snow day.

I'm snowed in one more day (um, maybe more than that!) My neighbors directly west got 6-8 inches more than me, and I got plenty.  So, in other words, perfect Burda Style magazine tracing time.  I started with January 2011's issue and already have the flutter sleeve top traced and started this plus dress:

I'm feeling so positive about tracing I think I'll attempt to get these traced too:

 

Can't forget the fabulous plus pants in that issue (and possibly the slim skirt):

Whew.  That's a lot of tracing!  If my eyes hold out, I'll move on to February.  I really want to try these dresses:

 

And these bottoms:

So we don't starve while I'm preoccupied with the Burda Style's, I stuck this garlic chicken recipe in the crock pot.  Yum.  We'll have buttered (whole wheat) noodles and a veggie (probably broccoli) with ours.  Yesterday I stuck a pot roast in the crock pot, so we have the leftovers today to make barbecue beef sandwiches for lunch.  Yum again.

I hope you're staying warm and toasty during this massive storm!  I'm watching our local news right now and they just got off the phone with a driver who has been stranded in his truck on the interstate in Tulsa since 10 pm LAST NIGHT.  Can you imagine??  There are approximately 100 people stranded in regular cars as accurate as they can count at this point.  Who knows how many are out there without cell service.  Sending them all warm, positive, safe return home thoughts!

Vtg Simplicity 3430 - in progress #3

After a few days "away" from this dress, I have tried it back on to reassess and discovered the following things:

1. It fits perfectly through the bust, neckline/shoulder, and armscye in front.
2. It's too tight across the mid-back but too high at the back neck, and the center-back seam has a funny curve to the left.  

If I could've figured out how to take a picture of my back that could capture all of that, I would have!  What's most confusing to me is how perfect the front can be, with plenty of ease at the waist/bust, etc, just PERFECT...and yet the back is a hot mess and feels super uncomfortable.  Weird weird weird.

A little research in my two favorite fitting books and I think I've found my problem.   First I went to Jan Minott's Fitting Commercial Patterns.  The closet wrinkle chart in this book I could find was this one:

 

I do have pulling/tightness right there at mid-armhole in back but my tension wrinkles continue across mid-back and even lower.  I have used this adjustment in the past though.  It requires you to redraw the armhole, and I'm never sure I've done that adequately (and you won't know until you muslin!) 

So I went to the next book with helpful wrinkle charts, Fitting & Pattern Alteration by Liechty, Pottberg and Rasband.  I really like this book.  I'm such a sewing geek sometimes I just read it for fun. 

And here is where I found my first back wrinkle: 

 

What I love about this book is that it gives you a variety of pattern change methods.  If you're a pivot/slider, you have a diagram.  If you're a slasher/spreader, you have a diagram.  If you're one of those cut into the seam and spread people, you have a diagram.  (I wish I was one of those people.  That method always looks like it constrains proportions of things like armhole/neckline, etc. best). 

And I didn't realize it until I saw the wrinkle chart, but I have this wrinkle too:

Overall the back is too narrow, but the armhole is fine. The funny curve I get in the CB might be the fiddly zipper insertion.  I had to re-do it several times and it's possible I took up more than the seam allowance at that curvy CB level.  For now, I'm not going to address that.

To check and see if these alterations would fix my problem (before I go any further with another method) I did a terrible thing (haha).  I used the slash method (first alteration photo, far top left) and slashed my dress as shown, on each side.  Then I tried it on.

I know.  Those of you who really loved this dress so far are crying.  Sorry!  I did not love it.  In fact, it's been looking more and more Gunne Sax (and not in a good way) hanging there on my dressform.  Taunting me with it's floral print and too long skirt.  Trust me, I was never going to wear it.  The skirt was too narrow, even with 2 full widths of fabric.  It needs 3 minimum for this style (or maybe 2 widths of 60").

The good news is, the back dropped into place and smoothed out, revealing I need about 1" more in width (if I go by the amount of skin showing through the slash!)  I also need about 1" more at waist level, so I did the 2nd slash as shown in the 2nd set of photos above.  That created a new wrinkle, one that showed the CB length is too long (which I suspected anyway).

I'm altering the pattern today and I'll recut bodice only in another scrap fabric to check.  Then it's off to find another suitable fabric.  I got several lovely shirting pieces from Fabric.com's recent clearance sale! I can't resist shirting cottons, especially at $1.99 and $2.99 a yard.

Meanwhile, I'm watching it snow.  I'm stuck home in a blizzard warning, a surreal experience for those of us in Oklahoma.  Praying I don't lose power and water (and thus my sanity).

If you're anywhere east of me, it's coming your way, so stay safe and stay warm!

songs to remember.

When I was 11, I fell in love with a movie.  Mostly it was the score, but the sweet adventure story stole my heart.  The movie was High Road to China, and for years my parents were terrified because I so adamantly insisted I would one day fly WWI biplanes.

John Barry was the composer, and a few years later he wrote what I think is one of the most beautiful scores of all time, Out of Africa.  I have many John Barry scores on my playlist now.   It has always been music to simply...listen to.

John Barry

1933-2011

R.I.P.

Vtg Simplicity 3430 - in progress #2

Ok, this is turning into one of those projects.  You know the ones.  Where everything SEEMS to be perfect and sunny and then whammo...some stupid mistake or fitting issue rears its ugly head.

