Working On The Duster Trail...with New Look

The image in my head for the last six years.

In 2010, decided to make a duster coat to enhance my professional wardrobe and wrote about my goal here. I even tried to muslin the coat at the time. If you remember (HAH, I barely remember, it was 6 years ago!), my original pattern choice of Vogue 7714 was much too large for me, even after coming down a few sizes. The photograph of the view I wanted was extremely misleading (though you could see the truth in the others) and the actual wearing ease on that pattern was ridiculous! It was so large that I was able to reuse and cut another pattern out of those same muslin pieces! I needed some more fabric only because the new pattern had two back pieces instead of one. I tried it on and it looked good even though the bust darts were in a very awkward position.

I really liked that pattern, New Look 6656, and every 5 months or so, I would try it on again and still be happy. However, I could never get myself motivated to cut it out of my final fabric, a polka dot moleskin, which I think over time developed mythic status in my stash. In the mean time, I gained weight and inches and that muslin became no longer relevant.

So, just a few weeks ago I cut that old pattern New Look 6656 and another new option, New Look 6270, out of a queen size sheet with the goal of completely finishing the duster THIS year.

The illustrations above (an altered New Look 6656 sketch) are what I wanted the final garment to look like and include the must-have details: an a-line shape, collarless, no closures, bust darts, waist definition, a back seam for sway-back shaping, and a length about 30-32" from base of the neck.

Each of these two patterns more or less had these details but the shaping of some elements were different (like the side and back seams) and that was the reason I needed to make them both up to see which would work better.

In both patterns, the front armholes were identical and the sleeve pieces had the same general shape and cap height.Though both patterns had back seams they had some room added to the upper back that seemed to allow for a slight dowager's hump. If anything, my back would require a straighter line there. Perhaps my posture is more erect than the average woman because both muslins bagged out unattractively in that area when sewn up as designed.

New Look 6270 was shown on the pattern cover in a sheer fabric; therefore, the picture was not a good indicator of its suitability for my fabric, a more substantial moleskin print. Using the printed pattern measurements I cut it first as size 16 all-over, eventually coming back to reducing everything above the waist to a size 14. Even then, the front and back were extremely wide. In fact, the front lapels overlapped by inches when there was no overlap intended in the design.


To see video of this jacket in motion, check here on my Instagram.


As you can see, altering this pattern to fit my goal of a sleek jacket would have been too much of a job. I'm still a fan of the maxi-dress in the pattern so I hope its sizing and ease will be more accurate.


New Look 6656 had a more structured design allowing for facings; however, the illustration made the shoulders seem like they might be too wide. I cut this one in size 14 at the shoulders moving out to a size 18 at hips. Comparing the pattern pieces, New Look 6656 was more nipped in under the bust; however, like 6270 it also allowed for a strange protrusion at the upper back (see at right). I cut that off leaving the back straight above the slight swayback shaping. I found the back neckline uncomfortably high on my neck so also ended up cutting the neckline and facings in a size 12.


To see video of this jacket muslin in motion, check here on my Instagram.


This muslin in motion* fit much better, I found the shoulders fine, the back was not too wide and there was adequate ease for the hips and bum. The sleeves for this design were meant to be cropped or otherwise extended with a contrasting cuff. I added the cuff to the main sleeve pattern piece and cut my sleeve out at full length.

As you can see, the muslin worked out beautifully and matches the shape of the inspiration garment shown below by Calvin Klein.

Calvin Klein colorblock jacket

I can't wait to cut my long-stashed fabric and sew this beauty up. It's been a long time coming!

*I was trying this on during the last week of the Presidential campaign and as my father filmed me we could not miss how much this jacket resembled the similar ones worn by Hillary Clinton. Sigh.

In Progress: To Frankenpattern A Shift Dress

The Goal:

Create a shift dress pattern that fits well at the neck and shoulders, skims the body, and has sleeves that allow a full range of motion. The basic pattern pieces will allow for creation of other not-so-basic variations.

  to 

For the longest time, I have been craving all types of shift dresses made in print fabrics with different necklines, sleeve lengths, and body silhouettes.

Reminds me of an elongated Grainline Scout tee.

I've tried a few commercial patterns and as with most patterns on me, they haven't fit correctly at the back neckline. I always find there is extra fabric. I don't know what it is, is my back so much more narrow than my front, because the measurements don't reflect that opinion? Or maybe the neckline is either too high or too wide, resulting in a lot of extra fabric?

NL6145 looks good from the front, right?

