Mod Double Knit Ponte Dress - Simplicity 5289

Pattern: Simplicity 5289 (1972)

Pattern Description: A-line dress with back zipper closing has French darts, high round neck, and short raglan sleeves.

Pattern Sizing: Pattern is size 14, though my waist and hip measurements corresponded with their size 16.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing it? Yes, pretty much, except the neckline is a bit lower on my version.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, extremely easy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It's easy, perfect for a quick, cute make. It has a very forgiving shape. However, I had to make adjustments in order for it to fit the way I desired.

Fabric Used: 1-3/4 yards green double knit from VA/DC/MD swap (where I also got the pattern!). This is a medium-weight fabric with minimum stretch. Gutermann polyester thread in Spruce #784 and a 3/8" button from my stash.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:  I knew that the round necklines of the 60-70s were worn high and I might have to lower the neckline so I created a quick muslin of the dress (waist-up only) to check that, the fit of the shoulders, and the armscye. The neckline was extremely high to the point of near choking. Note that my muslin was made from a former twill duvet cover while the final dress would be in a double knit so the actual result would still be a mystery.

Otherwise, I was extremely surprised by the good fit of the muslin. The armholes for the raglan sleeve hung a bit too low for full mobility but otherwise, the darts were in the correct place and the shoulder shape was near perfect.

The bodice fit perfectly but the size 14 was meant for a waist and hip 2 inches smaller than mm actual measurements so I thought I needed to add some width to the pattern at the side seam. In the end, I ended up removing the additional width and in fact, increased all of the darts considerably to bring the fit in closer.

Despite the pattern illustration, according to the pattern envelope, the finished dress length was meant be 42", most definitely a 1970s "midi" to "maxi" length. I ended up removing 6 inches (!) and then doing a 2-1/4" hem. 

One thing I really enjoyed while making this dress was all the hand basting that I did, it was very relaxing, and didn't take that much time. If you desire stitching accuracy, basting by hand is a necessity. I even basted in all of the darts, dart legs and all, so I could machine stitch exactly on the lines.

Here is the dress during my first fitting:



Shoulder shape is looking good!

Unfortunately, the perfect shoulder shape was the only good thing about the fit of the dress. I had a lot more work to do to achieve the look of my inspiration dresses (see other construction links at bottom of this post).

I ended up cutting the neckline lower, more at the sides than at the front to correct the patterns vintage look and stifling feel. At first I had planned to bind the neckline but scared of bulk and any possible stretching I chose to just turn the seam allowance under and topstitch. I'm very happy with how that turned out.



Even though this is a stable knit, I still finished all raw edges with a zigzag for neatness and hemmed it by machine, doing two rows of stitching (faux twin needle) at the skirt hem.

Still some swayback issues but I'm fine with it.

I love these French darts.

I chose not to install a zipper, scared that it would stretch out the fabric or not lay flat. Instead I did a simple button closure following an awesome thread button loop tutorial from the Tessuti blog. It turned out so simple and elegant looking.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Even though I AM in love with the final dress, probably not. I'm not sure I would be able to forget the frustration and time spent trying to finally get the dress I originally imagined. I'm also not sure I transferred all the changes to the paper pattern during the process. F.Y.I. I suggest that anyone attempting a vintage pattern like this one definitely make a muslin, or two.



Mad Men season 7, episode 3

Stella McCartney "Ridley" dress

See? I swear I didn't pose like the pictures on purpose. Also ignore my food baby.

Conclusion: I knew this was a perfect marriage of pattern and fabric to attempt a version of my inspiration dresses; a dress worn by Elizabeth Moss as "Peggy Olson" on Mad Men's final season and a similarly shaped dress, the "Ridley" dress by Stella McCartney as worn by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. I wanted a simple dress design that would result in pure comfort, fully taking advantage of this cozy fabric and this design succeeded. In the end, I chose not to do the contrast topstitching, but it's something I can always do later if I change my mind.