How about some pictures though (taken with flash and my son's little camera, because I left my card at school!)  First, the back "fix".  I decided to go with the strip of matching fabric because as much as I loved Kristine's idea, I didn't have a coordinating color solid. 

I like it. It turned out really cute!   Wish I'd carried it all the way around front.  (I didn't think I'd like it, so I didn't do the front too.  I figured I wouldn't be the one looking at it, being in the back and all.) 

And you see that flash of color in the zip?  Yeah.  Who doesn't have a WHITE zipper on hand?  Yours truly, that's who.  I don't know if that has ever happened.  I ALWAYS keep white zippers (it's a thing.  I don't know why.)  Anywho, I had the perfect color of purple.  A color I almost never wear.  Perfect length too, so I just did a side-lapped zipper:

It doesn't really show this much when it's all zipped up.  I love that it matches the purple though, even if no one knows but me. (and you).  It was a bear to put in though.  I've been trying to follow the vintage directions exactly (or as near as possible) and I had to cull a side zip set of instructions from another pattern since this one featured a center back zip. 

Well.  The directions said to stitch the side seam, leaving an opening for the zipper.  Baste the opening, press seams open.  Here's the tricky part:  turn under left side of seam allowance and press at approximately 1/8 inch.  If you do that, there's not enough room under the "seam allowance" for that much turned seam.  Does that make sense?  Or it's really, really close. 

Then you slide the zipper underneath and topstitch on the 1/8" fold.  This was nearly impossible.  Shifty, horrendous mess.  I ended up hand-basting the whole thing and I still had to rip out twice.  It's in now though, and looks pretty.  I'll be searching for a new method of side lapped zip instructions though!

Here's the front with the skirt attached.  I didn't have enough fabric for the extra full cupcake skirt.  This is 2 full widths of 45" fabric (one for front, one for back).  It's just "regular" full, not "50's" full.
 

Unfortunately I can't show you a photo ON me because the dang thing is too tight!  I don't know how that happened because it was perfect to the point I was afraid it'd be too loose.  I guess I overzealously stuck to the 5/8" seam allowances. 

Now comes the fun of picking them out and stitching with 1/4" seams to see if I can wear it this spring.  Oh, and Lean Cuisines for dinner.  (Which, I was going to do anyway.  Apparently the steroid/antibiotic combo I had the joy of receiving recently added a bit of weight.  After I went to all the work of getting really sick and losing some!)  So...skinnier seams + skinnier me = pretty spring dress.

Leaving you now with this lovely photo of Priscilla and her favorite person (me), taken by my rotten 16 y/o who said really it was most important that PRISCILLA be featured in the majority of the shot.  Gee, thanks.

Vtg Simplicity 3430 - in progress

 

This is totally not my original Vintage Sewalong pattern choice!  The original plan was for Hepburn style trousers and a pretty 1940s-inspired blouse.   I did finally receive my patterns in the mail last weekend and I altered the pants.  I still don't have a clue what to use for fabric for either pattern.  Hmph. 

So...in the interest of other patterns calling my name, I've moved on for now.  Yesterday I traced and altered this sundress because...fitted bodice! square neckline! RICK RACK!  AND...a little princess seam bolero?  Awesome.  

I haven't finished altering the bolero, but I did get the bodice for the dress cut out this morning.  I used this spring-ish pink and lavender print.  It's cotton, and has a stripe woven in.  I have NO idea where I got it, but it has been in my stash for at least 10 years.  I thought it was perfect for this dress.

 

Bodice Front:  I had to add 2 inches to the to the front using the pivot/slide method (Nancy Zieman), and I added 1" length.  I also  lowered the bust dart approximately 1" after trying on my tissue and marking bust point.  I had to re-angle the waist dart about 3/8".

Apparently all my fiddling was worth it because the front fits really well through the bust and waist.  This is my "padded" dress form:

 

Can you see my boo boo in this photo?  (No?  You're looking at that pointy 50's shaping, aren't you?)

Well.  Let me tell you about the bodice back.  I altered the back with 1.5" using pivot/slide (this was a size 36 bust and my full bust is 45").   I knew from previous experience with this era of patterns that a size 16 or 18 neckline is pretty perfect for me, but the bust and back requires quite a bit of additional room. (Weirdly, no additional FBA though).

I also lengthened the bodice back by 1".  Or so I thought.  But look at the side seams:

 

Well, rats.  I have no idea what went wrong.  I must have "intended" to add the additional 1" and didn't.  Who knows.  At this point I have to decide whether or not to fix this somehow or just scrap the bodice and save the skirt pieces and scraps for a pretty skirt instead.  

Which would be such a shame since the neckline is so pretty and fits so well:

The choices as I see it are, trim off the excess from the front bodice to match the back (easiest), OR, add two strips cut from my straps, to the bottom of the back bodice pieces, trying to match the print and the woven lines in the fabric.   Stinky.  But, probably the best choice in the end since I really need that extra inch.  

Or just scrap this one altogether and move onto another fabric.  The good news is, if I do try the "strip" method to piece back onto the back bodice, I can cover the seam with the rickrack rows (in theory).  

And honestly?  Who's ever going to notice but me?

I hope your weekend is going well!