The problem is around back. I could carry a basketball back there!

I attempted New Look 6145 last summer and while the front looked fine, the back had so much extra fabric at mid-back. My thought was it had to do with the armscye and how the sleeve was attached, so I tried a few alterations but ended up abandoning that muslin.

This year I made a series of knit t-shirts, including one made from the Grainline Scout pattern. This reminded me of how much I like the way that pattern has always fit when made in wovens and I decided to use it with New Look 6145 to create my own shift dress pattern. I pulled out my MALA paper roll from IKEA to trace and preserve the finished full-length pattern.

The French darts and the width of the sides were never a problem in my muslin of New Look 6145, the problem was in the shoulder and neckline area. Therefore, I used my Grainline Scout pattern for the neckline, shoulder, and armscye portion and traced them onto my paper which when compared to the other pattern; flattened the angle of the shoulder line, increases the shoulder length, and decreased the neckline width.

I then positioned the dress pattern on the paper so that the lower armscyes matched and the fold line of the center front bodices lined up and traced the dart markings, length, and skirt vent shape.

Next Step:

Now to cut it out and see if it works or not. Check back later.

Part 1: Seeking a Sublime Shift

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

My Mad Mod Ponte Knit Dress In Progress

Did everyone enjoy the first part of the last season of Mad Men? I did.

What does that have to do with my sewing projects? Not much at first, but as the season (and this project) continued, they seemed more and more related. The pattern is a vintage dress pattern from 1972, but if you shortened it a few inches, it could have been perfect for 1969.

In fact, Peggy wore a dress very much like it in Episode 3.

That dress in particular, plus this similarly-shaped Stella McCartney “Ridley” dress worn by the Duchess of Cambridge during her tour in Australia, revved up my mojo, and hopefully this dress won’t end up in the UFO pile.

Instead of waiting until I can write a completed Pattern Review, here is a progress post so you know exactly what I have had to deal with in altering this pattern to fit my modern style and current body shape.


The pattern is Simplicity 5289, published in 1972. This is an A-line dress with French darts, a high jewel neck, and short raglan sleeves. The largest size in the pattern is a 14, though my waist and hip measurements match what would have been a size 16.

Luckily, I had some yardage of a gorgeous sea-green double knit I received from that wonderful VA/DC/MD swap a few years ago. That’s also where I got the pattern! This is a medium-weight fabric with minimum stretch.

Looking as the pattern sketch and knowing vintage dresses, I knew that the round necklines of that late 60-70s period would be too tight for modern comfort and that I might have to lower the neckline. Months ago, before I left Richmond, I created a quick muslin of the dress (from the waist-up only) to check the neckline, the fit of the shoulders, and the armscye. However, my muslin was made from a twill duvet cover (yeah, I know) so the actual final result would still be a mystery.

I was extremely surprised by the fit, the raglan sleeve hung a bit too low, however; the darts were in the correct place and the shoulder shape was near perfect.

Because of the low armholes and the resulting excess fabric around the bust and waist I decided to make a few changes to the pattern before cutting out my final fabric:

The size 14 was for a waist and hip 2 inches smaller than my measurements so I added 1/2" to the pattern at the side seam and tapered from a 14 at the bust to a 16 below. The altering of the French darts took some time and thought as I added tissue paper to the pattern, refolded the darts, and cut the new shape.

In a move to raise the arms, I also took out 1/2" horizontally at the front and back bodice above the first notch so that the area would match the same space on the sleeve pattern.

According to the pattern envelope, the finished dress length was meant be 42", including a 2-1/2" hem. I prefer something around 35-36" long so this was far too long for me. Without hesitation, I removed 4 inches from the bottom. I know the correct way to shorten a dress is to use the supplied horizontal cutting lines but with the published finished dress width at 50", I felt I could afford to lose some of that old school A-line width.

Once the pieces were cut, I marked the dart lines using tracing paper and then thread traced over the lines for clear visibility.

I hand basted the dress, beginning with sewing the darts together, the sleeves, and then the long side seams. First thing I noticed was that a zipper might not be needed, even with this close neckline. A small 2" opening and a button closure could work, eliminating the potential wonkeness of a zipper in this substantial knit.

Here is the dress with the above pattern changes:

Ultimate "frump prison matron action shot"!

No waist/bum definition!

However, the shoulders are looking good!

The best thing to come out of this very unattractive fashion shoot was seeing the fit of those shoulders!!! Once the sleeves are shortened/hemmed by two inches they should be near perfect.