More Of My Mad Mod Ponte Dress
My Mad Mod Ponte Knit Dress In Progress

Images: My own photos, AMC, Media-Mode.com, whatkatewore.com

Pattern Purge and Purchase Possibilities!

My Etsy shop, Metamorphpursuit has reopened!! Right now there are over 30 patterns there, more will be added over the next two weeks. I have Vogue designer patterns from the 1980-90s, vintage Advance and Simplicity patterns from the 50-60s, and various others. Go check them out using that new widget to the right!

Buying that small group of patterns at Hancock Fabrics; no matter how cheap they were, still made me feel guilty for all the others I own and haven't used. This inspired me to finally finish a project I started two months ago when I came across a vintage store that had a booth devoted to thrift and antique fair supplies; vinyl bags, stickers, tags, and display stands. I bought myself some 9" x 12" plastic zip bags* after I saw how they packed their own vintage patterns. Instead of getting a bag that just fits the average sized patterns they used much larger bags and placed the pattern perpendicularly in the middle and wrapped the ends to the back and used archival tape to anchor the two sides together. I took a day and wrapped most of my patterns, including all the vintage ones, the oldest, my T-N-T (most used), and the ones I finally decided to sell.

Covered vintage patterns and ex. of what happens without preservation.

I made sure to use the new bags and my original 6 x 9 plastic protectors to make sure that all the vintage patterns have some kind of coverage. Unfortunately, without protection, some of my older pattern envelopes have become crispy, as you can see above. In those cases, I have carefully removed the folded instructions and pattern and placed them in the bags individually so that future damage to the envelopes will be minimal.

This protect and purge session ended up freeing 70+ patterns that I realized I'm either never going to make because of the style or a size I will never fit into again and the idea of reopening up my Etsy store was definitely the way to go.   

To make those elimination decisions, I used this ranked order of criteria:

1. Could I still see myself wearing these items still (or ever) since some patterns had been inherited from others? I had to see these patterns fit into my current and future wardrobe.
2. Could the size range of these patterns fit me? (I'm currently a size 14/16 and I could see being a 12/14 again but I had unused patterns from high school when I was a 6-8!)
3. Do I have the patience or motivation to undertake this pattern? I had some Vogue designer patterns rated Advanced in the mix.

For years, I've kept a photo inventory of the staggering amount of patterns I owned on Flickr. There will always be a few that I keep for sentimental reasons, but once I moved the ones chosen for sale to a separate album my inventory numbers changed drastically:

Vogue: Group of 62 condensed down to 37.
Simplicity: Batch of 54 scaled back to 28.
McCall's: Lot of 31 shrunk to 17.
New Look: Cluster of 21 reduced to 15.
Butterick: Set of 15 decreased to 9.

So from a quantity of nearly 200 patterns I now have a much more usable group of 106.

Of course that still doesn't include the 20 or so downloaded PDF patterns I may also own. But, baby steps, baby steps...

* For archival purposes, make sure they are 2 mil uncoated polyethylene bags.

Summer Walking Shorts - Vogue 2532

Pattern: Vogue 2532 c. 2001

Pattern Description: Shorts, micro-mini, above mid-knee, below mid-knee or straight-legged pants have waistband, carriers, in-seam pockets and mock-fly zipper. A,B,C,D: side slits and stitched hems. E: cuffs. Purchased top and belt. I made the above mid-knee view.

Pattern Sizing: (12-14-16) I chose a size 16 which actually did match my measurements and the finished garment measurements were just right.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing it? Yes, mostly. However, I did not construct the side slits and did a blind hem instead of the visible one they suggest.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I wanted a pair of slim walking shorts, the opposite of my almost skirt-like pair. I also learned a new faux fly zipper technique that I will be using again which resulted in my best looking zip ever, exterior and interior. The only thing I didn't like was that they are too long waisted. However, that could have been fixed if I had made a muslin.

Fabric Used: A 44/45" madras cotton print FREE from the VA/DC/MD blogger swap, 7" Robin zipper in Lead Blue, thread, fusible knit interfacing, and a snap closure.

