Simplicity 2444: Floral Sweetheart Dress

Behold. My floral sweetheart dress that was made using the bodice from Simplicity 2444. I wanted to make sure the bodice fit perfectly before I actually cut into my real fabric so I made a wearable muslin using some leftover floral fabric that came from a disastrous 2nd attempt at Simplicity 7500, which will not be posted about here. Too bad! I don't even want to remember that attempt.

 

I was lucky enough to have enough fabric from my previous disaster to make the bodice. Sadly I didn't have enough fabric to cut a lining. I ended up finishing the neckline and arm holes using some red bias tape.

What am I looking at?

I did manage to also salvage the skirt from my disaster, but it was bit short. Oh well. Make lemonade out lemons right?? I also managed to not match up my piping in the back. Does anyone know how to do that? It always seems off every time I add piping to the waist seam.

Pattern Review (The Pros): Simplicity 2444 is one of those Project Runway inspired patterns, which means it has a lot of options for customization. I decided to work with the bodice first before tackling the full dress, but I wanted to also have something to wear. I cut out the sleeveless bodice, but used a self drafted gathered skirt that I rescued from my Simplicity 7500 2nd attempt. I think a different skirt option would be better since the gathered skirt doesn't really look that good on me. Overall, I love the bodice pattern (with lots of changes) and can't wait to make the full dress version using the bodice and skirt pieces.

The Cons: I don't think its the patterns fault that I have such wacked out body measurements. According to the finished measurements on the back I should be size 14 on top with a size 16 bottom with a size 20 waist. I know I know. Really need to do some crunches or something. Unfortunately I ended with a lot of ease despite the recommendations. Like that hasn't happened before? *Rolls eyes!*

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Yes. At least the bodice portion did although you can't see the dart detail because of the busyness of the floral pattern.

Do you need to make adjustments? Oh yeah. As I mentioned previously because of my supposed sizing according to Simplicity. I cut out a size 14 bodice and graded it (using a french curve) to a 20 waist. I also shortened the width of the four darts in the front bodice and two darts in the back bodice from two inches to one inch and basted the side seams at 1/2 inch. The bodice ended up being enormous on me. What a fool I am. Hahaha! So I ended up resewing all the darts at their original two inch widths for both front and back and sewing the side seams at 7/8 inches and the zipper seam at 5/8 inches and now the bodice fits perfectly. I guess I could grade my bodice to a size 18 or even a 16 waist, but may not since the bodice fits. As long as I remember what I did.

Another adjustment I made was to use store bought red single fold bias tape to finish the neckline and arm holes since I didn't have enough fabric to line it. The seam allowance was 5/8 so I subtracted 1/2 inch (width of my bias tape) from it and ended up with 1/4 inch. The 1/4 inch was what I cut off from the neckline and arm hole openings before I sewed on the bias tape. I read about this technique in one of my books. So far I like how it turned out.

I also basted some red piping at the waist and attached a gathered skirt, which was finished with some matching red double fold bias tape. Last, but not least was a red invisible zipper for the bodice. Phew! lots of adjustments. I hope to use the skirt piece that came with the pattern when I remake this dress.

Pattern Level: Intermediate. At least with all the adjustments I made. I have a feeling that people will have a to do a bit of bodice adjustment to get the fit correct. Plus if you have no experience in lining a dress (raises hand) than I'm sure that will be a learning experience since the pattern instruction doesn't really tell you how to do it while inserting a zipper. I was actually referencing my Colette sewing book, which happens to have instructions and pictures on how to add a lining and a zipper.

What could I have done better? Everything. Hahaha. I also need to figure out how to align my piping. Maybe someone out there can give me tips.

Would you sew this pattern again? Already working on it. Got the fabric ready and will hopefully be cutting into it real soon.

Pattern: Simplicity 2447 purchased from Joanns.

Fabric: Cotton fabric from Fabric Mart.

Techniques: Darts, bias tape on neckline and armholes, invisible zipper, piping and self drafted gathered skirt.

