Dressing for the 1920's

Prom is a big deal. For those of you who don't know about this, it's a tradition here in the US for high schools to hold a formal dance in the spring time just for the 11th and 12th graders, also known as the Juniors and Seniors. Though an underclassman can attend as a date, without this invitation, the dance is traditionally open only to the upperclassmen. The girls go all out, planning every step of what she and her guy will be wearing, and these days the two must match, at least in color, if not also in theme! It's like the Oscars for high school.

This week I got an email from a friend of a friend seeking a resource for a prom suitable 1920's sewing pattern. I gathered that the daughter was eager for the stereotypical dress style, as fringe was mentioned as part of the necessary details. It's true that a sheath dress with fringe is a great costumers quickie for conveying this time period, but is it really a major fashion detail? Opulence was in style for sure. Here's a photo of typical dresses from the 20's taken from a display at Indiana University.

So if you are looking at those dresses, or even one of those coats in the back and feel a tinge of envy, here's a great resource for true vintage patterns:  The Vintage Pattern Lending Library. These have been copied from the original source -  the instructions are also copied from the original. I have purchased patterns from this source, and the patterns are exactly as I expected them to be. The sizing is limited, but the styles are growing. I hope you'll take a moment to look around and find a great pattern to try. The next time you go out, you too can be dressing for the 1920's!

Sewing and Stitchery Expo 2012 and GIVEAWAY

About 15 years ago, when Expos were a new thing and I was still in college, I went with an Aunt to the now famous Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, Washington. At $2 a pop, we could take a class from any number of well known sewing educators. We left with notebooks full of information, agreeing not to return until we'd fully utilized the information we'd collected. That experience feels like a lifetime ago, and since then I've become an educator myself. It was time to make good on my commitment, so early this month Tricia and I took a drive up north to visit the show on Saturday where she and I were to participate in the ASG style show.

Because I would have a second change for the show, I decided to come ready for my first scene, wearing an embellished version of Southern Belle. Right away, Rhonda Pierce of Schmetz Needles introduced herself. I told her that my favorite needle is the Microtex, but I forgot to mention the double needle sewing on the yoke of this dress. Can you see it here?

 Then I stopped off at the WSU booth who introduced me to Rita Farro, who does the blogging, networking, and marketing for the show. She is a delightful person, and has a fabulous smile.



Soon it was time to line up for the fashion show. The runway prattle is made up from the questions I answered on the show application. My jaw dropped instantly when I heard "...and Laura has been sewing for 40 YEARS!" Everyone laughed. The MC added with a smile "I didn't write that!" I'm sure I look my age, but did they have to announce it? lol.


Being an avid Project Runway fan, I secretly hoped I'd get a chance to talk to Suede, whom we know from Season 5. He works for Simplicity now, and would be doing a stage presentation.You see, I would have liked to ask him what it was REALLY like to be on  Project Runway. I had applied to be on the show some years back, just about the same season he was there. It's just as well I wasn't accepted because the retro genre was not doing very well with the judges at that time. For a split second he looked at me and looked as if he would come my way, but thought better of it and turned away.  

Throughout the day I browsed the booths and stopped to talk with friends, acquaintances, complete strangers, giving away a few patterns of the Clara Bow Apron. It's incredibly easy to talk with people with a love for sewing in common. One really young girl, probably still in middle school, stopped me to say she liked my skirt. I gave her a sewing pattern. She looked at me in bewilderment. "But I only wanted to say I liked your skirt!"

1920's Clara Bow Apron

I have 5 Clara Bow Apron patterns that I'd like to give to you, my little dwindling group of followers here on blogger. (I suspect it's from severe neglect!) Hopefully this will make it up to you. This means that YOU have very good odds of getting a pattern. All you need do is:
1) be a follower
2) make a comment here about sewing topics you are interested in, OR the topic I've written about that you enjoyed most.
IF you want extra entry points, you can:
3) "like" on Facebook
4) sign up for the newsletter

Do it before April 4, 2012. I'll draw 5 names from a bucket on April 5th.
 Good Luck!

