I recently got this more modern pattern from the 60s and thought it had interesting curved seams and edges. I’ll probably convert the gathers to pleats in the waist area. It has no instructions but hopefully I’ll be able to figure it out.
Category Archives: dress
Sewing Fail: 20s-Inspired Dress
I love documenting my sewing fails as well as my successes since it reminds me that (just like in life) not everything you undertake will be executed to perfection or even turn out well in the long run.
I haven’t finished this dress yet but I can already tell it’s a fail.
I’ve been working on this project here and there this week. I took Colette Jasmine (which worked well for me previously as a blouse) and grafted a skirt on to it, thinking it would be a good drop-waist silhouette dress. The cutting took the longest (more than an hour), and everything was pieced together in half-hour intervals throughout the week.
The sketch started out like this:
A good premise but terrible in either execution or how it actually fits me.
Pros:
- I like red and it makes my hair look even more black
- this was some $2/yd fabric I found over the weekend so it’s not a huge loss
Cons:
- the 20s silhouette is not friendly (or flattering!) to me
- it looks like a deranged figure-skating outfit
- chiffon (or crape?) is really hard to work with, especially on the bias
- the skirt keeps riding up
- I haven’t worn anything this short since I was five
I’ll probably still go to the 20s event, but break the rules by wearing something modern (read: circa 40s or 50s).
Sewing Inspiration: Wit’s End Dress, circa 1920s
I have a 20s themed party to go to at the end of the month, and again I have nothing to wear. I don’t have any patterns from the 20s, so I decided to draft something that would look appropriate. Here are some patterns that I found inspiring.
Butterick 1856. I really like the skirt on this one, but the bow on the top part seems a bit much.
+ + +
Butterick 1191. I like this dress overall. I have no idea how to do the asymmetrical ruffles on the front part of the skirt — maybe make two ruffles and hand-sew them on, curving upward?
+ + +
Unnamed pattern, 5833. I really like the clean lines and the pleat detailing on the skirt, but is it too plain?
+ + +
Excella 2576. I really like the skirt treatment. It’s plain but maybe with the right fabric it can work.
+ + +
Excella 2576, back view. The pieces look simple enough to drape/draft and mimic.
+ + +
McCalls 4704. Or I could always cheat and draft something like this “50s does 20s” pattern.
+ + +
I’m sort of on the fence about the boxy dropped-waist silhouette. This might be as flattering as draping a rectangular burlap sack for a dress, but I don’t care, this is what the roaring ’20s is about. Period authentic (yet unflattering?) or flattering but not authentic?
Black Lace Dress, self-drafted
Closeup view.
Front view.
Our company had a holiday party last week and again I had nothing to wear. This dress was supposed to be made from Simplicity 4298 but right after I finished the muslin, I lost the drive to make it.
So it was back to the drawing board. I wanted something that was easy to make on a deadline, since I had a week to go before the event, with simple clean lines but a unique detail. I came up with a one-shoulder dress with a fitted bodice and tulip-shaped skirt with pleats, loosely based off of a 1940s skirt. I drafted the top based on my bodice block.
Sketch of dress.
I underlined the black lace with a nude colored lining, and it worked well enough for modesty. Fitting was a bit of a pain since the lace stretched and I had to take in the side seams quite a bit. I don’t know how many one-shoulder dresses I need, but I’ll probably use this pattern again for another variation if necessary.
Bodice, work in progress.
Bodice, closeup of lace.
Current project: Simplicity 4298, late 50s/early 50s
Simplicity 4298.
There’s another work event coming up next week (!!!) which calls for another project. I started Simplicity 4298 over the weekend. Hopefully I can finish it in time.
The Formal Masquerade Dress: Simplicity 8155
We had a work event last week that called for “black tie formal masquerade” and I didn’t have anything to wear.
Pattern used:
Simplicity 4774.
Notes:
I made this dress in about a week, finishing at the eleventh hour at 1 am the night before the event. I made a bodice of the top and used a dirndl skirt for the bottom since I didn’t want to cut into the lace border pattern. I underlined the silver lace with flesh-colored fabric, and it turned out better than I thought.
I’m fine with a dirndl silhouette, as long as there is a belt to hide all the gathering by the waistband. I plan to make this pattern again, making some modifications to the bodice (which is a little too long) and doing the gathering by machine instead of by hand, so it’s more even.
Work in Progress: Simplicity 4744, Bodice
This is just pin-fitted for now since sewing over embroidered lace/tulle is probably irreversible. 48 hours left to finish this and counting.
Every Day Here is Halloween
Simplicity 4744: Work in Progress
Sorry Guys Who Voted for the Silver Brocade (new indie band name?), I went with the nude lace at the end. But the silver might be used for the same pattern again at some point.
Decisions, decisions
Simplicity 4774.
There’s a semi-formal (what exactly does this dress code mean for women?) work event coming up that I need to sew for. Trying to decide on whether to go for the silver textured brocade or nude lace. I have a little under two weeks to finish this. My colleague who sits next to me said something like, “Have you seen Project Runway? They finish everything in a day.” So we’ll this. This is supposed to be a masked (?) semi-formal event too so we’ll see how it goes.
Silver (it looks brown here but it is silver) textured brocade. I’ve been hoarding this fabric for over 3 years, easily.
Nude lace with silver embroidery. Closeup of hem.