I'm very taken by these side ties... but I'm not sure why. I'm making view 'B' (the girl in the blue dress) but without the collar... I think... I can change my mind later on that if I want after using some scrap fabric to try the pattern out. The pattern is a vintage size 2, 21inch breast when Esme is really a size 3, 22inch breast. But - as I am using a modern seam allowance (1/4 inch) it should work out okay. I tested it against a modern size 3 that was of similar construction and it looks like the pieces are VERY near the same size - millimeters off etc.
I chose the very bright cow landscape fabric I have and some green print leftover from some garage sale finds a friend gave me. Esme kissed both fabrics and said they were beautiful... while at the same time telling me the blue I was originally wanting to make it in was ugly and blech. HMMMMMM.... Fate may have a hand in this dress!
The tie straps had to be sewn in between the front bodice and the sides at the bottom -- and then the back tie was sewn to the center-back. I probably should have gathered the back and side all as one piece - in fact, now that I look back at the instructions I think that was the idea. But, I looked at the pattern envelope for view 'B' and somehow got the idea that the side skirts were gathered and the back was 'flat'... and everyone says the dress looks so pretty that way. There really would not have been a lot of gathering at all if I hadn't left the back flat.
I decided to hand-sew the sleeves in while at work on lunch hour, and then bring them home and give a better machine-stitch and zigzag to them. Now all that is left is the zipper in the back and a try-on.
It fits her well enough - there is a lot of room to grow in for being a size less than she measured for (vintage sizes are always large on her). The sleeves were not a problem at all... However, the neckline is fairly close-fitting, and I can see it getting tight when she grows into the rest of the dress. So - if I made it again I would cut the neckline deeper all around... then it would fit her frame much better and still have room to grow from dress to 'top'. If I had wanted it to fit her better now I would make a second one with a compressed neck-to-shoulder seam and set the sleeves much deeper into the main garment.
And further on: With a few natural alterations this dress has become a staple for my next round of Esme's clothing. I've made three of them, so far - and probably will make a few more. This one is her favorite: See it in this post in-progress and also in this post wearing the dress
1 comment:
It's charming on her! I love that she kissed the fabrics. With pre-approval like that how could you go wrong?
Post a Comment