Post update: thank you for your entries, kind words, and suggestions. Best of all, Congratulations to the winners!

Design lines and an asymmetrical body

I managed to get myself into a discussion about center front seams and asymmetrical bodies. The question is: should you follow the center front of the body, stay vertically straight, or choose some other line? In severe cases of asymmetry, my argument is for the creation of a center front line that "appears" to be centered, but isn't really centered on the body, or to the floor. I would rather stay away from straight lines on the front myself, but they cannot always be avoided. Here is my crude drawing of a hypothetical figure:

This one shows the true vertical and horizontal in case your eye is fooled:

What is your opinion?

Tutorial: switching from darts to elastic at the waist.

Several years ago I had a student in my fitting class that complained bitterly about a figure "flaw" she called a  "bubble butt." I thought it a pretty good description for the figure type that also belongs to me. Because clothing for the masses do not accommodate a generous back bumper, I knew first hand the difficulty she was experiencing. She asked me "How do YOU deal with this?"  My rule number 1: I do not ever wear elastic, or anything for that matter, that is not fitted with darts at the waist. The one exception is garments made from knits. A soft and drapey fabric won't pooch out like an umbrella, over, above, below my waist. But not everyone needs darts the way that I do, so who can get away with elastic? Kids!... And others who have a tubular figure, with waist and hips that are of similar shape and measurement, a flat rear, or are wider at the waist than at the hip.

I would venture to say that you will never see me designing a style with an elastic waist, just because everyone can wear some version of a dart, but not everyone should use elastic. If you are one of the lucky ones to be ambidextrous, or prefer to make and wear elastic, fear not: it's incredibly easy to turn darts into an elastic waist, but not so easy to do the opposite. In 5 easy steps, here's how: (click on the photo to see a larger view)

That's it! You can use this same procedure for almost any fitted garment. Questions about that? just ask!

The Valentine Pattern

So today was a good day for me. Here it is, the week before Valentines Day and I met my deadline! Several months ago I decided to design something in the lingerie category with the goal of getting it off the press before February 14- and I did it! I named this design Valentine for this very reason. It's been posted to Etsy, and will soon be online at the Sew Chic site.

At first I had BIG plans. So many  different slip versions, camisoles, tap pants, bras...all swimming around in my head. But then reality always sets in and I have to scale back to fit my reality. (In my head, it's so quick and easy!).

You might say- what a slow poke! You had SEVERAL months! In my defense, I have to tell you that I don't work on just ONE thing at a time. I work on several designs, which are all at different stages of the process. Sometimes I have to set a project aside just to give some perspective and distance. When I come back to it, I either have forgotten what I meant to do(?), or I have more clarity (!) What can I say? I'm a perfectionist. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

But I digress- so after some research I discovered that slip patterns are so very hard to come by, and those that are out there are rather basic in design. Us girls want to be frilly and pretty and feel like a beautiful woman underneath our outer shell! On second thought- do us girls even wear slips under our dresses? Well, I do. Whatever you do with your slip is YOUR business, and I'll leave it at that!

You do get two views with this pattern. Pictured here is view A. You can buy this pattern named after the holiday for love at:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/92622211/new-womens-lingerie-full-slip-sew-chic

or
http://www.sewchicpatterns.com/shop.html

Here are links to a few sources for highly recommended lingerie materials:

Lace Beauty on Etsy has gorgeous laces and trims of the wide widths that you'll be looking for.
 http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lacebeauty 
 Ebay seller Rolandah has very good quality 108 wide tricot- enough to make 2 slips from one length of fabric!
Ebay seller: Rolandah

You will see Needle Nook at many of the sewing expos and conferences too. Additionally they have bra kits, and are a great phone mail order source for those of you who like to talk to a real person!


