Christmas dress and Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge

As it's Twelfth Night, I better get a post up for my Christmas dress. I'd intended to use this fabric for a dress last year, but ran out of fitting time (so ended up making a dress in knit velour), so thought this year I could use the retro inspired print in combination with a vintage pattern to tick off another item for my Vintage Pattern Pledge. It's seen in these photos with a new Luxulite brooch, which was a present from my husband (he found amusing that I'd pointed out to him what I wanted, but had genuinely managed to forget about it!). Also all the photos feature the essential accessory of a champagne glass, what could be more Christmassy...

Pattern description

Advance 6338: dress with dropped waist, V-neck, cut-on cap sleeves and four-gore semi-circular skirt.

Pattern sizing

Size 17 (half-sizing), bust 35", hip 38". Having just looked up this sizing to write the blog post, it explains why this was so small on me when I made a muslin - I think I must have been at the pre-Christmas Bailey's as I'd misread the sizing as 38" bust.

Fabric used

Novelty-print quilting cotton, plus white poly-cotton batiste for bodice lining and red poly/acetate for skirt lining (can't remember fibre content as I bought it ages ago).

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope when you were done?

Fairly similar, although it isn't as close-fitting between bust and shoulder as the envelope drawings indicate, or as low-cut.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

I didn't honestly do more than glance at them as the original dress is unlined with facings, whilst I was making it fully lined. It's a fairly basic dress so not particularly hard to construct, although the one unusual feature with this pattern is that the seam allowances were given as 1/2" (1.25cm) rather than the more usual 5/8" (1.5cm).

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I really like the shape the drop-waist gives, especially on me. Since putting on a bit of weight, my natural waist has moved up a bit, due to what is euphemistically described in fitting books as a full high hip at the back. This throws off my proportions, especially with a fit and flare type silhouette which I find generally most flatting on me with dresses. However, the drop waist seems to visually lengthen my narrowest part, although I think in a less patterned fabric only a slight drop would be most flattering.

I didn't like the drafting of the neckline - it is a straight line from shoulder seam to lowest point, which always looks a bit odd on the body. I changed this on the back neckline, but for some reason didn't for the front neckline, I don't really know why! The drafting of the cut-on sleeves seemed a bit odd too - very narrow at the back compared to the front. However, this was exaggerated by fit issues, which I didn't really work on, plus fudging the alterations to un-petite the bodice as I was making it in a rush. The pattern is also unprinted, which I always find tend to be a little less accurate with the markings of darts and notches.

Pattern and fit alterations or any design changes you made

The bodice fit was pretty good in terms of shape, it was just too small. Whilst muslining it, I found that it fitted pretty much perfectly just by adding width at the side seams, although I also needed to lower the armscyes and the side bust darts (i.e. fudging the de-petiting as mentioned above). I reshaped the waist darts front and back to fit closer to my waist, and lowered the dart tip on the front (although it's still a little high). I also added a little at the shoulder point on the back bodice, moved the zip to the CB as I prefer this to a side zip, and shortened the skirt (at the hem) by about 10cm.

Construction details

The skirt portion was made first so that it could hang for the bias portions to drop before hemming, and I used Trena's method for lining the bodice. I actually hand-picked my zip, as the only one of a suitable colour wasn't invisible, and I was concerned a lapped zip would look a bit odd at the top where it met the point of the V. However, I hate the lines of stitching with a machine-inserted centred zip, and also fortunately find handsewing rather therapeutic. I'd intended to put a hook and eye at the top of the zip (which is why it starts a little low), but ran out of time.

Seam allowances were pinked on enclosed seams in the bodice, and serged on the skirt. The darts and side seam allowances were clipped several times at the waistline to stop any pulling.

