Heather Hacks Again - The 1940's Dress

9.08.2014

Until this summer my instagram feed was almost 100% sewing content. It's my comfort zone and so I never strayed far from my sewing friends.  However those friends have other hobbies they like to post about. Things that piqued my interest and made me want to know more. If I had to put my finger on the starting point then it would have to be Luxulite brooches.  Both Sarah and Ange posted pics of cherry brooches within a week of each other. That made me purchase my own brooch and start following the maker of those brooches, Katy. Suddenly I found myself going down instagram rabbit holes about pinup style, companies that make reproduction clothing, pin-up models, etc. I started following several people who aren't sewists, but have a fun style and post regular pics of their outfits.

This is all a long way of saying that I found a bunch more people and websites that are inspiring. The first thing that I fell in love with and just had to have was the Ashley dress from Trashy Diva.  My cursor hovered over the buy button numerous times. The fabric print alone is gorgeous and and the style is vintage inspired without being too costumey. Perfect! I was about to pull out my credit card until remembering  A. I can't afford it and B. My bust point is so low that any RTW empire seam always goes across the middle of my bust. Not a great look to have the bottom half your girls hanging out in the waist area.

Ashley Dress from Trashy Diva
OK then, expensive dress purchase averted, but I still had 1940's dress lust in my heart. What to do now? Froggie then pipped up, "Sew Over It has a 1940's dress pattern. Remember?" That's right my furry friend, let's bring up their page and stare at the technical flat for a minute.
Yes, this is excellent. You can see that the two designs have a lot in common.  Both have the inset waist pieces with gathering at the bust, v type neckline, and the skirts appear to be identical. To hack the Sew Over It pattern to be more like the Ashley dress I would need to:
* Continue the waist inset around the back.
* Turn the neckline into a slight wrap bodice and add some shoulder tucks.
* Remove the seam lines from the waist inset and take the center point out of it.
* Shorten/puff the sleeve.
The only thing I didn't know how to do off the top of my head were the shoulder tucks. Luckily I knew this info was in the Helen Armstrong, "Pattern Making for Fashion Design" text. Thank you college education!

Any one who follows me on instagram knows this baby took a couple of muslins.  I probably should have worked out the fit alterations first, before diving into the style alterations. What can I say, sometimes I like to jump in with both feet no matter the consequences.  So let me present to you my tweaked version of the 1940's Tea Dress pattern. Taa Daaa!
I love this rayon challis print, but the pattern does obscure most of the seam lines. Oops. Let me just assure you that the bust seam is now in the right place after dropping it a good 1 1/2". Yikes!!! Good thing I didn't buy that Trashy Diva dress.
Ahh a close up, maybe now you can see the tucks at the shoulder and the pretty piping along the bottom of the sleeve. I did have to slip stitch the bodice over lap together because I was getting too much cleavage.
I'm pretty sure that the Ashley dress has darts instead of princess line seams in the back.  This difference didn't seem worth redrafting most of the back. Instead I added the waist inset and left the rest of the back as is.  The decorative top stitching on the waist inset was also left off because mine needed to be so much smaller. Thanks low boobs.

Pattern
1940's Tea Dress from Sew Over it. They now offer PDF's versions of all their patterns for instant gratification.

Fabrics used
Rayon Challis purchased from Gertie's Etsy store last year.

Pattern changes/alterations
Fitting changes
1. Lowered bust seam line 1 1/2".
2. Moved the bust gathers further towards the center of the dress.
3. Standard 1/2" forward shoulder adjustment.
4. Decreased the back width by taking in the princess line 3/4" on the bodice and increasing the back skirt dart intake to 1 3/4".
5. 1/2" Sway back adjustment.
6. Added 2" of length to the skirt.

Design changes
1. Filled in neckline 5/8".
2. Added pleat cluster at the shoulder.
3. Changed bodice to have a slight wrap.
4. Removed seam lines from waist inset and changed the shape.
5. Continued waist inset around to the back.
6. Shortened sleeve and added extra ease to the cap to make it a puff.