Vintage Simplicity 7500 Bonus Basic Pattern from 1967

Back in February I purchased Simplicity 7500 pattern circa 1967, which is a bonus basic pattern composed of a bodice, optional long/short sleeves and a-line/straight skirt. I was hoping to use this pattern as a sloper for myself after a few adjustments here and there. Of course in my world nothing really goes the way I want it. Of course it’s not the patterns fault. I’ve mentioned this time and time again how my choice in fabric always comes back to bite me in the arse! Fabric Mart was having a 75% Sale on their stretch rayon a few months back so I purchased several yards. The prints were lovely and for $2.50/yard I was sold! Of course when Mom took a look at them she shook her head and stated that although the fabric and print looked nice that I would still have a hard time sewing it. Of course Mom never explained why, but shook her head at me as her way of saying “you’ll see!” First, I am not a mind reader and second I love a challenge. Especially if that challenge is to prove my mom wrong and to wow her with my sewing skills. I think you may already guess where this is going. Read below to find out more.

Front View

Pattern Review (The Pros): The pattern wasn’t complicated and consisted of a bodice that zipped down the center back, skirt and optional sleeves. I liked how the pattern was designed with lots of options where you can mix and match the pieces.

Back View

The Cons: Be warned that you will be sewing darts in your sleep after your done sewing this dress because this pattern requires twelve of them. The bodice itself contains eight darts. This was a pain for me since IMHO marking darts is the second most tedious sewing task second to sewing them. Especially if you are marking darts on fabric that doesn’t take well to chalk or disappearing ink. I guess having twelve darts can be a pro too since you have many places where you can adjust the patter to fit you.

Another gripe about the pattern is that the pattern has almost no ease to it. I’ve sewed several vintage patterns from the 60s and 70s and found that size 16 patterns and some size 14 patterns had a lot of ease added to them. Since the pattern was identified as a basic pattern I assumed that it had the same design ease added to it. I’ve read before that slopers are designed to be skin tight and that you are suppose to add wearing ease and seam allowance to them to make it wearable. I wasn’t expecting to do that with a basic pattern, but perhaps I should. Another assumption gone wrong. So if you are using this pattern than I suggest making a muslin (i.e. mock up) and start by adding a ½ inch to the side seams.

Side View

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Yes, with exception that my front bodice darts don’t line up exactly with my front skirt darts. I must have sewn my front darts a little bit too big, but you can’t tell with print. At least the back bodice and skirt darts match up.

Do you need to make adjustments? Yes, because the pattern was tight on me I had to sew my side seams at ½ inch instead of the recommended 5/8. I shortened the skirt and ended up making it a mini skirt instead of the intended knee length skirt. After wearing it the other day I feel that the dress is a bit tight around the midsection and tad short.

Pattern Level: Beginner to intermediate. I’ve previously warned that there are lots of darts to sew so you really need to be precise. Especially when you are trying to line up your bodice and skirt darts, which might be tough for a beginner.

What could I have done better? Not use the stretch rayon fabric. Okay it’s really not the fabrics fault. I wasn’t prepared with all the fraying and shedding the rayon fabric did while I was trying to sew it. I spent two days trying to sew the fabric pieces together because it frayed, moved around and then frayed some more. I mean I pinned the fabric together-it frayed, I ironed the fabric-it frayed, I sewed the fabric together-it frayed, I looked at the fabric and it frayed. I was so frustrated that I wanted to cry. I let the dress sit there for three weeks because I dreaded sewing the hem because of all the fraying. I didn’t want to mess it up so in the end I begged my mom to hem it. Boo hoo! The experienced novice ran to her mommy crying and begged her to finish the dress! Later on I found out that you can apply this liquid called “Fray Block” to the fabric to stop it from fraying. Too little too late there!

Would you sew this pattern again? I will definitely try again with lots of adjustments because the basic pattern looks very versatile and I would love to make other pieces of clothing using the pattern. Also since I am a glutton for punishment I might use another stretch rayon fabric, but with fabric block applied to prevent fraying.