I'd always intended to add trim at the neckline, and settled on plain satin ribbon, which I applied by hand with a pick stitch. Whilst the skirt had been hanging I rather liked the peek of red lining at the bottom, so added the satin ribbon at the hem too.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

To be honest I probably won't sew this pattern again, certainly not in the near future, as it needs a lot of fiddling with the fit in the upper bodice. However, I will try a dropped waist again, plus it reminded me how much I like half-circle skirts.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed wearing this dress on Christmas Day - it was comfortable enough to eat and drink (lots of that was done)), plus was pleasantly swishy whilst moving around (not so much of that though), and certainly more comfortable to wear than last year's red velour number. However, it is extremely Christmassy, and therefore not versatile AT ALL, despite two or three days' of work going into it. Next year I'll still make a "festive" dress, but either make it a bit more simple (I really do love my novelty Christmas dresses - my favourite was an Elvis Christmas card print... Which I wore to work...), or try and keep it a bit more versatile - I'm loving the idea of a sparkly dress or something glamorous in green velvet.

I'm giving myself a pass mark on the Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge. I said I wanted to sew three patterns, and I did make (nearly) five dresses from three patterns, although three of those were from the same pattern, and one is languishing in UFO limbo.

I made three versions of Simplicity 5237: the original blue version, the Sew Dolly Clackett version, and the yellow wedding guest version. The blue version, embarrassingly, has never been worn. I find the sleeves a bit awkward. They make it too warm for a summer dress, but I can't wear a cardie or jacket over them for cooler days. Ooh, I've just thought - I can try it with long sleeves underneath. Need to check if it still fits first... The Dolly Clackett version hasn't been worn much, but mostly because it was a pretty crappy summer here so none of my summer dresses have been worn much! Before next summer I need to reverse engineer a lining (or possibly a sort of underlining) for the skirt as the quilting cotton I used is not the best quality so catches on itself and sort of rides up my legs when I walk. I also need to adjust the fit of the bodice, in the same way as for the yellow version, to shape the front waist darts (and seaming) closer to my shape, plus lowering the armscyes.

The vintage pattern that hasn't been seen yet is Simplicity 7981, which I've semi-made up in doubleknit - the photo below shows the bodice just basted, but I've since attached the long sleeves (all kinds of ugh) and skirt (which is rather nice). I didn't make a muslin, which means it needs some serious fitting adjustments (exacerbated by making it up in a stretch fabric rather than a woven), mostly in the armscyes/shoulders (I think a lot of the problems are also from weird 1960s drafting too). I will come back to this in the next couple of months though as it will be a nice cosy dress for the winter, if a bit Trekkie (not that there's anything wrong with that).

A photo posted by Dilly (@dibulous) on Nov 11, 2014 at 9:51am PST

As always, the "pressure" of it being a "challenge" has meant I've dithered about choices too much, but it's reminded me of the lovely patterns I own. I think this year I will make up some of the separates and jackets, as these are more versatile than dresses most of the time.

I'll leave you with this lovely view from our flat of the sunset on Christmas Eve, featuring the traditional Firmenich building Christmas tree!

Fall AKA autumn essentials planning

I happened across Sarah's FESA (Fall Essentials Sew-Along) over at The Creative Perfectionist (formerly Rhinestones and Telephones), and this got me thinking about planning what I will be making over the next few months

I'm not a fan of cold weather dressing, I much prefer pretty summer dresses and sandals to layers of woolly jumpers and boots. It also doesn't help that here in Switzerland they really love their central heating so you're constantly going between cold fresh air and stuffy overheated buildings and buses. So, I need to sort out some separates and layers that fit me and can be mixed and matched. When I came across this sewalong, it helped me put my thoughts in order, which will hopefully give some structure to my sewing plans.

I really don't think I'll be able to make all of these, and certainly not within the sew-along time period, but I'm using this more as a reminder list to keep me on track and try and help eliminate those moments of "I don't know what to sew next".

Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather

Trousers, skirts, legwarmers and more! Anything that keeps your lower portion fashionably cozy fits perfectly here! The chilly weather necessitates the donning of bifurcated bottoms and sassy skirts!