Isn't that a gorgeous inside zipper view?

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made?: I did not mean to make any alterations but when it got to making the side slits I decided to just make a simple straight hem. I think because the pattern was specifically drafted for those slits is why I had to ease the hem around and use steam to shrink the puckers. I really liked the zipper application, it was a different way to do a faux fly, worked smoothly, and looks great.

For the waistband I decided to forgo the pattern instructions to trim the corner of the seam allowance at an angle and instead followed this great Perfect Corners on Waistbands tutorial from Lisa G. at Notes From a Mad Housewife instead. And yes, they turned out perfect!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes and yes. 

Conclusion: I adore this fabric, it's a mystery but it has such a soft yet firm hand I would not be surprised if this were my first silk/cotton mix. Luckily, I have enough left to make a top from next summer. Too bad that the front crotch length was too long. If only I had checked more closely. I could possibly take off the waistband and replace it after cutting one inch or so from the top of the shorts if I also shorten the zipper from the top by an inch. I may* do that next summer, this year I'll just pretend I meant to make high-waisted shorts.

Images: My own, McCall Patterns

*knowing me, probably NOT.

Imperial Purple Skirt - Simplicity 2152

Pattern: Simplicity 2152 c. 2011

Pattern Description: Misses' six-panel A-line skirt in three lengths with visible front pockets and deep contour waistband. Design by Karen Z.

Pattern Sizing: Size R5 (14-22), I first cut out a 16 as it matched my waist and hip measurements but later recut the same pieces as a size 14.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing it? Yes, it did.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, very much.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved the a-line shape and the large banded pockets.

Fabric Used: 1 3/4 yards 54" linen in Potent Purple (50% Poly, 50% Rayon) from Joann Fabrics, 5/8 yard Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy Medallion print in Green, matching thread, Coats & Clark 7" zipper in Fuchsia #35A, and Pellon Easy-Knit fusible interfacing.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Despite knowing about the excess ease in Big 4 patterns I still cut out a 16 instead of taking time to measure the flat pattern. When it turned out huge I took it apart and recut the pieces to a size 14.

Close up of pocket exterior

I chose to make view E but with the length measurement of view C. I came across this cool article on how to choose the right skirt length for your body and it makes perfect sense. Thanks TarHeel Mom! Despite this I still had to alter the hem on the back because my b**ty made it noticeably shorter.



Pocket interior

When it came to the pockets, I didn't like that there would be exposed edges left inside. I cut the pocket piece again in some Flea Market Fancy cotton and sewed it right sides together with the existing pocket encasing the pocket bands and then turned the whole thing inside-out. This resulted in a fully encased pocket without any raw edges. The colorful fabric is also a special hidden treat.

As I was sewing in the zipper I realized I had made a mistake. I had pinked the seam allowances on all my seams including the ones on the front opening. This meant there was not enough seam allowance to attach the zip correctly. I had to use black seam binding and a strip of red bias from another project to extend the seams. (Yeah, I don't care what it looks like from the inside as long as it works and lasts.*) Luckily, it turned out great and I was able to get really close to the zipper teeth on this lapped zipper.

 

Lapped zipper is too noticeable because of bulky yoke/skirt seam.

OKAY...but even after fixing that (and wearing the skirt to work twice) I realized I still wasn't happy with the zipper. I had my doubts when I did it the first time according to the directions and I should have gone with my instincts. By completely finishing the yoke/waistband/facing and then inserting the zipper, you end up sewing though too many layers of skirt and interfacing and end up with a bulky lapped zipper. I should have either attached the zipper first then folded down the facing and slip stitched to the zipper or attached it as a centered zipper in the first place. So, the option was pick, pick, pick…or leave it as is. I chose to leave it. I sewed a sturdy snap to the closure and am content with my final skirt.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I will. I highly recommend this pattern. I can definitely see it made in corduroy or with piping, or made in a stripe and changing the direction on some or all of the separate sections; waistband, pockets, or center band.

