Pattern Review: Butterick 5605

I really like this pattern.  I found the hardest part was sewing the gusset section of the bodice side to center pieces (in both front and back).  I'm not entirely satisfied with the fit of mine, and I'll show you why in the reveal next week, but it is a very comfy dress, with pockets, that's perfect for looking pretty while going about your day.

All of the waist shaping is done in the side pieces, which makes it really easy to transition between sizes.  The bodice is self-lines, which means the only finishing you have to do is top stitching.  Granted, one of the biggest flaws in my dress is the top stitching on the button tabs, but, it is easy finishing, despite not turning out well.

I find that it does look much better with a crinoline on.  Without it the long skirt is fairly limp, which is never really an attractive look.  I would have preferred a scoop or v neckline, as it turns out they look better on me.  However, the neckline published I'm sure looks very good on some people, and balances the low back well from a design perspective.

I think next time I make this dress, and there very likely will be a next time, I'm going to cut the bodice front on the fold.  And, if I can fit it onto the fabric, I might do the same for the skirt front.  I'll likely adjust the neckline as well, but other than a couple fitting changes beyond that, I love this dress.  It's a great dress to wear when you still want to be doing things and want pockets.

Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing - A Review

At long last, I'm going to review Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing, written by Gretchen of Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing.  It's been quite a while coming, since I got the book back in August.  I wanted to make something from the book before I came up with my complete review, and then the portrait blouse had some roadblocks.

But, here we are!

I've read the techniques section, as I said in my August pre-view.  It was very useful, it covered a lot of advanced techniques with simple instructions.  Some of the patterns require you to go back and use sections to develop pieces line facings or simple dirndl skirts.  I think that its a really good way of not only saving space on the pattern sheets, but also providing projects to use the new skills in.

I really like the designs in the book.  That was the main reason that I purchased it to begin with.  Unfortunately, I found the patterns to be a little bit difficult to work with.  Gertie has said that the sizing does not follow regular pattern sizes (from the Big Four), or ready to wear.  She developed her sizing based of her measurements as the median size 8.  While I'm sure this did simplify a lot of things in development, it means that any normal fitting adjustments you do won't work.

I also noticed a few flaws in the patterns.  Nothing huge, just things like pieces being slightly different lengths (like the front and back of the portrait blouse side seams).  As a few other reviews have mentioned, it looks like the darts in the sheath dress don't align from bodice to skirt.  Since the skirt is actually the same pattern as the Pencil Skirt, I'm guessing it just didn't get the double check it needed.

There were a few other things that I found made working with the patterns more difficult.  First, there are no finished garment measurements.  I think that since the book is filled with fitting advice that references the finished garment measurements, I think it was an oversight not to put it in.  It is also has no bust or hip markers.  Again, the book has numerous directions for adjusting fit that are based off the but or hip points, but they aren't marked.

Overall, I really respect Gertie.  She has accomplished quite a bit to go from blogger to published author and pattern designer for Butterick.  However, I don't know if I would say these patterns are up to the standard I would expect from a published book.  Conclusion:  The fitting information is wonderful.  However the patterns are not what I had hoped, or expected.

Long Awaited Portrait

Today I bring you the long overdue reveal of my portrait blouse.  This is the first pattern I attempted from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing, and I've mentioned my trails with it briefly before.  

The Portrait Blouse.

I made at least 2 muslins, and am fairly sure, though have no evidence, that there was a third in there somewhere as well.  Admittedly my fitting process was not particularly methodical, however, by the final muslin I was fairly happy with it.  

To the left is the version that Gertie recently posted to her blog, made from a stable knit, which is likely the best comparison to what mine should look like.  You can read more about it here.  I also used a fairly stable knit.  It has some stretch to it, but hangs and feels much like a cotton.  During fitting I lost the cap sleeves.  This was, I'll admit, accidental.  I did a narrow shoulder adjustment while fitting, because the shoulders seemed broad and I was getting pull lines.  However, I think that these are just part of the style, not necessarily a fitting issue.  In any case, by the time I moved into my fashion fabric I was happy with the muslin.

I'm not entirely sure what changed, but I'm significantly less happy with the final version.  The biggest flaw I think is that no matter which I do, the bust darts stand out and make an unattractive point. They also aim to a point far higher than my bust point.  It doesn't seem particularly noticeable in the picture, however, it is one of those flaws that can be all I notice.  Luckily, it isn't a complete scrap, as I can still wear it layered under other things, such as the cardigan in the first image (which I don't really like as I think it hides my waist, but will keep wearing until I replace it with something nicer). 

The other flaw in the top is that I didn't do a narrow hem, as instructed.  Instead, I used some narrow twill tape as hem tape.  And while it looks nice, and would have worked perfectly on a slightly heavier fabric, here it just turns the hem out a little bit, making a tiny ruffle.  Luckily, I usually wear it tucked in, and when I wear it out over jeans the ruffle is almost completely unnoticeable. 