Needle Nook Fabrics
2174 E Boulevard Plz
Wichita, Ks 67211
316-684-5989
www.ndlnookfab.blogspot.com

Copy your Figure: A Dressform Tutorial part 3

Part 3 of this tutorial shows how to pad out your mannequin to fit your cover along with all the finishing details. Listed here are all three parts of this tutorial:

Part 1: prepare the cover

Part 2: fitting and perfecting the pattern

Part 3: padding the mannequin (and all the finish up work!)

First off, let me say a few things about the type of mannequin that will make a successful base for this project, because not all mannequins are equally useful. Use a mannequin that has a solid shape that cannot be depressed or compressed easily. The core shape can be Styrofoam, wire, paper maché- it doesn't really matter as long as it's not larger horizontally, or out of range for you vertically (back waist length). The closer to your own measurements, the less padding and fussing you'll need. My mannequin is a Dress Rite form*. I bought it because the waist length and upper body measurements were closest to what I needed overall.

*9-14-12 update: Dress Rite no longer sells full size mannequins. They sell 1/2 scale mannequins now.  Sew True sells several kinds of mannequins, professional and "dial" type forms at a reasonable price.


Step One: Pad out with 100% Cotton Batting
You will want to begin with the area that needs the most padding. I began by wrapping midriff, waist, and hip because I knew that these areas would be several inches too small and I would need a bigger base before beginning the precision padding. To do this, I used narrow strips just wide enough to get around the shape with minimal overlap and no gaping. I wrapped in a complete circle about 3/4 times, keeping the batting as tight as I could get it. I used straight pins to keep some areas snug, (but removed them before finalizing the shape). Once the base is good and even all over, it's time for the next step:

Step Two: Precision Padding
Put the cover on the mannequin, pinning the back closed. Step back to see where the figure needs filling out. I identify an area, and start filling in using shapes, such as rectangles, triangles, circles or any odd shape that will fit the section. Begin layering in graduated sizes that will fill in the area to get the desired effect.

Padding the hip curve with graduating rectangles

Padding out the tummy area

Fill in what will become the buttocks

I begin at the shoulders and work my way down the torso, continually replacing and removing the cover to add padding and check the tautness and smoothness as I go.

Make a silhouette comparison

Keep in mind the silhouette of the figure that you are copying. How much tummy to give? Where to tapper? Are the hips rounded with a larger tummy, or is the hip area more wide and narrow with a flat tummy? Once the silhouette is correct, MEASURE the mannequin to make sure that it matches your measurements in the same places.

Step Three: Finishing Touches
Finish up the mannequin by hand stitching the back closed. To add a neck, I used bias strips and hand stitched it in place. I made an armhole cover like this one:

I basted the circle, pressed it under. Now it's ready to stitch in place.

Added a few layers of batting cut into a circle, pinned the cover over it. It's ready to stitch.

I also added soutache in black to mark the bust, waist, hip and center front of my mannequin.

One day I will add a jewel neckline to it. 

Step Four: Shrink it Up

Once it's all stitched up, spray the mannequin nice and damp with clean water. Let it dry overnight, or better yet, use a hair dryer on it. The idea is to shrink the fabric, as cotton fabric will do, so that the cover will be nice and tight as a drum.

Whew! That was a lot of work, but well worth the trouble for those of us who use a mannequin, which I do, EVERY single day. Let me know if you use this tutorial to make your own mannequin. I'd like to know that it was helpful to someone.

Copy your Figure: A Dressform Tutorial part 2

Part 2 of this tutorial shows how to remove the wearing ease from your cover and shaping it for an exact duplicate of  your figure.
Here is a listing of all three parts:

Part 1: prepare the cover

Part 2: fitting and perfecting the pattern

Part 3: padding the mannequin (and all the finish up work!)

Step One: Prepare for the Fitting

1. Plan to do this on a day when you are feeling good and have a good sewing friend handy. This is not a job you can do alone, nor can I over emphasize its importance. Don't ask your husband to fill in when he has no idea or interest in what you are trying to accomplish. Even working quickly with someone who knows what they are doing, expect it to take 2-4 hours from start to finish.