This is probably the things I need to sew most. I tend to spend most of the cold weather in jeans and various tops, but one of my favourite pairs of jeans wore out irreparably at the beginning of this year, so I need to at least replace those. It would be nice to have some other non-jeans trousers (and some skirts) too, to break up the monotony of my winter wardrobe, although I think I will need to have a think how I want to style these.

• Basic ponte skirts in various colours
• Jeans skirt that fits me now
• Blue denim jeans
• Red twill jeans
• B&W graphic sateen cigarette trousers
• Woollen wide leg trousers
• Winter midi- or maxi-skirt

Picture sources: knit skirts, zip-back pencil skirt, light denim pencil skirt, red jeans, b&w trousers, wide-leg trousers, winter maxi skirt

Chic Chemises for Cool Climates

Blouses, tops, vests, cardigans, and sweaters! These wardrobe essentials can carry you from day to night, not to mention provide necessary layering to keep out the chill.

I have a couple of hand-knits that are close to completion, both of them sort of transitional, so my next hand knit will be something a bit more wintery. I also really want to make some more sewn cardigans, as I like wearing these and they're super handy for layering.

• Knitted cardies
• Finish up hand-knit yellow jumper
• Finish up hand-knit blue cotton cardie
• Sewn cardies, cropped and draped
• Scarf-neck T-shirts
• Tunic-length blouses
• Pretty blouses/woven tops/T-shirts

Picture sources: grey open cardie, grey drape cardie, ikat cardie, black tunic blouse, chevron topblue lace sleeve pullover, dark grey textured cardie, grey v-neck cardie, red and purple top

Fabulous Frocks

Dresses of all styles; mini, midi, or long! Keep yourself warm in your modish designs, layering with tights and boots!

I really like wearing dresses, so would like to have a few more cold-weather appropriate ones (although I hate wearing tights, so this isn't the highest priority category unless I make some more leggings).

• Chambray shirt-dress
• Long-sleeved wrap dresses
• Ponte/doubleknit dresses

Picture sources: grey seamed wrap dress, striped wrap dress, purple sequinned-sleeve dress, red and black dress, ecru sweater dress, chambray shirt dress, plaid dress, ecru midriff dress

Underneath It All

When you're spending months covered from the neck down, a glamorous underpinning of your choice adds a secret, luxurious touch that chases the cold away!

I'd like to make up some Netties as the bodysuits for some extra layers that won't bunch up or be draughty. I also need to replace a lot of my regular wear knickers, and it seems much more logical to make some rather than buy yet more (I even have some too-small vest-tops that I've been saving to recycle too).

• Nettie bodysuits
• Cotton jersey knickers
• Leggings
• Slips

Tender Tootsies

Let's not forget your frosty feet! Socks, slippers and the like are the order of the day. Keep those tootsies warm and dry!

I have a pair of knitted ballerina slippers that I bought last year that I really like wearing in the winter. I'm planning on making a second pair to alternate when the others are in the wash. Socks aren't a necessity, but are nice small projects to knit in the evenings or when travelling.

• Knitted or sewn slippers
• Woolly socks

Those Cozy Nights

Is there anything better than snuggling up in a cozy pair of pajamas with a hot drink and a book whilst Jack Frost works his magic outside? I think not! Sleepwear of all types are the way to go here!

Much of my sleepwear needs replacing, and I have most of the fabric I need for the garments on here from last year's plans.

• Pretty nightie
• Flannel pyjama bottoms
• Dressing gown
• Jersey sleep tops with shelf bras

Baby It's Cold Outside

Coats, hats, and mittens donned to keep the cold at bay, especially when out enjoying the spectacular fall colours!

My (RTW) winter coat is still going strong, so I don't really need to sew anything to replace this (although I do need to sort out dry-cleaning it and re-sewing some buttons). However, I do need some lighter coats or jackets, but I just need to decide which of the ones I have planned to work on.

