My adventures in sewing began long ago. While growing up my mom made a lot of my clothes. She usually let me pick out the fabric and most of the time it came out of the quilting section and involved lots of flowers. Even as a teenager in my 'wear all black stage' she made some of my clothes even though they looked a bit strange to her. My skirts were never more than a couple inches above the knee, and my tops never showed a ridiculous amount of cleavage, so she would just say "You're wearing THAT to school??" then let me on my way. Around that time I wanted to learn how to sew, and after watching her for so many years I was able to figure out the easy stuff and asked her for help on the hard stuff.
While in college I found myself sewing on an almost daily basis for homework assignments, so my sewing skills quite improved. For awhile I stopped sewing for myself, mostly because of long work hours that sapped all my time and energy. Once I changed occupations and found myself with more spare time I started sewing again. I am at the age where I'm too old to shop at Forever 21 and too young for the missy department of Macys. The hemlines on dresses seem to be getting ridiculously short so I turned to making my own, mostly retro style dresses with full skirts.
At the end of this month I get to go with my husband to a military ball. I spent a lot of time looking for a formal dress and failed dismally. After working the fashion industry, I know how much it REALLY costs to make clothes and I'm sad to say that the markup on formal dresses is outlandish. I didn't want to spend more than $200, and every dress I looked at was made of cheap fabric and horrible workmanship. I finally gave up and decided it was time to dust off the sewing machine.
My sewing skills are nowhere near as good as my mom's, but as long as the pattern wasn't too complicated I figured I could handle it. After searching and searching through all the major pattern catalogs I decided on New Look 6401, View A. I love gowns that lace up the back, and with only a few princess seams and gathers on the bodice it didn't look too difficult for me to make. For fabric, I had a hard time deciding what I wanted. I wandered around Joann for a long time. Satin wrinkles like crazy and isn't always flattering. Taffeta would be too stiff for this kind of design. I wanted something drapey that wasn't so slippery it would make me pull my hair out. Then I passed by a section of brocade and stopped in my tracks. Among the Asian inspired patterns was a beautiful floral pattern of silver with yellow and grey flowers. That was it for me!!
At the end of this month I get to go with my husband to a military ball. I spent a lot of time looking for a formal dress and failed dismally. After working the fashion industry, I know how much it REALLY costs to make clothes and I'm sad to say that the markup on formal dresses is outlandish. I didn't want to spend more than $200, and every dress I looked at was made of cheap fabric and horrible workmanship. I finally gave up and decided it was time to dust off the sewing machine.
My sewing skills are nowhere near as good as my mom's, but as long as the pattern wasn't too complicated I figured I could handle it. After searching and searching through all the major pattern catalogs I decided on New Look 6401, View A. I love gowns that lace up the back, and with only a few princess seams and gathers on the bodice it didn't look too difficult for me to make. For fabric, I had a hard time deciding what I wanted. I wandered around Joann for a long time. Satin wrinkles like crazy and isn't always flattering. Taffeta would be too stiff for this kind of design. I wanted something drapey that wasn't so slippery it would make me pull my hair out. Then I passed by a section of brocade and stopped in my tracks. Among the Asian inspired patterns was a beautiful floral pattern of silver with yellow and grey flowers. That was it for me!!
I wanted to do this right and not rush through it, so I knew I needed to make a practice dress. Doing so would enable me to a) be sure I could actually sew this pattern and b) have a good fit. Getting a custom fit is one of the great things about sewing your own clothes. Picking out a size to start with can be a bit daunting if you are not the 'average' of your size. One of the most important things when sewing (and knitting!) your own clothes is to know your body shape and any relevant sizing issues. Hardly anyone fits the standard size. For myself, I am one size smaller on top than on bottom, very small across the back and have very sloping shoulders. When choosing your size for a sewing pattern, start off by looking at the bust, waist and hip measurements on the pattern envelope, but also check the *finished* measurements printed on the pattern pieces. The amount of ease added into a pattern will vary, so don't be afraid to take the time and measure yourself. After checking the measurements I decided on a size 12.
I already knew I wanted to alter the bodice to cover up more of the chest area. With a pencil I traced the bodice piece onto a scrap of interfacing. Then I pinned it onto my dress form (which is pretty darn close to being my size), being careful to take the seam allowances into account. Then I re-drew the neckline into a surplice, therefore making the fronts cross over and raising the lowest point of the neckline. I outlined my new pattern piece in felt tip pen, being sure to transfer all the original notches and marked points and adding in my own notch at center front.
I was ready to sew my practice dress. I didn't add in the lining or zipper or even finish all the edges. I just wanted to get an idea on the fit. In about 3 hours I cut and sewed my funny looking practice dress made of scrap fabric. The neckline gaped open a bit but the rest fit fine. I fixed the neckline issue by taking off half an inch of length at the shoulders (thank you sloping shoulders!) and dropping the lowest point of the armhole by half an inch. Now the neckline fits smoothly across the bust. Here is me looking rather silly in my practice dress. I made it short because I figured there wouldn't be any fit issues with the lower part of the skirt. And oh yeah, I did a great job of sewing the right side of the bodice to the wrong side of the skirt. I almost ripped it out, but then figured if I needed to take in the waist or hips the seams were right there ready to pin. Oh well.
I already knew I wanted to alter the bodice to cover up more of the chest area. With a pencil I traced the bodice piece onto a scrap of interfacing. Then I pinned it onto my dress form (which is pretty darn close to being my size), being careful to take the seam allowances into account. Then I re-drew the neckline into a surplice, therefore making the fronts cross over and raising the lowest point of the neckline. I outlined my new pattern piece in felt tip pen, being sure to transfer all the original notches and marked points and adding in my own notch at center front.
I was ready to sew my practice dress. I didn't add in the lining or zipper or even finish all the edges. I just wanted to get an idea on the fit. In about 3 hours I cut and sewed my funny looking practice dress made of scrap fabric. The neckline gaped open a bit but the rest fit fine. I fixed the neckline issue by taking off half an inch of length at the shoulders (thank you sloping shoulders!) and dropping the lowest point of the armhole by half an inch. Now the neckline fits smoothly across the bust. Here is me looking rather silly in my practice dress. I made it short because I figured there wouldn't be any fit issues with the lower part of the skirt. And oh yeah, I did a great job of sewing the right side of the bodice to the wrong side of the skirt. I almost ripped it out, but then figured if I needed to take in the waist or hips the seams were right there ready to pin. Oh well.
I knew brocade unravels like crazy, so I got out my serger and overlocked all the edges after cutting out the dress pieces. I carefully marked all the notches with tailors chalk since they would be cut off. It was a relatively easy sewing experience, the only problem being me interpreting the directions incorrectly and sewing the wrong pieces together, and sewing an invisible zipper for the first time. For $70 I have myself a custom made dress that fits perfectly and doesn't make me feel like an old lady stuffed into a cheesy prom dress. Still needs a good pressing, but here it is.
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