Sewing Retro! 1994 Vogue 8696 Dress a.k.a. My Grandmother's Mumu

Very Easy Very Vogue 8696. The dress I loved, ruined, but will probably be able to fix.

However, I did a little sewing. I put together this ugly little number from a vintage 1994 pattern. I was supposed to look like the cute little maxi my friend wore to our dinner party at the beginning of the month. Turns out it looks like a mu mu. I hate mumus. The even worst part about it is I hate slips, so I lined this dress and now it is noisy. You know, this dress was a big mistake, but I'll post it here with some comments.

The front of my "mumu". Not very Vogue.

The back of my "mumu". Even less Vogue.

This dress isn't the end of the world, it's just a little embarassing. I'll fix it someday. Probably not today. This dress uses A LOT of fabric. I can't emphasize it enough. The skirt is a full circle or more at the bottom and is fairly fitted at the waist (although my version doesn't reflect this). I only paid a dollar a yard for this fabric. It was supposed to be for a junker prom dress version for my niece. I ended up liking the material after she changed her mind and made this dress with it.

The pattern goes together very easy. I strongly recommend a sample before you spend a lot of money on expensive material. I ended up using something like 7 yards of 60" fabric. This dress could easily creep beyond $50 of material. I wanted to match the pattern, so it was a pain laying it out on the floor in the living room because the pieces are so big,, and then keeping the cats off it.

I will make this dress again with a high priced/higher quality solid color that is quiet. I can't emphasize the importance of quiet material enough. I know this sounds strange, but this is the noisiest dress I own and it was supposed to be a casual dress.

I give the pattern a thumbs up, my sewing skills, fabric choice and overall judgement on this pattern a definite thumbs down.

Sewing Retro: B4790 Epilogue

I decided somewhere along the way to sew a few more of these dresses. This way I could use one a week to teach in. I only see each student once a week, but have an entire week of new students. So, technically, I can wear the same thing all week long and no one is the wiser. It's not like I'm wearing it all day long. Just the hours I am teaching. Well, here they are unfinished as a sneak peek:

This black check one is much cuter in real life than this wrinkly picture. I haven't completed all the tape and still need to put on the buttons. As much as I like it, I think the black check is going to be fattening. Another thing I didn't think about when layering this particular fabric is the grabbiness of the gingham. The overskirt wants to ride up when I walk in it.

This one became the one I
anticipated the most. I
really like the black and
white gingham with the
contrasting brick red tape.

It's because of this new found knowledge I am going to make a custom slip out of static free lining fabric. I remember when I wore the green one, it did the same thing. I will be sure to post the making of the slip. I think it will solve the riding up problem.

I thought this one was going
to be the favorite fo the three
because of the tropical print
The fabric ended up much
more stretchy than I care for.

As I said in the caption, the pink one really started out as my personal favorite until I got ot working with five yards of the fabric. It's very stretchy. Of course the green was a little stretchy and I didn't think I was going to like it, but I ended up accepting its virtues so I will wait until it's together.

The good news is that these dresses aren't really being made for me to go "out on the town" in. They are simple dresses I can throw on when I have students. I have four to rotate through as the weeks go by.

This is a very light breezy gray
and white stripe. The front
and bias tape will be a light
yellow in contrast to the
gray.

The awesomeness in this is all four dresses only came to about $20 a piece. I spent a lot of time waiting for sales at online fabric.com and used a coupon at JoAnn Fabrics

Sewing Retro: A Quickie - McCall's 2100 - Sleeve Alterations

McCall's 2100 OOP
HINT: Maxi can only be done on 60" fabric!!
Don't buy 44/45" to do the maxi unless you want
to be doing a lot of math!

Over the weekend I decided to throw together this dress. In a really cute "juvenile" print. The stripes ran lengthwise down the fabric, so I thought it would be awesome to do this on the bias with this pattern from 1999.

I made a rookie mistake here. Always check the suggested fabric widths! I got caught up in the romance of my husband picking the fabric and really liking it. The long version needed 60". I ended up doing it at about a 35 degree angle instead of the 45. I think I liked it more! However, it was a bit more work that made me use my trigonometry knowledge. The 11 inch grain lines that were suppose to represent a 45 degree turn had to be set to a 35 degree turn to fit the long dress on the 45" fabric. What a stupid mistake! I used the size 18 back with size 16 shoulders and the size 22 front with size 16 shoulders. This was a little tricky to think through, but if you all know me by now I will succeed in what I set out to do!