Pattern: Simplicity 7500 circa 1967 purchased from Dawns Divine Finds on Etsy.

Fabric: Stretch rayon from Fabric Mart.

Techniques: Darts and invisible zipper.

The Smock Dress circa 1972

Front View 

Back View

Another weekend sewing project that ended up so-so. I seem to have a very bad track record with my pattern selection. *sigh* I guess everything will always be a trial and error when it comes to sewing. I mentioned that I was going to work on this pattern below. Simplicity 5154 Smock Dress circa 1972. I was drawn to the dress because of the really cute sleeves and simple construction. While I was making the dress I realized that it was loose enough that I didn't need to put the zipper that they said was needed. Of course the lack of zipper should've given me an inkling on how loose the dress was, but my "spidey senses" just weren't tingling since I was so elated that I cut out 20 minutes of zipper sewing.  The final dress looks more like a Mumu dress that my Grandma "B" from the Philippines used to wear. I looked at my dress and the dress pictured on the pattern and the only thing I can think of is that they must have taken in the dress quite a bit for the pictured version and that is probably why they needed a zipper. Strangely my version is very flowy and A-line and not straight like the pattern version. Hmmmm... I'am not daunted. I can still wear the dress, but I would need to wear a belt to make it look less Mumu-ish. Anyways, here is my pattern review:

Pattern Review (The Pros): Very easy to put together. Only four main pieces (front skirt, back skirt, yoke and flutter sleeves. Also I was able to omit the zipper and still fit into the dress. The dress has a lot of give and is very forgiving.

The Cons: When I tried on the dress it just wasn't flattering. I think I will blame the flutter sleeves. The sleeves were just too fluttery. Of course it may also be my notoriously bad fabric choice again, but I just wasn't liking it. Now that I looked at the picture I wonder if its because its meant to be worn with something underneath?? Hmmm.. Another possibility is that I don't have very svelte model arms and I just hate the way this highlights might my very unsvelte arms. Naaahh. I'll just blame the sleeves.

Sleeve and Yoke Detail

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Yes. I added some rick rack on the sleeves to "jazz it up" and I really like it. 

Do you need to make adjustments? Yes, read above.

Pattern Level: Beginner. I would change it to super easy if you are able to not use a zipper and still fit into the dress. 

What could I have done better? I think if I make this dress again I would like to make the butterfly sleeves bigger. I would also like to make it in a drapier fabric such as rayon or perhaps a knit to see how it looks like.

Would you sew this pattern again? On the fence with this one. The dress is super easy to put together, but not as fitted as I would like. My answer is maybe.

Pattern: Simplicity 5154 circa 1972 purchased from Historically Patterns on Etsy.

Fabric: 100% cotton from Joanns. 

Trim: Dark brown ric rac from Sweet Peas Treat Shop on Etsy.

Techniques: Lining, gathering and trim application.

1965 Simplicity Bouffant Dress

I previously mentioned how I was working on this Simplicity pattern for a Bouffant dress circa 1965. I managed to cut out the pattern pieces last week and started sewing the pieces together on Saturday and finished the dress Sunday night. So here is the finished product made from cotton shirting that I purchased from Fabric.com last year. Had to cut my head off in this picture since I wasn't able to get my makeup on in time.

1965 Simplicity 6008 Bouffant Dress

Pattern Review (The Pros): This bodice was made up of three main pieces and three facings. Hooray I love it when you don't have that many pieces to cut. Two of the main pieces were for the bodice and the other long rectangular piece made up the skirt.

The Cons: I chose a 36 bust this time around to see if the bodice would fit me better since I always seem to have trouble with a 38 bust. I often have to take out a lot from the bust line and the shoulder seams always seem to be off, which make me look broad shouldered. Not a good combination. Thankfully the size 36 fit great on my bust line, but I forgot the waist line difference. I have a thick waist and obviously women from the 1960's must've had very svelte figures compared to mine. I ended up having to remove the back darts, change the front bust darts from 1 inch to 0.5 inches and change the seam allowance from 5/8 to 3/8 to get the waist to fit. Phew. A lot of changes for a seemingly simple pattern.