Conclusion: I was intrigued by this skirt above by One Avian Daemon on Pinterest and then found this near identical Simplicity pattern. I loved the placement of the pockets. Luckily, I had some suitable stash fabric to make this pattern. However, I wish I had used contrasting thread for the topstitching or piping because you can barely see the pockets. Also, because of the shortcuts I took with this no one will get to examine this skirt very closely!

My biggest suggestion is to change the construction order and sew in the zipper after attaching the yoke waistband in order to eliminate stitching through so many fabric layers.

Images: my own photos, Simplicity Patterns, One Avian Daemon

* Another reason why I don't use invisible zippers. Seriously, why bother if you can't depend on them?

French Cottage Blouse - Grainline Scout #31002

Pattern: Grainline Studio Scout Woven Tee #31002, c. 2011

Pattern Description: Woven t-shirt with capped sleeves, scoop neck, and a loose shape below the bust.

Pattern Sizing: (0-18) I cut the neck and shoulders to underarm area in size 8, rest in size 10.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing it? Yes, with modifications.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, very much.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the adaptability of this pattern. I can see creating different versions easily by changing fit, altering pattern details, and using different fabric weights and types.

Fabric Used: Denyse Schmidt Posie print in turquoise from the original "Flea Market Fancy" collection for Free Spirit, purchased in 2006. This is a smooth and soft quilting cotton.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I made the top a size smaller this time and extended the sleeve pattern to bracelet length, without any tapering, because I wanted enough at the bottom to either band or gather.

  

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I will make this again. It's a very versatile and flattering pattern. Again the delicate 1/4" binding and hems bring a lot to the looks of this finished garment.

Conclusion: I wanted to make this top/blouse after seeing this free blouse pattern in the French magazine Advantages. Unfortunately, the sleeves of that pattern were extremely narrow and constricting. When I saw Shivani's Scout variations and then this yellow top above from Ruche, I knew I had to make my own using this pattern and this beloved cotton print that was just gathering dust in my stash.

Images: Advantages magazine, Pins & Needles blog, and Ruche. All other images are my own.

The Professional Skirt - Built By Wendy (Sew U)

Pattern Description: A-line skirt with contoured waist from the Sew U book (2006) by Wendy Mullins (of Built By Wendy). Pattern was included in book.

Pattern Sizing: XS-L, I made the Large (fits sizes 10 & 12).

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it did look like the drawing in the book.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, and extremely easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like that the pattern fit me without any adjustments.

 
Fabric Used: Brown 60" wide 100% wool plaid and blue-grey lining material acquired at the VA/DC/MD swap (originally from G Street Fabrics), and a 7" Robin zipper in Charcoal from my mother's stash. Result = this entire skirt was FREE.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: This is my third make from this pattern. Since I made the first one in 2009, I had gone up a size and needed to increase the width so I used the large. At the same time I decided to transfer the pattern to butcher paper and flip the piece over so that in the future I could eliminate cutting on the fold and use it to cut the skirt in stripes and directional prints as a single layer.

When I sewed the skirt together it was too big at the waist so instead of the instructed 1/2" seams I sewed them at 5/8". I don't know what it is with this pattern (or my body?) but it always throws me a curve ball.

An earlier version of the skirt was underlined but I decided to fully line this one, stitching the lining and skirt separately, attaching it at the waistband, and pinking all the seams. You can see in the pictures that the darts are sticking out, I think the wool stretched out a bit. I will steam them and stitch them deeper if needed. However, there is no rush since this is a winter skirt and it is May.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes! It has proven itself as my TNT A-line skirt pattern.The location and size of the darts fit my shape perfectly.

Conclusion: This is a purely work version. Because I machine washed it (on purpose!*)  the weave of the wool is even more delicate; therefore, it will have to be treated more gently than I do my other clothes.

* It's just more practical with my lifestyle. Otherwise, it would never get dry cleaned. Seriously.

Images: my own photos