The fabric was a "juvenile" print. I liked
it anyway.

I got the whole dress together and discovered the sleeves were size 16. Again, caught up in the moment of sewing this new dress, I ended up forgetting the alterations to the sleeve size for my "fat" arms. You can see the sleeves don't look proportionate in this picture:

Look at the disproportionately small sleeves.
They're size 16. How did I manage that nonsense?

I tried the dress on and the sleeves were so tight it was like a blood pressure cuff. I thought about different ways I could get around having to take them off. I had pretty much decided in some squared off cap sleeves when I remembered the simple process of making sleeves larger without going up a size! Here is a crash course:

Step 1
Can you see where I cut a center line up the sleeve?

For step one, cut a center line up the sleeve from the bottom. Leave just a small amount of paper together at the ease mark. With this cut, you will be able to make the sleeve bigger around without change the sleeve hole. Remember: The size of the sleeve hole is not the problem, the size of the sleeve around is the problem.

Now for Step two, measure your arm, or better yet, while you're at it, measure how roomy you'd like the sleeve to be. I wanted 17". The bottom of the sleeve is curved, so use half of the sleeve to see get a straighter line then multiply by two. I had 14", so I needed to add 3". Most alterations don't recommend adding more than 2". I wanted it a little roomier, so I went with the 3".

Step 3
Spread the sleeve the amount you want to add. Don't forget
the 1 1/4" for seam allowances.

Now spread the sleeve open the amount you want to add to the circumference of the sleeve. Don't forget the 1 1/4" for both seam allowances! I had a total length of 18 1/4" or 9 1/8" for half.

My picture shows the alteration to a size 16 for the shoulders. We're not going to address that here. It's pretty complicated to explain, but very easy to do.

Hopefully now you can see that we've made the sleeve bigger without making the armhole bigger. Do you realize if I made the whole sleeve bigger what I mess that would be?

Step 4 adding the paper and taping it in place.

For step 4, I'm putting a scrap of the paper under the pattern and taping it in place.

We need to also take into consideration that the sleeve for the size I want--too big to figure. Is going to be longer. No way would a size 28 or bigger sleeve only be an inch long. To me, it would just look stupid.

Some math reveals I need to add about an inch and a half to 2 inches to the length of the sleeve. You can do what you want here. I just think it would be silly to leave the sleeve so short with such a wide circumference. Here's my picture of the added inches and the finished product:

Added inches to sleeve and circumference.

I did remove the sleeves and added the new ones. It looks much better and what I think is much more proportionate:

See the much more proportionate sleeves?

I am happy with the angle. I think it is much more flattering than the 45 degree and different too! I'm happy with this dress and the ease of the pattern.

This is the original dress so you can compare.
To me, the sleeves were just too small and
besides that, they didn't fit me and that's the
whole point!

Sewing Retro!: B4790 #9 A Done Deal

I realized I hadn't posted my finished dress. Here are some pictures:

Bigger buttons than the pattern asked for
because I like buttons.

I am still not thrilled with how deep the armpits are,
but there is no gap in the front or back, so I can
deal with that. Maybe a little blue camisole?

This is an uninteresting view of the back.

This shows the full circle skirt and
the under-skirt inside.

And the buttons. See how nice this fits?
It just took a little time and thought.

Be sure to read the other posts about this dress. I really enjoyed this challenge and was happy to see that even an 80s girl with a really thick waist and disproportionately large chest can wear this super cute dress. I did end up wearing it to the graduation. I can tell you without a doubt it was the only dress there like it. I got some disdainful looks from the some of the "Kardashian-look-alikes", but hey, I'm never been know to be a follower.

By the way, these are the shoes I chose to wear with it:

They are Andres Assous and the most comfortable shoe
over 3" I own.

Sewing Retro!: Time Management

Well, last week I had some pretty great plans of sewing the next six weeks away. Although I did choose some really cute patterns to work on and picked some fabric from fabric.com, that's as far as I got because I also wanted to do some major cleaning and organizing. So, the best I have to report is that I picked a different or possibly additional shirt pattern. This one here is the new one. I've got some fabric that was actually my grandmother's of all things. I can't find my camera at the moment, so I can't post the fabric I chose for it. The reviews were great on this one. I think it will be a nice one to do.

M5050
McCalls Website

So between organizing my life a little better, sewing and my usual obligations, these next six--five weeks now--are going to be busy, busy, busy. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sewing Retro: Sewing Marathon

I am planning a sewing marathon over the next six weeks. I am done with school. My house is relatively clean and I am in the mood to sew. I'm going definitely going to make two more of Butterick B4790 (now that I know it works) and this little cutie.

