My New Frontier: A1960’s cocktail dress: Part Two- Sewing a Wearable Muslin

Hi Everyone! 

Long overdue, its time for PART 2 of my 1960's cocktail dress pattern project!
Part 1 was posted almost a month ago. 

In an effort to use my valuable sewing time to its fullest, I created something called a  “wearable muslin”.   



The 1st cut of my size 10 pattern, graded up from an circa 1960 "size 14", wiich is a modern-day 4-6

 I do this as often as possible when developing or testing a pattern that is fairly simple (for me) and hard to mess up. 

Why did I do this instead of just the plain ol’ muslin mock-up fit process? 

For this dress, I feel confident it can be sewn it up as a real, wearable garment the first time around.  It may not fit 100% perfect, but it will still be adorable and very pretty. 

Keep in mind, if this was a corset project, or a weird bodice pattern I’m Frankenstien-ing, then HELL YES, there will be a plain muslin fitting!!  …. maybe 2 or 3 before the good stuff is cut! 

While creating this wearable muslin, I utilized my time to experiment with different things.  In this case, I made up the dress in funky stripe cotton, with a bias-cut silk waistband and my own construction/finishing techniques. 

Gutsy?!  Maybe. 

Fabric purchased on clearance (1/2 price!) at Stone Mountian & Daugher Fabrics, in Berkeley, CA

OK, here’s what I did:

The bodice is a single layer of the striped cotton, but I omitted the facings for the neck & armhole area included in the original pattern.  Instead, I used single fold bias facing to finish the inside of these areas, and finished by hand:

The zipper was hand-basted to the inside of the side seam, and stitched into the garment by hand.  Don’t be intimidated by this, folks!  In fact, hand-sewing a zipper does not take long at all!  Plus, if you don’t have a lot of experience sewing a zipper in by machine, this can be WAY less frustrating, less damaging to the fabric, and looks like a million bucks every time… even if you are not a super-star hand sewer!

For the waistband, I kind of walked away from the original design/construction. 

The original pattern was just for a single layer waistband of fashion fabric only (front and back with side seams), without any finishing/lining/interlining inside.  Weird?  I thought so too.

To mix things up a little, I created new, revised waistband patterns with center front and center back seams.  Here’s how I did it:

REVISED WB PATTERNS: I cut the bias pieces out of  a scrap of black dupioni (fashion fabric) and the straight-grain pieces out of black cotton (flatlining). 

*Backing or flatlining the bias silk pieces with cotton cut on the straight grain will add stability and strength.

ORIGINAL WB PATTERNS: I cut Waistband pieces as per the original pattern, on the fold, out of black cotton.   These pieces became a lining, which I added in order to “clean finish” the inside. 

I also flatlined the skirt part of the dress with black cotton for added body, and to minimize any VPL in the future ;)

Now the dress is ready to try on and have a fitting!

A little wrinkled: All the seams are sewn up except the shoulders and hem. 

Stay tuned for Part Three:  “Analyzing the fit” where I will be looking at the (almost) finished garment with a critical eye, checking overall balance, dart placement, and making notes of any other little fit tweaks that need to be made.

-Kathleen, In Oakland

My New Frontier: A 1960’s cocktail dress: Part One - Introduction & Sizing Up the Pattern

Hi Everyone!

Our adventures in pattern drafting continue with our much loved circa 1960 cocktail dress, Spadea’s # N-1077, otherwise known as Philip’s stunning creation, Black Beauty!

Spadea is a long-gone, mid-20^th century pattern company, and their history can be found here.

Philip has already made up this dress as is, in its original size, out of a sumptuous black satin. Then, he proceeded to bedeck, bedazzle, and encrust his creation in iridescent black glass beads.


As you can see, it is a wonderful example of finery and sophistication.   Who wouldn’t be inspired by this amazing work of art?!

Bottom Line:  I want one.  But I want a West-Coast version, made in a cool yet bold Hawiian Barkcloth, with no drape, and embellished with black palette spangles on the solid black background:

I have *just enough* Hawiian Barkcloth fabric to create this dress with no drape...
but how cute will it be?!?!?!

Our Spadea pattern is a vintage size 14, which is a modern day 6, which I am not.

In order to make this style fit, I will have to increase (grade up) the original pattern from a size 6 to a size 8 size 10. 

What is my end goal?? To have a fabulous, flattering real vintage dress pattern that fits me.  This Spadea style is perfect to start with because it is:

1.) Simple – Just a bodice, waistband, skirt, and optional front drape!  The facings at the neck/armhole area can be easily replaced with bias tape to finish the inside, which I plan to do.