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Yes. With the exception that I shortened the skirt to knee length. Okay I originally made the skirt above the knee, but the dress started looking very costumey at that length so I added another strip of fabric on the bottom to lengthen the skirt to knee length. Of course my choice of fabric didn't help.

Do you need to make adjustments? Yes, read above.

Pattern Level: Intermediate. This pattern required a lot of work for a supposedly Jiffy pattern. I made this pattern an intermediate because if it wasn't for my past tailoring/over tailoring mistakes I probably wouldn't have been able to make the dress wearable. I don't know if it was dumb luck that removing the back darts and re-sewing the front darts resulted in a dress that was somewhat wearable and still retained its intended shape. Sort of. Of course if you have a perfect body size to fit this pattern than it should be an easy pattern to make.

What could I have done better? I probably should have chosen a better fabric pattern. I really have the worst fabric choices for the stuff I make. Maybe I should rename my blog to the "Girl Who Makes The Worst Fabric Choices" or something. When I tried on the dress in its unhemmed state (hem went past my knees) I looked like I was wearing a civil war costume or perhaps something from Little House on the Prairie. Since I wasn't going for that look I shortened the skirt to a mini version. Didn't work either. I looked like I was wearing a sexy baby doll costume. Thankfully the knee length version of this dress was something I wouldn't be too embarassed to be seen in.

Would you sew this pattern again? No, probably not. I didn't like the cap sleeves of the finished dress. The cap sleeves was just an extended shoulder and it didn't really look flattering on me. Also the gathered skirt was way to gathered that it puffed out a lot around my waist. Reason why I was wearing the giant belt. Actually all I need are some gladiator sandals and I can pass myself off as a Spartan! Hahaha. I know that the design of the dress is suppose to be pouffy, but I was hoping to get the dress to look like this one from IROIRO's blog.

Dress from IROIRO's Blog.

Maybe she didn't use such a big rectangle of cloth for the skirt like I did. Or perhaps that design looks better on skinny girls. We shall see. I am undaunted! I will make something similar and hopefully flattering. On a positive note I just received this pattern from Historically Patterns this past weekend so it might be an option. The pattern is for a long sleeve dress with an eight gore flared skirt. Not gathered so perhaps this might be a more flattering option for me.

Simplicity 4673 from the 1960's

I also have this pattern that I've been meaning to cut out and use. I purchased this pattern from Dawns Divine Finds on Etsy and it is a Simplicity Basic Pattern. I could use the short sleeve bodice and attach a gathered or maybe a pleated skirt to it.

Simplicity 7500 Basic Pattern

Lots of options with the above pattern. I could probably make the dress that I have been coveting on IROIRO's blog or like this one from the Grograin Blog.

The Engagement Frock from Grosgrain.

I believe she might still be having a giveaway for this dress. Sadly I am too large for it, but I can dream. Onto my next project: the Smock Dress! Wish me luck. I'm sure I'm going to need it.

Pattern: Simplicity 6008 circa 1965 purchased from Historically Patterns on Etsy.

Fabric: 100% cotton shirting from Fabric.com. 

Trim: Stretch lace purchased from Porcelynne on Etsy.

Techniques: Facings, darts, gathering, trim application and bias tape.

Missing in Action: What Have I Been Up To??

Egads! Sorry to my readers (if any) out there. I've been so caught up with my sewing that I haven't had the time to post. I actually finished two dresses since the last time I posted and have just finished cutting out the fabric for another project I hope to finish this weekend. I'm also planning on cutting out some fabric for another project that I might also start this weekend. I know I am very ambitious, but I feel an assembly line approach will be less stressful for me. Since I still have to take pictures of my finished projects. Here are the pattern pictures of the one's I finished.

This is the technical drawing for a "Wedding Dress" from the Burdastyle Magazine. I purchased the pattern on the Burdastyle website, downloaded it and made it.

And this one is the picture of the JJ bodice pattern that was available for free from the Burdastyle website.