V8392 $12.00 plus shipping at Vogue
I paid $4.30 with shipping on ebay

This one is not an OOP pattern, so I saved a lot of money buying it from my favorite seller. At $12.00 plus shipping from the website and $4.30 including shipping from ebay. I think I did pretty good.

I'd like to do B and C in a lawn or batiste for warm weather. I think the fabric would create a casual outdoor look. Besides, I don't think I've ever sewn anything in lawn or batiste, so I'm curious to see how it sews and how easy it is to work with.

View B for size 20 and 45" fabric is only 2 3/8 yards. View C for size 20 is only 2 1/8. I would have thought B would have used more fabric.

One thing I learned about batiste and lawn fabric that I didn't know before is that organdy, lawn and batiste all begin as the same "gray goods". Lawn and batiste do not receive the acid finish that organdy does, so lawn and batiste remain opaque. Looks like I will be fabric shopping today. I love to order swatches.

Sewing Retro: Evening Bags

Who wouldn't like a fun little bag like this?
Vogue Accessories 7354
Vogue Patterns

I bought this pattern off e-bay for about $4.00 with shipping. It's on the Vogue Pattern website for $7.77 plus shipping. I'm interested in it because I think these bags would be perfect when wearing all black. That Little Black Dress Paired with a cute little round vintage looking red crushed velvet bag. I was also thinking a an emerald green Asian print would be awesome with just about any solid color dress or outfit.

When I first looked at the pattern I really didn't think I wanted to fool with making accessories. I'm one of these people that carries one purse until it falls apart or the strap breaks. Then I buy another purse. The idea of accessorizing left me with the 80s.

Not one of these purses needs more than 5/8 of a yard. Most of them are 1/2 yard. How many times have I come across a beautiful scap of material at a yard sale, flea market or even at a fabric store?

Now when I find that mod '60s fabric in a pile at an estate sale, I will definitely reconsider the investment! It's in the bag.

Sewing Retro: B4790 #8 It's almost done

This post is going to be more pictures than words. The last I have to do is the fake buttons in the front. I've decided to use snaps and hooks under the buttons to be sure they don't accidentally come undone. I suppose I could have just used bigger snaps. I've got plans to make a few more of these, so I imagine with time I will learn what works best.

Buttons and snaps are all that's left!

I ended up with about eight hours total investment.

The underarm area has no gap! Yeah!

A nice view of wher the underskirt meets under the overskirt.

I did discover that I pulled the shoulders up a little more than I would have cared to. If you remember from a previous post about the fabric for this dress, I didn't have enough, so I bought what I had and decided to make it work. I had to make the bodice only an inch shorter than the original alteration, but it proved to be just a little too much. I will remember next time I need all the yardage called for.

Close up of the bodice.

The bodice seems to creep up because it's too short, but I think it will be OK once it's on. This was a great dress to work with. I'm happy with my fabric choices and alteration choices. I'll post the finish product on my own chubby body next week.

This is the fabric for the next one.

I found less expensive fabric by $10 total. $4.99 instead of $6.99 at FABRIC.COM free shipping with orders over $35. It's easy to get $35 of great fabric at this website. They also sell swatches of just about everything.

I came across this gorgeous pattern today and I don't think I can live without it:

Butterick #4003 OOP

I think this pattern only goes up to a size 18. I need at least a 20, best would be a 22. ANYONE that knows if there is a larger size out there, please let me know! I love this dress and would love to do it in black on black satin for a concert dress.

In the meantime, I will think about buying the 18 and seeing if it can be sized up. Two sizes. YIKES.

They aren't exactly retro, but I bought some new patterns off ebay this week and got some great deals from this seller. She has super cheap shipping, 7 days to shop, and a fun assortment of current and OOP patterns:

OOP 8416
I like the collar on this shirt and the
two skirt options

I think I like the gray version of this pattern. There was a day when I had a small midsection and would have been drawn to the houndstooth, but now that my waistline is thickening, the gray one might be nicer for my body shape. I've always like "jumpers" because due to my short waist, I've never been able to wear shirts and skirts with much success. With jumpers I can kind of get the dress and skirt look without cutting myself in half.

B4800 is still available. I thought these would be
easy to convert to mini dresses.

