McCall’s 9158 Progress
I had a major feeb moment with this dress. I spent an entire day working on the collar. This collar is not put together the way typical shawl collars are, so I had to really think about the whole process. Once I finished the collar, including top stitching, I put the bodice on my mannequin and realized that I completely flaked on pipping. As you can tell from the picture, the details of the collar are lost in the darkness of the fabric. I still haven’t decided if I’m going to rip out all the stitching and do it all over again, but I’m leaning in that direction. One of the reasons for doing this blog was to encourage myself to take more time with each project and think about each step. The dress will really look more polished with the pipping, so I will do it.
McCall’s 9158
Here’s a peek at the next project. The pattern is McCall’s 9158, from 1952. I’ve used the skirt from this pattern as part of another dress, so I’m already fitted that section. The fabric is a navy with white polka dots poly/cotton blend from my local JoAnn’s.
Advance 6391 completed!
Please excuse the wrinkles! I had been at a party before taking this picture. I don’t think I’m happy with this dress. Although I LOVE the look of a midriff band, I think it’s not flattering to me. I wore this before finishing the belt and felt it looked better. Based on comments I’ve gotten about this dress elsewhere, that seems to be a common opinion. The skinny belt looks oh so 50’s to me, but not every dress works with one, I think.
Advance 6391 progress
I’ve been a busy little bee. Having become a devotee of http://www.dressaday.com/dressaday.html, I have started putting pockets in all my dresses. In-seam pockets are the easiest to put in, but can be fussy in getting them to lie smoothly. It can also be somewhat confusing to put in a side seam zipper with the in-seam pocket. The first step is to finish both the pocket raw edge and the skirt raw edge.
The next step is to sew the pocket to the skirt. First, measure the length of your zipper and only attach the pocket to the skirt below where your zipper will end.
Then sew the front skirt to the back skirt, including the pocket edge. Then attach the skirt to the bodice.
The install your zipper as normal.
Here it is so far. All that is left is to hem the skirt and sleeves. I still haven’t decided if I will make the matching belt. It’s not as flattering as I would hope. I think maybe the crossover has too much fabric and it needs shoulder pads.
Advance 6391
I started this dress last week, so this dress diary won’t be as detailed as I hope future ones will be. This is Advance 6391 which appears to be from 1953. This is the first time I have worked with an unprinted pattern. The big difference in an unprinted pattern is that instead of the pattern pieces being labeled in big, dark ink, they are marked with a series of holes punched to create letters that identify the pieces. I’ve been avoiding unprinted patterns, but it has turned out to be less of a problem than I thought it would be.
I am making view 2, the cross-over bodice. The fabric I’m using is a light weight textured cotton from a local chain fabric store.
This pattern is a vintage size 12 (modern size 8, I think), so I’ve had to scale up. I added 1.5inches to the side seams and another inch in a FBA (full bust adjustment). So far, the bodice fits well.
Hi!
Hi and welcome to my new blog, The New Vintage wardrobe. This blog will follow my journey towards building my new vintage wardrobe by sewing garments with vintage patterns. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been asked to do more in-depth dress diaries. Up until now, it’s been difficult since I have not had a digital camera. Since I tend to be a marathon sewer, it was always hard for me to gauge when I would need access to a camera ahead of time. With my own, I’ll be able to take pictures and upload them right when I need to. I’m also hoping that by making an effort to document my work, it will encourage me to stop taking modern shortcuts and use vintage dressmaking techniques and take my sewing to the next level. Please join for this journey!