The first dress from Burdastyle almost ended up a disaster and the second pattern from Burdastyle was a disaster, but that will be another post.

Last night I just cut out my pattern pieces for a Bouffant Dress from Simplicity circa 1965 that I purchased from OpalsOwlVintage on Etsy. You can find many vintage patterns from the 1930s to the 1980s in her online store. I received great service, quick shipping and no problems. I chose an easy pattern with three main pieces and three pieces for the neck and armhole facings. Hopefully this will be successful since I've been wanting a dress like this for awhile ever since I saw something similar on IROIRO's blog.


The other project I wanted to start is this Smock Dress from Simplicity circa 1972. The pattern seems relatively easy to make so hopefully I can make a successful wearable muslin this weekend.

I purchased these two Madras print cotton fabric from Fabric Mart that I hope to use for the final version of the smock dress. There is still some more Madras fabric available at Fabric Mart and they are having a sale until March 15 so hurry!

Hopefully this makes up for being MIA. To end here are some great pictures of some handmade smock dresses from RubyChicOriginals on Etsy that are for sale. I'm using her designs as inspiration. Check out the other dresses in her store. The dresses are so cute. I want to buy them all. Reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

Simplicity 8723 from 1970: Finished

Alright! Another finished project. This time without even making a muslin for it. Above is my completed Simplicity 8723 from 1970.

Simplicity 8723 circa 1970

The pattern is for a simple A-line shift dress with a square collar, bust and neck darts and a back zipper.

Here is the picture of the back.

And a close up of the zipper.

 Again sorry for the bad pictures. I was too lazy to iron the dress and I was playing with my Canon's ISO settings and all this blah, blah, blah camera stuff that I am still learning.

Pattern Review (The Pros): This is a Simplicity Jiffy pattern that has three main pieces (front, back and sleeves). Also there are pattern pieces for the front and back collar facings and the armhole facing. My intention was to make the shift dress with the sleeves to practice my set in sleeve technique.

The Cons: I wanted to tailor my dress to be a bit more fitted since the traditional shift dresses are notoriously shapeless. So I ended up taking out the seam allowance to take in the dress. This led to a lot of problems since I overestimated how much I needed to take off to make the dress fit. Thankfully I basted the dress sides and tried it on before I actually sewed it. I realized I could sew the dress using a 1/2 inch seam allowance instead of 5/8 to get the dress to fit me correctly. Also I thought the sleeve pattern was too tight on the sleeve hem so I took my mom's advice and added an inch to the sleeve pattern by cutting the sleeve pattern in half and separating it by an inch and redrawing the pattern. Bad move! Should've consulted the Readers Digest Sewing book first before I did the alteration. My sleeve alteration made it impossible to set it in to the armsyche. I ended up having sleeves that looked like they came from the traditional Filipino dresses worn by Imelda Marcos. Just like this only worse:

You see Imelda's face. Imelda is saying "You did what!?" That is what happens when a novice thinks she knows how to alter a pattern.

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Uhmmm..Yes, although it is a bit more fitted and I'm missing the sleeve and ended up just folded the edges over and sewing the armsyche that way instead of making the facing. I was too lazy and disappointed to finish my dress properly. My last con had to do with my fabric choice. Seems like my choice in fabrics can really suck sometimes. My favorite saying is "it was a good idea at the time." The embroidery/stitching on my cotton fabric kept catching on my sewing machine's teeth so the fabric would feed differently and made matching the edges really hard. The fabric was also very tightly woven and I guess I should've chosen a thinner needle or maybe used a walking foot. If anyone has ideas on how to fix this then let me know?

Do you need to make adjustments? Yes. Please see cons.

Pattern Level: Experienced Novice. You'll be sewing darts, facings and inserting a zipper. Inserted my second invisible zipper. Will be a bit harder if you decide to add the sleeve, but don't let my experience scare you away from sleeves. I used to be scared with inserting zippers and now I don't think twice about adding them. You will need to practice and I would suggest practicing with a muslin, which I am going to do.