B4800 just looked so cute to me. It's the only one I bought that is not out of print. I pictured the pink one and the green one in a fun little mini dress in my favorite aqua/turquoise colors with some matching sandals at the beach or on a movie night. I may chicken out actually wearing something so revealing and gaping in public, but it was cheap and who knows if I'll have more success trimming down my arms?

OOP 2263 This is a pretty classic pattern.
I can do a lot with this.

This classic pattern pretty much mimics a dress I had when I was about half the size I am now. I made a black gingham one with a perfict waist and cup size. I wore that dress every chance I got until it got too small. I don't remember giving it away. There were two more I didn't like the material as much, but loved the figure flattering look. I think the gingham one had little cap sleeves and the other two had no sleeves. I miss that dress.

Sewing Retro B4790 #7: Size 22 and 45"

I will start with this breaking news. I discovered last night that size 22 is the largest size that will fit safely on 44/45 inch fabric.

As you know I've been working on Buttterick's pattern #B4790 and having a great deal of fun making it fit. I finished the sample with a few problems pertaining to the bustline and the shoulders. I went with altering to a size 24 in the waist and down to as small as a 16 in the shoulders, then discovered in the end my fabric of choice was not quite 44" after washing. As I said before, it's been fun.

There is something I don't always do when I sew. Washing the fabric. Knowing the pattern was going to be a tight fit, (I was a 1/3 yard short when I bought it. I washed and dried the fabric before laying out the pattern. I found that either the material shrunk that much or it never was quite 44 inches wide. I also found the fabic to have a little stretch to it that I didn't notice before. I'm not sure I like this, so in hindsight--something I should have know better about--check for the amount of stretch in the material you choose. Both the samples I worked on did not stretch at all. I think it will be OK, just passing on that information.

I cut out all three pieces and started marking the darts. After some thought I had decided I wanted to try a straight bust dart, but at the last moment marked it for a slightly angled dart like in the sample. I draw on the back of my fabric whenever I can. I use a white fabric marking pencil or even better (or not) a plain old pencil. I am very methodical/mathematical about my darts. I like to measure from the pattern and transfer those measurements to the fabric.

I don't fret over darts. I measure them out and mark them.

I'll pin and press all the darts before I go to the machine with them. The bust darts go down, the vertical darts go to the outside.

I was going to hold this post until I had the darts done, I think I will go ahead and add this, then if I get them done some time today, I will add them to the end.

2:00 Addendum

The darts and shoulder seams went off with out a hitch. I've included a picture here. It fits just like the muslins did.

I think I am going to like the little bit of stretch
to this material. The next step is sewing on the
overskirt. I am so excited!

Sewing Retro! B4790 #6: I think I've Got It!

Butterick B4790 "muslin" with narrower shoulders,
a larger bust (D), higher armpits and sized to
a 24 in the waist. In other words, made to fit me!

A close up of the waist, chest and shoulders.
45 38 47 I am one hot chick!

I hope this shows the great fit in the armpits.
I had this on last night. It comes up higher
underneath than it did in the original pattern.
There's only a peek of bra where the fabric meets
under the arms and no gap along the front! I
removed close to 3 inches from the shoulders.

I am so excited now. I had lost a little momentum when the top of the dress ended up gapping so much. It was icky and looked like I would never have that great 1950s feminine appeal.

This was actually just another junk version. I'd used up all the muslin I had left and searched around in my cabinet for anything close to enough yardage. I found this pink/lavender floral it was just enough for the underskirt and the bodice back. I like this version enough I am going to find some 6 oz chambray or even 8 oz "denim" to finish this one with some matching blue bias tape.

I've got a few busy days ahead of me with a wedding to top it off on Saturday, but the only thing left I may do is move the bust darts out a little bit. It's not as clear in these pictures, but on me, the bust darts come in just a hair too far and pucker slight enough that you can see the point of the dart from the side but not the front.

I ended up just hacking off the shoulders down to the size 16 point and then removing another 1/2" after it was put together. I added 1"(translating to 2" on the finished product) to the waist of the back bodice and 1" (again adding 2") to the underskirt. I brought the area around the bust out 1/2" on each side of the front only. I didn't need the extra fabric in the back. I'm liking this enough at this point that I was up until way past midnight looking at other fabric combinations to sew this dress again.

I had what you see in the photos together in about 2 1/2 hours. But keep in mind, I spent many hours fussing over measurements, fit and fall. I have not set a skirt to it and I have not done the bias tape.

This is a sample of the chambray/denim I'm thinking about for
the over skirt. It's kind of difficult to see the blue matching
the print, but it does. I think it will give it a casual picnic look.

