Wednesday, July 16, 2014

More Of My Mad Mod Ponte Dress

I went back on April 9 and removed almost all of that added width to the dress above the hip, deepened each back dart by almost 1/4", and took in a bit of the center back seam for a sway back adjustment. I then cut an inch off the sleeves and 2 more inches from that skirt!

I then decided to take in the dress even more above the waist resulting in a dramatic pattern alteration. While it doesn't really show in the photos, there was a lot of excess fabric under the arms and my waist is a lot smaller than it appeared in the dress. During a holiday trip, I basted the entire dress together. The back now fits a little bit better and the excess under the arms and down the sides in the front is gone. I do still have some excess fabric in the back which seems to be my usual problem now.

Once I started messing with the major pattern adjustments, I had to alter the neckline, which not only was high at the front but also was creeping too high up my neck in the back. My goal was a jewel neckline similar to ones worn in the late 50-60s or like in this similar pattern from the 1970s.

Vogue 7614

Here is where I left the dress two months ago. It is now folded up waiting for the end of summer.



 
 
Any suggestions on how to improve the fit in the back?
 
 
 
I chose to end the photos with the still good shoulder fit . Don't worry, the darts are not that noticeable after I did some careful trimming and pressing.

However, you can click on the photo to see the visible basting on the sleeves. You may see it again in a more refined manner, it was my first attempt at copying the decorative details from my Mad Men inspiration dress.


To be continued...

Images: McCall Pattern Company, my own photos, AMC Television

3 comments:

Mugsy's in Stitches said...

Wow, looks terrific! I can understand how you'd want to leave this for cooler temps, though. I't's gonna be amazing wearing that later in the year! :)

Sadly, I'm no help with fitting ideas, but I'll be watching this entry to see what the good people out there come up with...

Gina said...

I loooooved that dress when I saw Peggy wearing it on Mad Men, so I can't wait to see your finished product! Unfortunately, my go to remedy for excess fabric at the small of the back is two vertical fish eye darts, which is a really fiddly solution for knits. But maybe you could transfer a fish eye dart to the side seams by just scooping them out? I've never tried it, but I always have gapping at my armhole that I transfer to an existing bust dart, and it always works like a charm, so taking out excess in one area in a totally different area can work. Good luck with the fitting!

Mugsy's in Stitches said...

Oooh, like this idea! Also the idea of transferring any armhole gapping to an existing bust dart (depending on the gapping, of course) is terrific...
:)