The only helpful information that I could find on adjustments for raglan sleeves was found on the Madalynne blog here.
 

I stopped working on this dress towards the end of May because temperatures (and no AC) made this fabric excruciating to touch.

Whoa, this post is getting long

so I'll publish in another post the additional work I did on this dress and how I achieved a better fit.

*At this point, a total of six inches has been removed and the skirt has not been hemmed yet!

Images: AMC, Media-Mode.com, my own photos

Quick Grainline Moss Update - Part 3.5

I finished the waistband and took some more pictures for reference. I think I'm ready to cut out the fashion fabric. What do you think?

 

Note: worn with my newest Grainline Scout tee!

There is that small hiccup in the back yoke but I think it will be fine in the denim, I had problems with this cotton stretching a bit when I was sewing it and that might be the result.

Messing With My Moss Muslin Part 1
More On My Moss Muslin, Part 2
Making New Muslin For My Moss, Part 3

Making A New Muslin For My Moss - Part 3

Well, when Makes the Things and An Elemental Life decided April would be Moss Making Month, I thought it was about time I revisited my ongoing procrastination project, the Grainline Moss. I have no earthly idea why it's taking me this long to make this skirt, I really don't! Perhaps, I want it so much I'm scared that it won't look like my vision.* I mean, I seriously can't wait to wear this skirt and then make many more of them!

 

I don't know how well it worked out for everyone else in April but here is the latest muslin/step in my Moss making journey (see bottom of post for links to the other steps):

 

 1. 2.

  

3.

  

I warn you, this is an extremely long post that does not end with a finished item. However, as you will see, I am getting VERY close. I have now realized that when it comes to my skirts, if it does not have a dart in the back, it will not fit me. Above, see what a little dart can do for fitting and shaping. You can even do it the way I did and get the results of a dart without having a dart visible. In this case, the dart was drafted into the pattern pieces. You can see this technique for a waistband piece illustrated here at the House of Jo blog.



Ta  da! I actually cut a new muslin (#3) out of a bright yellow linen for what I hope are the last tweaks to this pattern. The goal now is to perfect the waistband to fit the new and customized yoke and skirt.

I made a big change to this muslin. If you notice in the picture at the top of the post, the original waist dipped down in the front. It was a little lower than I felt comfortable. Though this is what the designer intended, where it was, the fit of the skirt would be very dependant on the comparative "poof" of my belly and it's many fluctuations. I decided to raise the skirt front 1/2" on all the pertinent pattern pieces, effectively raising the waistband just in the front.

That new and improved back yoke pattern in use.

Having altered the yoke in back per Jen's instructions, I chose to follow the example led by Stitching on the Edge's Adrienne and treat my skirt and waistband together as separate front and back skirt units in order to fit and stitch the skirt together at the side seams. That seems to have been the best idea for an accurate fit.

I also measured and added some length to the front waistband sections as some reviewers had said the original was not long enough. I have a few tweaks to make to the front waistband curve still. Update: Perhaps there would be no problem if I had not put the waistband on upside down! Kirsty of Tea and Rainbows talked about this same issue when making her Moss but I still made that mistake.

No wonder it was not fitting tighter at the waist, it should get narrower towards the top! So, now on to the final fabric! Finally.

Where I am now:

I think the only hiccup was the front section of my waistband. Hopefully, it is now fixed.



See how straight that side seam is now!

I like the idea that if I were wearing a shirt on top you would have no idea there were any problems at all. If all else fails...


 

 

 

The color in these two pictures is more accurate of this near fluorescent yellow fabric.

Messing With My Moss Muslin Part 1
More On My Moss Muslin, Part 2

*I know that is why I haven't cut into my polka-dot moleskin for my highly desired and wardrobe changing duster coat!

Please Help Me With New Look 6145

I am loving the fit of the muslin* in these two pics, the neckline is flattering and not too wide. The shoulder looks good with just enough ease.

 

As you can see below, the back seam of the top is completely sewn up, however, when I raise my arms suddenly all this fabric appears. I know this is probably an armscye issue but which one and how to fix it?  Looking through all  twenty of my sewing books, none mentioned this issue specifically.
  

So, is this normal, is this ok? It has been a while since I made a straight non-gathered bodice in a woven fabric so I'm not sure. I can add some shoulder darts but is there more that I should do?

I think the armscye is too tight and needs to be lowered, what do you think? 

 

Please help me, I really want to move on to the dress. Any ideas?

*By the way, while I like this fit, in order for this top to become my inspiration shift dress I will need it to fit looser anyway.