• Plaid flannel hooded jacket
• Grey wool lightweight coat
• Purple bouclé wool jacket
• Green flannel swing jacket
• Rain jacket
• Leather jacket
• Parka
• Jersey blazer
• Finish up vintage hand-knit grey hat
• Merino hand-knit hand-warmers

Picture sources: grey jersey blazer, purple tweed jacket, plaid swing jacket, moto jacket, parka

Some of these might seem a bit vague, but I have fabric and patterns in mind for many of them, just don't want to spend the time photographing/scanning these to add here. The pictures are inspirations of the sort of things I want to make and reminders for me. I've also recently just bought myself a (tiger-print!) Fashionary after waiting in vain several birthdays and Christmases for one as a present, so will be using that to plan the clothes in a bit more detail, plus I want to use a couple of vintage patterns for these garments to keep up with my Vintage Pattern Pledge. Fingers crossed, I'll be posting about some of these items soon! Although, as a Brit, I will from now on be referring to these as Autumn Essentials...

Sew Dolly Clackett: the Dilly Dolly Dress

If you've noticed a rash of full-skirted, novelty print dresses and grinning faces on sewing blogs, you're not going mad - it's Sew Dolly Clackett! This adorable idea was dreamt up by Sarah of Rhinestones and Telephones to help the sewists of the world celebrate Roisin's (a.k.a. Dolly Clackett's) wedding. I have a stash of novelty print quilting cottons that I bought when I first started sewing, so this was a perfect opportunity to use some up! I figured this print was appropriate for a sewalong honouring a fellow seamstress, and it's novelty and bold enough to be suitably Roisin-ish but not so in your face that I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it.

In true Dolly Clackett style, I hacked a pattern to create a personalised dress. As I mentioned in my last post, this is the bodice from (vintage) Simplicity 5237, adjusted to be sleeveless. If you just take the sleeves off a pattern, the likelihood is that it won't fit that well around the arm, as a pattern with sleeves will have a bit of extra ease in this area. I took about 1.25cm off each side seam (front and back) at the bottom of the armscye tapering down to a few mm at the waist (the first dress could do with being brought in a little at the waist). I also took a few mm off the diagonal seam at each armscye. After wearing it, I realised, I've actually taken a bit too much off the side seams right at the bottom of the bodice, so that the bodice rides up a bit because the smallest part is now a little below my actual waist. (The other solution to this would be to shorten the bodice a little, but that's not so easy once the zip's in!)

Instead of the original skirt, I drafted a half-circle skirt, and added side seam pockets. The bodice is lined in black cotton batiste, but I left the skirt unlined. I referred to Trena's handy picture tutorial for lining the bodice, and the skirt is hemmed with black bias tape (made from the same soft batiste as the bodice lining) to echo the black piping at the top if you see a flash of the inside of the skirt. I finished the hem by hand to keep it invisible from the outside.

Whilst this is obviously inspired by Roisin's style, I added a couple of details to make it my own. At the neck I added black leather piping, plus an exposed metal zip at the back. I like the slightly harder edge these give to what might otherwise be a rather novelty dress for my taste. I had been planning to use the leather piping at the arms too, but decided against it in the end, partly because I thought it might be a bit "sticky" there, and also because it was fiddly and I couldn't be bothered with it...!

The zip was inserted using the method shown over at Pattern Runway, and I added a grosgrain ribbon zipper guard so the metal wouldn't be cold or irritating against my skin. The zip is actually a little short - I can get the dress on and off fine over my head, but can't step into it like I prefer. It's also too tight to get onto Wilma comfortably, so the pictures at the top are actually before it's hemmed - I didn't want to strain the zip putting it back on her again for more photos.

I wanted to find a nice doorway to pose in front of, but front doors of the buildings in town over here all have glass in them, which is pretty, but not so great for a backdrop, what with all the reflections of cars and my photographer. However, I did manage to include a couple of authentic Roisin details: Lady Dragon shoes, and an alcoholic drink...

Here's to you, Dolly Clackett! And here's to many years of happiness ahead with Nic! (And to many more crazy dresses, fabulous shoes, and tasty gin-based cocktails!)