Conclusion: I'd like to try this again, with a lighter fabric (like a crepe), before passing final judgement.  I''m not sure if my issues with the pattern are completely from my haphazard fitting methods, or not, but I do think at least a few of my issues are from the pattern.  I'll discuss that a little more when I post my full review of the book.

Lacey Goodness!

I finally wore my Rago Girdle to work yesterday.  If you remember, or rather, if you've forgotten, I ordered it from Lady Grace a little while ago at the same time as I ordered my longline bra.

Rage Style 1359

I do quite like it, especially now that I've worn it.  I had a bit of an ordeal finding thigh highs to go with it.  I did pick up a pair from the local Walmart, but when I originally tried them on together I didn't think that the tights came up high enough.

Luckily, I was able to pull the girdle down a touch and the tights up, and it worked.  By the end of the day I was having some pretty serious issues with my tights cutting into my thighs.  Now, this was deeply uncomfortable, but it was also no fault of the girdle.

I did find that the girdle cut in a little bit at the waist, but it only took a quick adjustment each time to fix it.  Other than that, the fit was spot on.  I found my tummy firmed up, not flat, but firmer.  I didn't find much of a lift behind, but it did firm up my derriere up nicely. It also gave me that 'wiggle' when I walked that girdles are known to provide.  Even with the constriction around my legs though, I found that there was enough stretch that I was still able to do everything I needed to.

All in all, it was an excellent purchase.  I quite enjoyed wearing it, though I will not likely wear it every day.  It will certainly be making a re-appearance when I wear the wiggle dress I'm hoping to make soon!

Special Delivery!

Couple days ago I got a delivery from LadyGrace.  I put in my order on August 15th for a Keira Longline Bra  by Goddess and a Pull On Open Girdle by Rago.  They arrived on Tuesday September 3rd.  Shipping did take three weeks, however the website warns that international shipping (from the US to Canada) can take up to four.  Packaging was nothing to write home about, just the standard plastic wrap in a bubble envelope, but both items arrived safe.

I've worn the Longline bra to work twice now.

Photo courtesy of Goddess, I'm not so bold as to post
pictures of my unmentionables yet!

The first thing I noticed was that it's harder to put on than a normal bra.  Because the row of hooks up the back is so much longer I can't do it up behind me.  The only way I've found so far is to do up the row of hooks in the front and then shimmy it around.  Slow, but effective.

Once it's on, I've found it to be fairly comfortable.  I like the way it hugs my ribs and I think it really helps to define my waist line.  The first day I wore it I wore nylons over top.  The nylons have a tendency to cut in at my waist uncomfortably, my hope was that the longline bra would help stop that with the two rows of boning at the side back.  Unfortunately, it actually just made it worse as I now had not only the nylons cutting into me, but the boning as well.  Today, I wore it without the nylons, and I did still have a bit of an issue with the boning cutting into my hips at the end, however it was only a quick fix, and it wasn't nearly so bad as yesterday.

It has nice wide straps, which I've found to be fairly supportive.  I have noticed though that I'm having some spillage issues.  The cups are fairly high cut, but I'm spilling into the center.  I ordered a 38G, which is the same size of bra I tend to wear in other retailers, however I think that I may have gotten a better fit if I had gone up to a 36H.  There is no underwire in the cups.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Keira Longline Bra and the service of LadyGrace.  I'm definitely going to keep wearing it, and after seeing how it fairs in the wash and with regular wear, I'm seriously considering buying a few more!

Stay tuned for my thoughts on the Rago Girdle in a few days!

Happy Labour Day!

In honour of the last weekend before school starts, I thought I would look at another selection of Harmony in Dress by Mary Brooks Picken.

The College Wardrobe.

Ah, college.  The only time a woman requires any gym clothes.  I had assumed, reading the Home and Business Woman's Attire that clothes for active pursuits weren't mentioned because Mary didn't think they were part of the main wardrobe, but here we are, the college girl is expected to be active.

I've also noticed that the College Woman requires more shoes...  And more underwear... I don't know about you, by my wardrobe really hasn't changed that much since I graduated.

Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing

I have a secret.  I bought Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing a couple weeks ago. 

 

I've been pouring over the pages, and it’s all pretty wonderful.  I was going to wait until I’d finished one of the projects to share my thoughts, but, I’m impatient and I can’t wait to share.

Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing is pretty well known around the internet.  It's one of the blogs that I've gone back and read the entire archive of because its so full of useful information.  And her book is exactly the same.  You can see the sample pages she posted in a Flickr pool here.  

The main reason I wanted the book is for the patterns.  I'll admit, I usually find sewing manuals slightly disappointing.  That being said, I've found the technique section really useful.  Its been mentioned around the internet that she doesn't simplify this section.  I tend to agree.  There are some advanced techniques, especially I'd say, in the Tailoring section.  However, the instructions are still easy to follow.  I think this is the only sewing manual I've actually read cover to cover to date.

I'm pretty excited about the patterns.  The first one up is the Portrait Blouse. But I have to say, I think I'll be making almost all of them, either as printed or with a couple variations.  It has been mentioned that there are a few flaws in the patterns.  And some things visibly off in the outfit shots.  One I've heard is that the darts in the sheath dress don't line up.  While it does look a little off in the image, I'm going to hold off on my judgement on such things until I've tried the patterns in question.  At the moment, it could just be how the dress is sitting.  