Confessions/Advice
- I didn't put enough length at the center front seams and had a bit of an unevenness in the hem there. Went back and made the seams smaller on the bust line and waist to fix the problem.

- I like the look of the bias bound sleeves on the outside, but I'm not thrilled with them on the inside. It doesn't seem as neat as the rest of the dress. This is the same technique as I used in the "Gingham is for the Birds" dress. I liked the piping on that dress, but maybe because it's store bought.

Husband Comment
"This is terrible! Just kidding, I like your sleeves.  I also like those out of focus flowers shining in the dark. Are you waiting for your man to come back from the war? He's probably taking to long so maybe you should hang out with me."

My Final Thoughts
This isn't the best review for the "Sew Over It" pattern since I went and chopped the top half up. Sorry folks.  I can say that the unmodified portion went together like a dream. Big props to this company for making a 1940's pattern with lots of the details I was looking for. I do prefer to start with a solid base when hacking, rather than having to invent the whole thing.  The original design is also pretty and would be nice for Fall with it's 3/4 length sleeves. Hmmmm do I need to add to the Fall Sewing Plan?
Since this post is already a mile long, I will be splitting out my hacking details into separate posts. Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging if you want your own extra awesome 1940's dress.  So sharpen your paper scissors and get ready for some pattern cutting madness very soon.

49 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I am in full on envy of your drafting skillz!

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  2. Gorgeous! Also, I love your husband's comments. Too cute! Yes, add the 3/4 sleeve version to your fall sewing plan! :D

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  3. Gorgeous! I feel your pain on the boob-dividing seams - I get that all the time. But your adjustments seem to have worked perfectly, lovely stuff!

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  4. Very pretty! You can't beat classic '40s style! Perfect fitting and great style on you!

    I think your sleeve piping looks lovely on the inside! You really need to learn to see the beauty of hand-stitching. Many couture dresses and couture style costumes look like that on the inside. =)

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  5. Totally worth it! Loved seeing your progress and I think inspo to reality was a huge success.

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  6. This looks so good on you!!! Love the shoulder pleat details! So cute!!!

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  7. sI have had plans to do something like this, basically I need a swing dance dress which doesn't cost £150 and also has a slightly more modest neckline than Trashy Diva or Limb dresses offer. I love this homage I look forward to the posts so I can shamelessly copy you!

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  8. Ooh, yes, you need to add the 3/4 length to the fall plan! What a stunning version of this dress! I have the pattern, too, but it's your dress that's making me want to sew my own. (PS: Thanks for the mention! I love my Luxulite brooches)

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  9. oooh, this is so nice! I see that sew over it finally added their size chart to their website (if it was there before, I couldn't find it), which is a big problem for me. I was telling myself i was probably out of their size range... but i'm not. now i'm probably going to have to buy more patterns, especially because this looks so lovely on you. I'm going to blame this purchase on "all the patterns heather"!

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  10. I love the print you picked out -- very current but still vintage. Wonderful!

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  11. Heather this is gorgeous and it looks amazing on you! You are the fitting/pattern-hacking Queen! The fabric is perfect too. I love love love this dress!! I love the extra details you added like the shoulder pleats and the piece at the back.

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  12. Totally adorable, great fit!
    I usually have to lower the bustline on my patterns, what are these people thinking?
    Very cute, you make this look totally modern.

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  13. It is a gorgeous dress, you do the best job with modifications.

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  14. This is a lovely dress! The material is fabulous but now you've got me wondering what it would look like in a fabric where you can see all the details. Course Steve's comment has me singing "Johnny don't be a hero...".

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  15. Lovely dress! I finished your podcast interview today and really enjoyed it. I didn't realize you went to college for this stuff. It was a lot of fun. You did a great job!

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  16. Wonderful fabric, perfect for the dress and it looks great on you ;o)

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  17. I love it when you say pleat cluster. Hot!

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  18. Great job! You look fabulous in it!