2.) Flattering –Bateau neckline, hourglass shape, what’s not to LOVE?

3.) Easy to sew - with areas of opportunity to tweak , simplify or improve the construction quality and finishing.

4.) Versatile –Looks great in anything from Satin to Cotton to Lame’!  Can be made with or without the drape in front for a sleeker, or less formal look.  In fact, without the drape, this is a simple, sweet little boat-neck wiggle dress….wooork!

Well, here I go again….a whole weekend of nothing but tracing & re-tracing patterns, and the results are worth every moment!

The entire original pattern consists of  9 pieces: Front/Back Bodice, Waistband. Skirt, facings, and the front drape.  ***I will be showing the front bodice only as an example of the tracing/sizing up process.  Note: The Front Drape piece will not be included in this 1^st dress, but will be explored/sewn at a later date, in a different fabric.

First, I trace all the original tissue pieces, marking all punch holes and perforations.  This 1^st tracing is now my master copy, and it will remain unchanged, as an exact copy of the real vintage pattern.
 


 

Original tissue pattern from 1960



1st Tracing:  Exact copy of the original (Sorry, the photo is light, but you get the idea :)

I create a 2^nd tracing from the first, and I make adjustments to the body width and length by slashing & inserting strips of paper.  I have calculated how much I needed to add to the original pattern to make it fit me.  In order to increase black Beauty up to a size 10, I had to add 3 ½” total to the original pattern width, and 1” to the total length.

2nd tracing: slashed and spread to evenly increase length & width.

Here's a lil' breakdown of what I did:

WIDTH: Since the patterns for the Bodice, Waistband, and skirt are placed on the fold and represent one quarter of the body, I divided my total width measurements by 4, then applied that number to each piece.

In other words, 3 ½” divided by 4 is 7/8”, so I added 7/8” to the width of each piece.

LENGTH: I evenly divided the 1” length needed between the bodice and skirt. 

So, ½” was added to the bodice length, and ½” to skirt length.

The best way increase the overall size of a pattern, is to add throughout the body, instead of just adding to the side seams and bottom edge.

I’ve created these quick ‘n dirty images of the bodice and skirt to clearly show what I did, and what you should NOT do: 

Once all the pieces are increased in size, I clean up the overall shape, double check & triple-check notch placement, making sure everything matches and lines up for good sewing.

Now all the pieces are ready to be cut in fabric!

3rd tracing: All cleaned up in a size 10 and ready to use!

Stay tuned for Part Two:  “Sewing a Wearable Muslin” where the dress will come to life in all its size 10 glory!

-Kathleen, In Oakland

Hand In Glove, Part Deux: The Revenge of Mitts and Mittens!

Hey y’all! 

This is just a little “Part 2” entry about our pattern restoration project we posted last week.

The main objective is to utilize an old, forgotten crumbling pattern, and create our own glove design with adjustable finger length.

However, I simply didn’t have the heart to ignore the Mitt and Mitten pattern also included in our original assortment…..seriously, how adorable are THESE?! 

LOVE & NEW LIFE:  These styles are also unique, and have fabulous potential!

So, same process as the gloves:  The original, fragile tissue pattern is traced AS IS onto white paper.  Carefully mark the overall shape, all notches and punch holes:

Above Images:  Left = Original Tracing of Mitten.  Right = Oringinal Tracing of Mitt.

Double-check, TRIPLE-CHECK all markings, then, immediately put the tissue pieces back in the original envelope for long-term storage.

As with the glove pattern in the previous post, this first tracing is now the original, exact copy, and will remain that way for reference.

A 2^nd tracing is made from the first:

NOTE:  Overall shape is “cleaned up” and all punch hole shapes are translated into modern-day labeling of grainlines, slash lines, and seam allowances.

AGAIN, VERY IMPORTANT: Before these tracings are shipped to Philip for testing, I make a copy of each for our records, and the possible “what if’s” to be prepared for when developing any new pattern.

Enjoy!

-Kathleen, In Oakland

Hand In Glove: Pattern Preservation and Re-use

Hello Readers!

As some of you may know, Philip and I are on a coast-to-coast adventure to appreciate and re-create gorgeous beautiful things from the past.
 
(And be sassy biz-natches the whole way!)

We have always shared a burning desire for custom-made gloves, ever since we saw Barbra slip them over her extra-long manicured nails in "Hello, Dolly".

Babs had gloves made with extra-long fingers to accommodate her beautiful hands in historical films like Hello, Dolly!, Funny Girl, and our personal favorite: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.