What could I have done better?  I could've done a better job with altering the dress to make it fit. I also should have consulted my Readers Digest Sewing book before making the alterations on the sleeve pattern. Actually I should've done that even before I thought it was a good idea to remove the seam allowance. I completely forgot about things like design ease, being able to move, to breath or walk when I altered the dress.

Would you sew this pattern again? Of course. I am actually thinking of making this dress out of muslin so that I can practice my alterations and set in sleeve technique. I like the finished product, but would like to make sure I do my alterations correctly without messing up the armsyche and sleeve pattern. I am hoping to make the dress version with a sleeve. So wish me luck.

Pattern: Vintage Simplicity 8723 from 1970 bought on Etsy.
Fabric: Cotton with stitched flowers from Fabric Mart.com.
Techniques: Zipper insertion, darts, facings, underlining, (failed) set-in sleeves and hand sewing.

Simplicity 5511 Dress: Liberty Marylebone Version

You got a sneak peek of this version from my post about Yukari (my new dress form). This is another version of the Simplicity 5511 dress made from floral fabric from the Liberty of London Marylebone collection. This is quilting cotton not super soft cotton lawn print that they are famous for. I was worried my fabric would be very stiff, but it came out a bit softer after I watched it. Don't get me wrong. I should choose a drapier fabric for next time. Something that gathers nicely like challis, voile? Any suggestions??

Front

 

Back View

This dress was my first attempt to modify the pattern and it almost ended up a disaster. First, I decided after making the blue version that the bodice needed to be taken in a bit since I had about 3 inches of fabric sticking out on both sides. I thought "okay lets take out two inches and it should fit better." WRONG.. Wasn't until later that I realized taking an inch off each side of the bodice pieces would take out four inches overall. Front bodice was cut on the fold so taking one inch from the side would end up with two inches removed from the front pattern piece, but I forgot that if also took an inch from the side of the back bodice piece and ended up with an additional two inches removed. I realized why they say that if you want to take in your pattern by a certain amount that you divide that amount by four and that would be amount you take from each side of your pattern piece. DUHHH!! *Smacks forehead.* The experienced novice strikes again. In other words. If I wanted to take two inches off my bodice than I should have taken my pattern in by 0.5 inches on the sides for each piece (2 inches / 4 = 0.5 inches).

Luckily, the bodice fit perfectly and would have probably made a nice strapless dress (maybe next project), but I had to sew my dress using a 1/4 seam allowance. Not so good! I will need to be careful when wearing this dress since I can accidentally split the side seams.

Another dumb thing I did was alter the gathered skirt since I thought it was a bit too gathered and made me look bigger than I was. So in order to make it less gathered I took my pattern in by two inches, which equaled four inches overall. This resulted in a less gathered skirt, but I wasn't really careful when spreading the gathering evenly. You'll notice if you look closely that a lot of the gathering ended up on the side. Very counter intuitive. I did like the overall shape that resulted from my mistakes. I'm sure this is probably just a happy accident, but at least I ended up with a wearable product.

Lastly, my ultimate fail is adding a ruffle to the hem of my dress. You'll probably wonder whats wrong with that. The problem is that I made the ruffle using the selvage (sealed) edge of my fabric because I didn't want to go through the hassle of finishing my ruffle edge. The ruffle made my hem hang in the most awkward and rather unflattering way. I had wondered why my dress was puffing out on the sides when I was wearing it since it draped nicely when it was on Yukari. I asked my mom and told her what I did and she said it was probably the ruffle. I guess I should have cut my ruffle on the bias or made my dress wider on the bottom. I was so proud of myself when I did the ruffle too. So this ends my list of fails for this dress.

So here are my lessons learned:

1. If I need to take in the sides I need to remember to divide the total amount I want to take in by four. The calculated amount will be what is removed from the sides of the pattern.
2. Remember to spread the gathers evenly or you might end up with some awkward draping.
3. Adding ruffles to the bottom of your dress may alter the way the hem hangs. Of course this all depends on your fabric and the design of the dress. 