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  19. This is so gorgeous on you. I remember seeing this fabric and thinking, "Pretty but not me." Now I want every bolt ever manufactured and I'd wear it all the time. Spring, winter, blizzards, whatever. I'd wrap it around me toga style and pretend it was your dress. See what you've done?

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  20. Oh my goodness, I loves me a 40s style dress, and this one is a beauty! I've had a beady eye on that Sew Over It pattern for a while, and may just have to make a purchase. I love the hacks you've done, especially the waistband and shoulder, and that fabric is gorgeous. I shall look forward to your pattern hacking post. Lynne

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  21. It's great to see all your hard work pay off and see this gorgeous finished dress :)

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  22. hurray you didn't buy the dress! it's just perfect, you made it really well!
    sending virtual cookies *

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  23. I love it, pretty lady! Well worth all the work!

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  24. Thank you Kelli. :) Having drafting books to look at certainly helps.

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  25. Thanks so much Andie. Haa haa! My husband said a lot of cute things about this dress. He also pulled at all the seams for some reason. "Hmmm that's snug." It's called fitted my dear. :)

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  26. Thanks Jessica. :)

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  27. Thank you Jenny. The low bust point thing is a real pain in the butt when it comes to buying RTW. Good thing we can sew and adjust things!!!

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  28. Thanks Brooke! Also thank for telling me about the piping. I know bias cut really isn't supposed to ravel much, but I was a bit concerned about it. On the good side the piping seems to move well with the rest of the sleeve so I think it was the correct finish to put on there.

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  29. Thank you Lynne. The Sew Over It pattern seems to be the nicest 40's style pattern out there. I think you'll love it whether you hack it or not.

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  30. Awesome Ms Modiste! I hope my hacking posts will be helpful in helping you accomplish your plan. :)

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  31. Thank you Megan. Yes, I'd have problems buying something with out a size chart too. Glad they put one up and you're in the size range. Whoopie! Feel free to blame me for any pattern purchases. I can take it. ;)

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  32. Thank you Sarah. I might put the dress on the Fall plan addendum. and then then find some more minions to do all the sewing. Haa haa! And thank you for telling me about those lovely Luxulite brooches.

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  33. Thanks Sonja. Shoulder pleats have always been a favorite design detail of mine. Finally an excuse to put some in a garment!

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  34. Thank you Heather. Thankfully this was one of those projects I felt pretty confident about doing. That always makes all those muslins worth it. :)

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  35. Thanks P. E. Hudson. I completely agree with your description of the print. It come in a red colorway also that I'm now kicking myself for not buying.

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  36. Thank you so much Heather. It's great when you start making something and realize you have the perfect fabric for it in the stash. I'm happy to do this fabric justice. :)

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  37. Thank you Becki. It would be nice if lower bust points became a pattern adjustment that was included on patterns. Oh well, one can dream.

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  38. LOL Roray, you've given me a good laugh. I'm sorry you have no bolt to wrap yourself up in though. If it's any consolation I'd like a bolt too. Thanks!

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  39. Pleat cluster, pleat cluster, pleat cluster. LOL. Smooches.

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  40. Thanks so much Yoshimi. This certainly makes me want to make a few more 40's inspired dresses.

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  41. Thank Emily. Oh no, now you know all my dark secrets. :) Yep, gotta dust off those college brain cells every now and again. Then I let them go back to sleep.

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  42. Thanks Coleworth. I was so happy to have this fabric lurking in the stash after deciding to make this dress. The perfect match!

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  43. Thanks Lori. I almost think that I like modifying other people's patterns more than actual drafting. :)

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  44. Thanks Sis. I did thing, "Maybe I should make a solid one so you can see the details." Great minds, great minds.

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  45. Haa haa! Thanks Juliana. Nom Nom Nom, virtual cookies are so tasty.

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  46. Thank you Fooniks. So glad you enjoyed see the dress come together. :)

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  47. My pleasure! Your post reminded me how much I love my Luxulite brooch and I wore my red cherry one yesterday :) I've just added a dress to the FESA2014 Addendum, too!

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