2.Wear a good well-fitting supportive bra. In fact, buy a new bra just for this occasion. Having made custom wedding gowns for many, many years, this is the one thing that 100% of my clients had in common. You want this mannequin to be the most attractive copy of your figure that you can give it. Besides, a droopy bust is really hard to copy.

3. Wear all of the same undergarments that you normally do. If you usually wear a girdle, or other supportive/ medical needs types of undergarments, do your fitting with those on as well. It's okay to wear a full body leotard as my model did- for modesty.

Step Two: Pin it up Tight as a Drum

Pinning the back

1. Put the cover on, with seams outward, pinning closed at the side seams and back at seam lines.

2. Make a determination on how and where to take away the wearing ease to make the cover completely form fitting. If the original pattern was fitted to your figure before attempting this project, the wearing ease for width will be almost evenly distributed throughout. There should be a small amount of ease for height as well. I wish I could say to start with the width and then take out the height, but it's not quite that simple. The main thing to keep in mind is to maintain an even waistline, parallel to the floor, and keep all seams centered and vertical.  

Pinning out the ease at the princess seam

Pinning under the bust for an exact shape

cleavage darts at center front

 3. Pin out the dart space between the breasts, creating a made-for-you cleavage. You may also need to add a dart in the back near the scapula, angling into the arm hole to accommodate the curve of the back.

Pinning the front

4. Continually evaluate. Look for ripples and drag lines that need to be stretched and pinned out.

Pinning the shoulder and marking the armscye

5.. After everything is snug and firm, the last thing to do is mark the armscye and the neckline. I used 1/4" masking tape (available in the quilting section of your fabric store) because I could visually see it better, remove and reposition it if necessary.

6. Mark the back seam line on both sides with a pencil or marker and then remove the cover.

Step Three: Mark the Seam Lines

 All those pin lines now need to be marked and transferred to the pattern. Transferring the new markings to your cover pattern are optional, but what if you needed to make a new cover for your mannequin? What are the options?

- Go through this fitting process and re-pad your mannequin again. 

- Remove the cover and cut a new one from the original. 

- Use the old one no matter the condition.

I recommend it, but if you'd rather do it the quick and dirty way, go ahead and sew up the cover using the pins as your seam line guides and call it done.If you want to transfer your new seam lines to your pattern, and perfect your cover to make sure that both sides will be the same, then read on:

1. With a pencil, mark the pin lines on the cover just as you made them. Don't worry that they might be crooked or angled. I did mine like a dash, marking exactly over the pin.

Mark the corrected seam line with a colored pencil

2. To copy the new seam lines to the pattern, take the cover apart by removing the stitches. Now you have two sides, both marked, and neither are exactly the same. You'll have to evaluate both and decide which will be more accurate, or if you need to use a combination of both. Granted, this is not an easy task, nor is one right and the other wrong, but each will have its own consequences. Any education and experience you have will help you, but all the same, this is a decision that you must make.

3. Having the new markings visible, pin the pattern and cover back together. Use a tracing wheel to trace along the new seam lines, perforating the paper below.

3. Remove the cover from the pattern and remark the pattern seam lines following the perforation. I also reduced my seam allowance to 3/8" along many, but not all seam lines.

Mark the new seam lines and reduce the cut line

If you like, this is the time to mathematically check the dimensions. My darts, which were originally straight, are now changed to a curve to match the body's shape.

Straight darts are now curved

4. Press out the original cover fabric, putting like pattern parts together, and re-pin the newly adjusted pattern to it, cutting to the new adjusted size. Sew it together once again, leaving the center back open.

  Step Four: Time for a Second Fitting

1. I decided it was best to do a second fitting just to be sure that everything was perfect. This fitting went much quicker. Wear the same under clothing as last time.

There were only a few adjustments needed. 

My model didn't leave her bra on, so I ignored the bust area and made no changes there.

Again, make these changes to your pattern and cover. 

It may help you to take photos of yourself pinned into your cover, both front, back and also a side view. This could help to make a duplicate of yourself in Part 3 of this tutorial: Padding out the mannequin.