I am definitely looking forward to finishing this dress and wearing it as often as I can. With the usual changes I have to make to every pattern I touch, I'm ready to give this pattern a rave review, but I'll wait until I have at least one finished product.

Sewing Retro B4790 #5: The Muslin Fits the Form . . . But It Doesn't Fit Me

Well, the muslin fits the form beautifully, but it doesn't fit me. Well, that's not completely true, the same problem I have with everything is fitting above the bustline. It fits pretty much like a glove everywhere but above the bustline. I am so much smaller up there and through the shoulders it is aggravating.

This whole idea of being disproportionately small across the shoulders is what brought me to sewing for myself. The funny thing is, I don't worry about it too much--I just make the adjustments--until I get to working on a project that I'm so dedicated to perfecting--like this one. In another post I was considering pulling the shoulders in to a size 16. I'm beginning to think that might have been the right thing to do.

I''m sure there's an updated version and may even be a better book out there, but when I sew I find myself returning again and again to a book called:

Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing

This particular book is dated 1976, but it has never failed me when I've had questions about fitting dresses, shirts, pants--pretty much anything. There are even great sections on home decor.

So this time I made little progress other than actually getting the peices together and seeing it on the form. I am going to go ahead and increase the bust size to a DDD when I adjust the shoulders in.

Sewing Retro! B4790 #4: Fitting the Front

As I posted in my last post B4790 #3 I opted to alter the front. I have a much meatier front than back, so I'm hoping this will help the dress hang nicer and won't tug. Here are the minor alterations I did to the front to be sure to allow for enough coverage under the armpits. This is piece #1.

When I studied the pattern and studied the reviews, I became concerned about gaping under the armpits for a plus size woman. The dress definitely needs to be fitted across the chest and armpits to keep it from looking like an apron. The importance increases with a disproportionately small or large busted woman. I brought the section across the chest and armpits over about 1/2". This translates to an inch more coverage under the arm. If I find this is the right idea, I may add more as I am 20" across the back and 25" in the front. As I wrote above my back proportionately smaller than my front both cup size and extra flesh.

I would also like to be sure to note that I did not make the shoulders any wider as might be expected when adding a size to a pattern. I phased the alteration for what would be something like a size 24 in the chest into the portion of the pattern that did not need to be altered. I like the effect of the shoulder peaking a little beyond the true shoulder, (see the picture above) but at the same time, I don't want the fabric to droop in the humidity or with wear. Upon measuring I found that the shoulder width for the size 22 is going to be about 20 1/2"! That just seemed so wide. I am going to bring the shoulder back to the size 16 mark which is about 19". For me, with a true shoulder width of about 16", I think the extra two inches should give it a closer effect to the picture and less like and oversized apron as discussed in some of the reviews.

I also wanted to include a note that I cut off #1 at about four inches below the "waist". You can see this in the photo above. I will tape it back to the pattern when I'm ready to do the whole thing. I'm not concerned about fitting from the waist down and didn't want to be tangling with the whole dress front while I was trying to size the bodice only.

This was an extremely fun portion of this project. I love the fitting process as this is what makes creating your own clothes worth while. When working with a new pattern and new fit, this should NEVER be rushed. If there's time, I like to allow a day or at very least a few hours to "think on" the changes I've made. I love to create clothes that actually fit and look nice. No matter what size we are.

Depending on the fit of the bust--remember my 38DDD--the last thing I may return to is to make the cup size bigger. This will inrease the fitted appearance of the dress. That is for another post.

Sewing Retro: B4790 #3 -- The "Muslin"

I've cleared my counter off and I'm ready to cut out what I've learned to call a "Muslin". I used to call it a "junker" because some people use junk material for this. However, this time I actually have muslin. I got it from a lady that had died and left a bunch of her sewing and craft stuff to a few of mine. My friend doesn't sew clothes. She more crafty creative and I like to try to stick to the instructions, (see my blog Follow the Instructions) Now I do say here that I am going to try some hook and eyes and a few other ideas from some other reviews. I don't know. I guess I just like to stick to the plan.

My Muslin will help me know what is right and wrong about the the pattern measurements without wasting the material that I already don't have enough of. I'm lucky to have a lot of cleavage (38DDD) to fill out the top portion, but unfortunate enough to be carrying my 60 extra pounds right around my belly button. I'm going to risk measuring slightly smaller to get a firm fit and wear some control "underthings".

