blouse, it is weighted more for a success. The neckline is attractive and flattering. The cap sleeves give just that little bit of cover for the shoulders. Both these features are important for VoNBBS's Vogue 7630.  I don't care for the peplum. It emphasizes a part of my body I wish to ignore and I cannot tuck this blouse into a skirt or pant. This limits it's wearablity.

Project Overall: B-

Now, I'm looking forward to my first redraft of an old pattern from VoNBBS, Vogue 7630, the portrait neckline blouse. I think I can do this! Think positively! I can do this.....yes, maybe, welll...let's see.

"Patternmaking for Fashion Design"  by Helen Joseph Armstrong here I come.

Simplicity 1590 - Construction

 I always, always, always baste and check dart placement, especially after a full-bust adjustment. Sometimes the project is a wadder right then and there. It saves disappointment in the end with an ill-fitting finished garment. As I cannot fit the garment and photo the garment at the same time on me, you get a photo of  "Judy" wearing the blouse. Judy is just about my size, but I find I get a better fit if I slip the garment on for final okay. So...the dart is in the correct position and stops before the bust point and I've got no front blouse gapping.. I can proceed.

Here's the front before buttons and button holes. I'm not thrilled with the transparency of the fabric. I guess this one will fall under the category of "must wear a camisole."

... Because I'm procrastinating self-evaluation.

 A vintage portrait neckline blouse is up next. It's not Vogue. It's not VoNBBS. It's not the early 1950's....but has the correct neckline and the correct sleeves. The waistline darts can be converted later into pleats. The biggest style differences between the VoNBBS (Vogue 7630 -1952) and Simplicity 1590 is the addition of the peplum and the front button closure. Neither of these are deal breakers for this project.

I'm going to make View A and redraft the front for a FBA to a D-cup. I have a piece of lightweight summer cotton with a circular chenille design for the project and some simple plain white buttons.

Below is a photo just before cutting. The pieces redrafted are the front bodice for a FBA and the front facing has some length added to it because of the FBA. Otherwise, I'm going about this "as directed" by the pattern instructions.

The Next VoNBBS Project - The Chemise Dress or the Portrait Neckline Blouse?

I've been thinking seriously about the next VoNBBS project. I've completed the two projects that are based on rectangular pattern pieces and now I must jump off the cliff into pattern making or rather pattern reproducing and adjusting because...well, look at our lovely Miss Vogue 7231, she hasn't eaten since 1951.

The two easiest patterns for beginning pattern drafting will be the Chemise Dress and the Portrait Neckline Blouse.

I'm very tempted to start here with Vogue 7231 because is looks so modern. We are still wearing this shape today. Here's a modern pattern for essentially the same look. Although, please Vogue be careful of your fabric choice and construction before using the sample as the pattern photo.

However, after looking at the general shape of the pattern pieces from the original pattern, I'm doubting myself.

For heavens sake, look at them. There's not much there. There is nothing to hang a T-square or triangle on. There are few discernible points to begin with ...center back and front and a slight indication of a front bust dart, but other than that the pattern lacks definition. I think this could be very easy to get very wrong very quickly, especially since the fabric in my stash is a plaid. I want to show off the bias cuffs but the rest of the dress had better match. Being off grain will not be acceptable on this project. I think a solid fabric might hide these fundamental  pattern errors and I wish to avoid them at all cost.

Vogue 7630 is the other choice, a little blouse. Its pattern shapes are far more recognizable when compared to my pattern drafting textbook. The neckline could be very tough to get right...until I remembered this post. See it there right in the middle, I have it! It's in my pattern stash ....a portrait neckline blouse... a retro portrait neckline blouse! This will be the way to go.

....Actually, anything to delay cracking open that textbook and evaluating myself next to fashion industry standards.

Vogue 7436 - 1952 Final Evaluation

The Slim Skirt from VoNBSS is finished. It's a straight skirt. This silhouette has become a wardrobe staple over the years. There are hundreds of pattern choices for the home sewer. There are shorter ones and tighter ones. There are patterns that are pegged at the bottom rather than straight. Pick one that suits you and sew!

For this project, I got a small taste of draping instead of pattern cutting and I found this rather freeing from the "rules and regulations"of the pattern direction sheet. I also found that I had to keep my wits about me and not finish some parts of the garment before others. There must be an order to the process.

The garment finish is rather good on this garment. I'm pleased. It is fully lined. The zipper in hand picked and the hem is well padded and invisible from the outside of the garment. All seams are finished. I'm not pleased with the waistband interfacing. Let's just say I don't have many choices here and it shows. Overall: A-

The waistband of this skirt is a little tight. I learned something about the interaction of ease and turn of the cloth with this project. Also, don't sew while the plumber is in the house! You will not try things on as needed and adjust when needed. The moral of the story is clean when there are people working on the house and sew when everyone is gone. Fit: B

Choice of Materials: A+    Actually, this couldn't have been better. The houndstooth is a classic weave. The black and white is timeless. The wool was forgiving and easy to work with. I couldn't be happier with the materials.

Style and Wearabilitiy: A-  The tight waistband limits the wearability a bit...but three pounds and that will go away. The style is as wearable today as it was in 1952. This should be wardrobe corner post for many years to come.

Overall: A-

Vogue 7436 - 1952 The Slim Skirt - Top and Bottom

 I can't bore you with endless construction details for this project. The reason is simple. I got involved in this project and didn't surface to breathe until I was nearly finished. I just didn't think about photos until it's too late. Here are a couple photos of the nearly finished skirt.

 Draping was the way to go for me on this project. I was able to adjust pleat and dart arrangements for my specific problems without feeling I was violating some unwritten rule about following a pattern religiously. I blame my 8th grade home economics teacher for this. I still don't mix my blueberry muffins without hearing that woman's withering comments. But that's another post on another blog, maybe with my analyst.

Above is the top of the skirt and the center back seam. I left it extra wide for "extra pounds, " later...let's hope not. The wool is finished with black bias tape and the zipper is set by hand with a prick stitch. The entire skirt is lined.

 Below is the bottom of the skirt or hem. I've interfaced the hemline with some muslin to pad out the the turn of the hem so I don't get a sharp crease. There is bias tape applied to the wool and the hem will be stitched in place by hand with a catch stitch. The lining is hemmed separately with a deep double fold hem for extra weight to prevent riding and bunching.