Hand Sewn Facings

Other than that sewing this dress was a breeze and I even hand sewed the facings on the inside. I will definitely remake this dress again, but with a little more thought on the tailoring.

My New Dressform: Simplicity DF150 (small) aka Yukari

Behold! My new dress form arrived today. She is a Simplicity DF150 in small and I have named her Yukari after the main character from my favorite fashion manga: Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa.

Yukari aka Caroline from the Paradise Kiss manga.

Yukari is an early Valentine's gift from Mister. I purchased her from Amazon at a very agreeable price and I absolutely love her. Yukari is modeling my current work in progress, which is an altered version of Simplicity 5511 made from Liberty of London Marylebone quilting fabric in Meadow Red that I purchased from Fabric.com last September. I was almost finished with this on Monday, but won't have time to attach the straps and bodice until this weekend. Having a full time job and taking care of an almost two year old can put a cramp into my sewing schedule. I usually get to sew on weekends, holidays and sometimes Monday after work. I altered the Simplicity 5511 dress by taking it in two inches at the bodice and four inches at the skirt. This resulted in a modern looking fitted dress. I like the fit at the bodice, but will probably loosen up the skirt for a more gathered look next time I make this.

Coincidentally, Burdastyle began showcasing dresses made from the Liberty of London Marylebone collection this past Wednesday. The fabric is surprisingly soft after you wash it, which isn't the case with most quilting weight cotton fabric. I'm still learning my way around fabric, drape and what type of fabric works best for different types of clothing. I love quilting fabric for their print and color variety. Unfortunately they can be very stiff and/or uncomfortable to wear. Still love them though.

The dress form is very basic with neck, chest, waist, hip and height adjustments. The height adjustment is not very stable and should be used with caution. Also the base is not the most stable, but works for me. Just have to lean it against the wall or something. I can't wait to use Yukari for all my styling and fitting needs. I will keep you updated on how much like her as I progress.

To finish here is another picture of Yukari with Buni.

And a picture of what I'm hoping to start and finish this weekend: Simplicity 8723 circa 1970. This is another retro Jiffy Simplicity shift dress pattern with three main pieces that has a back zipper, square neckline and optional short sleeve. I'm skipping out on the blue broadcloth this type and will probably use one of my fabrics from the Liberty of London Marylebone collection. I am hoping to make the version with the short sleeves. Wish me luck and happy sewing!

Completed: Simplicity 5511 from 1973

Simplicity 5511 circa 1973

I am on a roll. Below is a picture of my completed dress made from the Simplicity 5511 circa 1973 pattern. This dress has a bodice, straps and a gathered skirt. This dress gave me a bit of trouble in terms of fit. My original finished version was huge despite me cutting and sewing exactly as instructed. The pattern was for a size 38 and for some reason I had at least 3.5 inches of ease on the bodice and skirt panel was huge. Since this was a wearable muslin I decided to just take the dress in an inch on the sides. The fit was a little bit better although I think I will take in the skirt portion a little bit more than an inch.


Please excuse the bad IPhone photos. Better pictures will come later.




Again this is made from blue broadcloth that I have been using to make my wearable muslins. Although I am getting sick of seeing this fabric.



Lastly is the picture of the back and my first invisible zipper insert.

Pattern Review (The Pros): Again I chose this pattern because it looked easy to put together. The pattern was another learn to sew type of pattern and was very easy to follow. The pattern was made up of five pieces not including the optional pocket.

The Cons: I had a lot issues with the fit. I finished making a size 38 in another dress (see Simplicity 5424) and I had about 2.5 inches of ease. This dress ended up with 3.5 inches of ease on the bodice and gathered skirt panel was huge. And this was from following the sewing the instructions for a size 38. I guess sizing does vary from dress to dress.

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Yes, although it was a much bigger version. I kinda thought it was more rectangle shaped than A-line.

Do you need to make adjustments? Hell yes. I am planning on taking the bodice by an inch and sewing with a 5/8 in seam. This would alter the bodice by about three inches. I think. I would also take in the skirt panel by two inches with a 5/8 in seam. Hopefully everything works out with the new measurements.