I have to remember how form fitting clothes of the 50s were and the many foundation garments they wore while I'm measuring and adjusting, but I have high hopes that this is going to go well. Maybe it's a bit of arrogance, but I think I can pull this dress together and have more success than the average reviewer.

I talked with my mother yesterday. She told me my neice is not sure about how many tickets she will receive for family to attend the graduation. I wonder if she is being vague on purpose so she can be choosy about who she invites or if she really doesn't know.

This is an image of pattern piece #2. I put it on upside down. It doesn't matter. I was just being thrifty. I ended up choosing to alter the front piece to be sure there was enough coverage under the armpits. So you will notice with this piece there are no alterations to it.

Sewing Retro! B4790 #2 - So Many Choices

These are my selections for the dress. I thought the material had some 70s overtones, but chose it anyway. Once I spent the money, I decided a nice blue gingham would have been perfect. However, I am happy with this choice:

David's Textiles, Inc - Forgot to write down the design (4 3/4 yards) - It will be close for my measurements.

Coats Dual Duty All Purpose Thread - Yale Blue and Kerry (yes, Kerry) Green -- I picked blue and green thread because I have blue bias tape and the dominant color in the fabric is that green.

Wrights Extra Wide Double Fold Bias Tape - Yale blue

Dritz Snaps - nickel #1s - I should carry a guage. #1s are too small. I may change to bigger ones when I get to that step. (I saw a review where a seamstress had added hooks and eyes in some of the places the snaps might unsnap. I am considering that advice, but will see how it goes with the bigger snaps)

La Mode buttons 7/8" Royal - I bought four all the same size

I think that's it.

Like I said, the ceremoney is outside. I have some beautiful sling back sandals that are the blue in the bias tape. The heel may not be thick enough for wearing in the grass, so I will have to experiment.

I'm so glad I learrned how to post photos and I also learned how to not download them onto my computer.

Sewing Retro! Butterick B5556

This is my next gig dress. By gig dress I mean a dress I'll perform in. We do a lot of old music from other decades. I think this one would be perfect for doing old jazz standards in.

I've picked some different fabrics, but will probably go with shantung because of the texture. I'm learning about retro fabrics and underthings, too. When this one is done I will have to wear a crinoline with it and will definitely have my secret weapon on under everything else.

I ordered the fabric for this dress. As soon as it arrives, I will be sure to include a photo of the notions for this dress as well.

Sewing Retro! B4790 #1 - The Walkaway Dress

Half my excitement about sewing this dress is contained in my blog on February 25: Follow The Instructions. The other half is that I just received confirmation that my neice's graduation is outside, in June! I think I can make this dress work. In fact, I know I can. AND I want to wear it to my neice's graduation.

I will definitely be making a "muslin" of the bodice before going any further into the dress. The pattern calls for 5 yards, the material I fell in love with at JoAnn Fabrics was the end of the bolt and only 4 3/4 yards. That translates to one shot.

When I get the battery on my camera charged, I will definitely take some pictures of the notions before beginning. This is so exciting!

B4790 #1 - Follow The Instructions

I found the cutest little pattern online at Butterick. Like I often do with new patterns, I put it in my shopping cart and did some online research. I found that a lot of ladies had chosen this pattern, and it was truly getting trashed in the reviews. Still, there was something about this retro pattern that just begged me to try my hand at it. I truly didn't understand how a pattern could be so popular in one decade and be so maligned in another.

The next weekend I was in a fabric store, I bought the pattern, required fabric, notions and found myself growing excited at the prospect of tackling this famous pattern. The first thing I did was pull out the instructions to study them. I always study the instructions before I ever begin to look at the pattern or the do any measuring and especially before I do any cutting. Due to all the bad press surrounding it, I knew I wanted to make a dry run of the fitted portions. I immediately noticed at the beginning of the instructions it stated to take measurements and adjust the pattern accordingly. I also made mental notes of little tiny things like snap and bias tape placement and hemming. Looked at pattern piece placement and then the steps to completing the project. Still, I could not see how this great little retro number was so horribly received in our millenium.

I went back online to the reviewers and images and it didn't take long to see the downfall of some of these talented seamstresses. Very few of these ladies followed the instructions. There was tape where there shouldn't have been tape and buttons where there shouldn't have been buttons and best/worst of all the fabric choices were all wrong. Very few of the finished projects actually fit the models or even looked like the pattern pictures.

Knowing what I now know, I am more than excited to put this thing together and wear it. After studying the instructions at great length, I am certain following the instructions, measuring for accurate fitting and being careful to stay true to the pattern is the answer.