May 14, 2016

Not too bad...

Before you get into this blog post, let me just apologize for the pictures... I asked E to take some quick snaps of my toile for the 1940's dress and he did. Very quickly. Clearly, he never zoomed the camera out of its wide-angle setting which causes weird distortions and neither of us noticed how the light seems to highlight my bare feet (made to look even larger by the already mentioned wide-angle effect...). But despite all that, these pictures do work to illustrate the fit of this pattern.

And in fact, I was pleasantly surprised. I have often read about how 1940's patterns can have huge amounts of ease in the bodice. This one is blouse-y but not crazily so. And I sometimes have issues with pattern companies assuming proportions which are very far from mine. This thing seems to be fairly close at least.

There are a couple of issues, which you will no doubt spot, but they all seem to come from the thing. An issue I definitely didn't expect: The front bodice is too short. That is an issue I would mostly associate with the problems of larger bust sizes so I didn't expect to find it on little old me. And yet here it is, clear as day. 
It didn't seem so bad before I pinned the opening at the back neck so I wondered if it was just caused by a too tight back neck or a short back pulling at the front. However, with the back opening closed, the seam over the top of the shoulder and arm looks pretty straight so it really is a front issue. 
Based on the fit like this, I will have to add about 2.5 cm at center front, tapering to nothing at the sides. And I'm not even wearing a bra here so I guess it might be wise to add even a little bit more. I think I will add about 2 cm of that at the front yoke which seems to be pulling up a bit.

The other issues visible here look like consequences of the too short front bodice so I think they will get solved automatically when I solve that. They are a weird flare to the front in the skirt and too wide bit of skirt just below the waist seam. 

The alteration shouldn't be difficult and I think I will have time to sew tomorrow. Now I just have to decide on fabric. I may have blue and white stripes and solid blue, to make a dress like the one in the illustration but I had kind of earmarked those for different projects. I've also been thinking about combining two solid colours: blue or blue/purple or black bodice with and orange, grass green or bronze/brown yoke and collar. And I'm kind of obsessed with the idea of a black or blue dress with a yoke in a matching lace. Because the collar is a separate piece, it would be possible. I just don't have suitable lace in my stash...

2 comments:

  1. I love the collar and bodice - it has a timeless quality - lovely

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  2. I would not have called this style for you, but it really does work on you. For you? With you? All of the above. Proportions are nice, so nice I hardly noticed the wide angle effects.The front bodice doesn't seem short, but the skirt is pulled up on the waist so it must be guilty.

    That collar is deeply cute. The 'johnny' collar made a resurgence in the 80s and I may still have a pullover with one hiding out.

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