Pattern Level: Experienced Novice. You'll be sewing darts and inserting a zipper. Instead of a regular zipper I inserted an invisible zipper (my first).

What could I have done better? Chosen a better draping material and maybe premeasured the pattern pieces first to get an idea of the overall fit.

Would you sew this pattern again? Of course. Already in the process of redrafting the pattern.

Pattern: Vintage Simplicity 5511 from 1973 bought on Etsy.
Fabric: Blue Broadcloth from Fabric Mart.com.
Techniques: Zipper insertion, darts, facings, underlining and hand sewing.

Simplicity 5424 Pictures

As promised here are some pictures of the Simplicity 5424 dress on a real person: ME! Please forgive the fact that the dress is wrinkled. The pictures were last minute and had to be done in a rush since Mister was getting ready for work and I had just put my daughter Buni down for her nap.

I really like the shape of the dress. I can't wait to make this dress again in a more drapey type of material. Here is a not so good picture of the back. I was trying to emphasize the A-line design of the dress. Or perhaps I was about to curtsey to the wall.

Here is the last picture. The bodice is a bit big and I will have to figure out how to get it a bit more fitted, but overall I like it. Very proud of this dress. Hopefully the rest of my dresses will be just as successful. Hope I didn't just jinx myself. Happy Sunday everyone.

 



Completed: Vintage Simplicity 5424 from 1972

Behold! I completed Vintage Simplicity 5424 circa 1972 using the blue broadcloth I purchased from Fabric Mart.

Simplicity 5424 circa 1972

Here is my completed version. The front. Don't pay attention to the wrinkles. I wore this to work and was too lazy to iron it again.

And here is the back.

With a close up of my very first zipper insert.

Pattern Review (The Pros): the pattern was relatively easy to put together. The pattern was a learn to sew type of pattern and I loved how it spelled (almost) everything out for you in the instructions. Even included the 5/8 seam allowance line on the pattern that you can trace on your cloth, which I did.

The Cons: I'm sure there had to be an easier way to sew the facing down without hand sewing. I'm wondering if I could've serged the underlining so that it doesn't come out. I did a bad job of hand sewing the bodice facings.

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Sort of. The pattern was for an A-line dress and my version was very wide on the bottom, but I guess that's what an A-line should be. It feels like I could put a petticoat underneath. Of course I did choose broadcloth which is really stiff and probably wasn't the best choice for this type of pattern. Hopefully I'll be able to get Mister to take some pictures of me modeling the dress so that I can show you.

Do you need to make adjustments? Yes, although I don't know what type. The bodice seems rather big and I would prefer it to be more fitted and I would like to take the sides in a bit. Since this is a wearable muslin. I'm hoping my next version of this dress will fit better when I figure out how to do those changes.

Pattern Level: Experienced Novice. You'll be sewing darts and inserting a zipper. I suggest practicing your zipper insertion before placing it on the dress. I made a small zippered pouch before working on the dress.

What could I have done better? I could have sewed the seam allowances better. I edge stitch parts of the bodice and the skirt panel. I'm wondering if this is probably the reason the dress feels big. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fit into the dress. I should have also finished my edges. I didn't have pinking shears and was too lazy to zig zag the edges. Now I have blue threads everywhere. Oh yeah. I should have also looked up how to sew single fold bias tape. I sewed it on the hem like double fold bias tape and afterwards wondered why it was so hard to put on. Then I looked up how to sew it and found out what I did wrong. Yep. Completely different way to sew it on. A long list of mistakes. This is the reason why I'm a novice. At least the final product is wearable.

Would you sew this pattern again? You betcha. And I will use fabric that is less stiff and finish my edges. Hopefully my next version will be better.

Pattern: Vintage Simplicity from 1972 bought on Etsy.
Fabric: Blue Broadcloth from Fabric Mart.com.
Techniques: Zipper insertion, darts, facings, underlining and hand sewing.