P.S. I apologize for the late post.  We lost power for a while last night in a thunderstorm and I had some issues getting my internet back up and running... 

A Wardrobe Re-examined

Since discovering the change in my work-wardrobe needs, I've gone back and re-evaluated the wardrobe that I'd planned out.  Unfortunately, the conclusion I came to was the that the list of clothes I had was not really a functional wardrobe. It was more a list of styles that I wanted to include.  

Luckily, I've since found Mary Brooks Picken's Harmony in Dress! Mary wrote a number of etiquette books  between 1915 and 1957.  Harmony in Dress was written in 1925 and is all about the etiquette of proper dress.  It's at least 20 years before the styles that I'm looking at, however its hard to turn down a lovely ready-made list of what a 'proper' wardrobe would consist of.  

Mary includes an itemization of the wardrobes required by School Girls of various ages, 'The Home Woman', 'The Business Woman' as well as information on travel and morning wardrobes.  I've come up with a hybrid of the Home Woman and the Business Woman's wardrobes that I think will work well for me. 

The Business Woman

One of the first things I noticed about both of the wardrobes is a distinct lack of separates. There is one skirt and blouse set in the Business wardrobe, presumably to match the suit jacket.  But the Home wardrobe doesn't even have that.  I'm not well enough versed in 20s fashions to know if this is a general fashion, or if Mary is writing for a specific class of society.

One of the smaller differences I noticed was that the Business Woman needs twice as many hats as the Home Woman.  The only explanation I can come up with is that the Business woman goes out more often, but I'm really not sure.  She also needs an extra pair of shoes... 

The Home Woman

I'm not sure if this is a modern idea, or if it's because my workplace has a black/white dress code, but I'll need at least some separate items between work and home.  However, there is some overlap between the two wardrobes, so I certainly won't need both in their entirety.  

I started by combining the two wardrobes together and eliminating the overlap.  Then, I traded some of the dresses for tops and skirts.  I love dresses, and I would never plan a wardrobe without them, but while I'm building my wardrobe I think I need the versatility of separates.  

I'm also not sure about the underwear, hosiery, footwear, hats and miscellaneous.  These are also the parts of my wardrobe that I'll likely have to purchase, so I think for the time being I'll let them happen as they do and I'll focus on them once my clothing is sorted out.  

So, my revised wardrobe plan is as follows:

Wraps:

1 Winter Coat

1 Spring Coat

1 light suit jacket

Dresses:

3 casual dresses

1 light afternoon/officce dress

1 wool afternoon/office dress

1 light office dress

Skirts and Waists:

3 casual skirts

3 casual tops

2 office skirts - heavier

2 office skirts -  lighter

5 office tops

Making Your Own Dress Patterns by Adele P. Margolis

I thought today I’d offer you a review of one of the first pattern making books I got.  I’ve had Making Your Own Dress Patterns, by Adele P. Margolis since high school.  It’s aimed at the beginning pattern maker, and has introductions to the basic slopers, moving darts, adding fullness and general design adjustments.   

It works similar to an exercise book in a number of ways.  It provides cute little quarter size slopers and then instructs you on how to adjust them into a number of different styles. 

I love that the book teaches you how to adjust the sloper, rather than to draft certain styles.  I think that those are far more transferable skills and will be more useful in the end.  However, the book doesn't teach you how to draft a sloper for yourself.  The book tells you that many pattern companies have sloper patterns and they can be called a “foundation pattern, master pattern try-on pattern, shell pattern, basic-fitting pattern, ect” (p. 18) and explains that these can be used to make new patterns in the standard sizes.  She also says that many home sewers like to use personalized slopers.  But, creating these is never discussed.   The book states a few times through it that it is aimed for the pattern-making audience, not a sewing audience.  I think this is likely the reason that drafting a sloper has been left out...

Ooo! I divided darts :)

The book is full of useful information.  However, it can also be very repetitive at times.  Because of its workbook nature, the book instructions you through many versions of essentialy the same procedure.  For example, there are five examples of moving darts in the bodice.  Each example follows the same process but move the dart to a different end location.  This is an excellent way to make sure you’re comfortable with the process, but it can also be a little tiresome to read through. 

There is also a very large section in the second half of the book which outlines the changes required for a huge number of different styles.  These are mostly changes that I think many would be able to figure out, based on the techniques in the first section of the book.  However, the guidelines can be very helpful for a novice or uncertain pattern drafter.  I also find that the dozens of example drawings can be a good place to look for inspiration.  There are probably dozens of dozens of illustrations through the book.

Overall, I think this is a wonderful book for a very new pattern maker, or for a young sewer.

P.S. No one can judge you for making little paper patterns for all of your dresses... It’s oddly therapeutic to play with little paper slopers.  And I’m sure I’m developing useful skills! Not that I waste embarrassing amounts of time with this or anything...