Glove patterns are pretty damn near impossible to find, but we got lucky when Philip found this little gem from 1940's wartime:



This old pattern journeyed from New York to California!

 I started the painstaking process of tracing and interpreting the tiny, fragile pieces.

Falling Apart:  Brittle directions page and glove pattern pieces for fingers and thumbs.

Close-up of the revision date in these hand-illustrated instructions.

Last revised: June 30, 1943!! 

My #1 goal throughout this process:  Preservation.  Do not cause any more damage to the pattern, instructions, or envelope.    Open and unfold all  paper as little as possible.    Minimize the folding/refolding and prolonged exposure to light or moisture.  

Don't forget to copy the front and back of the envelope!

When working with old patterns, often the instruction page(s) are in far-worse shape than the actual pieces. 

This is because pattern pieces are usually put away right after the fabric is cut, but the direction pages are often left out, and heavily handled throughout the entire sewing process.  

So, the first thing to do is copy the directions as quickly and carefully as possible.   As soon as you're done, fold the original back up and put away ASAP.

Sadly, the paper that these directions were printed on is so dry that it wanted to crumble and tear at the slightest touch! 
I opened the directions ONE TIME ONLY, and carefully copied all sides on the xerox machine to 11x17" paper.  

Before pulling out the pattern pieces, be sure to give those directions (the copy, of course) a good read-through.  Take note of any special markings or symbols.  Get to know the pieces through the pattern layout and instructions. 
I traced all pieces as they were, marking all punch holes and symbols: 

Patterns from this era were not printed on.  Labeling on pattern pieces was performed with a series of punch holes in different shapes and sizes. All the little circles, triangles, and squares represent grainlines, cut lines, slash marks, and pintucks, so it's very important to have those instructions as a key understanding all markings!

Some of the teenie-tiny pieces for the fingers were falling apart, so I had to machine copy, then re-draw.  (no pressure, RIGHT?!)

Once I double-check, then triple-check that all info has been properly captured,  I immediately put alllll the pieces back in the envelope. 

Now the old pattern can officially go back in its cool, dry, dark storage space :) 

This first tracing, as seen in images above, is the true original pattern.  I will keep it unchanged so I never have to pull out the old fragile pieces again.

Then, I trace a 2nd copy from the 1st unchanged tracing.

On this 2nd copy, I clean up the overall shape and "translate" the old pieces by changing the punch holes to clear printed labeling of the grainlines, seam allowance, details, and piece name.

This is where the pattern goes from copy to customize, and our own design adjustments are made!
Philip and I want to create a glove pattern with adjustable finger lengths.  So, I added a slash line through the fingertips of all pieces where length can be lengthend or shortene.  (BLUE LINE) 

Close-Up of revised pattern for the glove body.

Big Improvement:  All pieces for the finger insets and thumb, with grainlines, slash-marks, piece name, and seam allowance clearly labled. 
*All these pieces are so small they fit onto an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper.

 This fresh, new pattern, along with copies of the original instructions and envelope, are neatly packed in a clear plastic sleeve, and shipped post-haste back to Brooklyn for Philip to test out:

Philip will begin mocking up our new pattern, testing the fit and construction, and make notes of any changes or progress.

*VERY IMPORTANT:  In case of an emergency, I photo-copied our "New" pattern to keep record of changes, or go back to if needed.  When changing a pattern, it is very important to keep a "paper trail" of the progress, should you ever have to go back and start over.
Always plan for the "what if's"....

 Yay! 

 And here's another pic of Babs and her gorgeous nails....just for fun:

um.....WOOOOOOORK!!!

-Kathleen, In Oakland

Pattern Envelopes Are Filled With Love

           Hey there gang!  Since I'm waist deep in Halloween tranny-ness I thought I just share with you some vintage patterns I've found on Ebay.  I love fashion illustrations from the days of yore.  I don't own any of these patterns, but whoever won these auctions are probably a lot happier than they were before.

Oh Pauline!  Ms. Wintour has never looked happier!

Schiaparelli 3 piece suit.  There is no doubt why this one sold for over $100

Givenchy.  I love this design, how the skirt is gathered into a seam at the back.

Oh Anne!  You know I adore a peplum!

Philip - In Brooklyn

Les Vintages

So I was scouring Ebay this week to see what kinds of vintage patterns people currently have listed; when I came across a treasure trove of unparalleled magnitude!  The seller Ryphat has a multitude of French fashion magazines with sewing patterns in them.  Coutless issues of "Mode Universalle" and "Mode Illustree".  The kicker?  They date from the 1870s to the early teens!… You read right!  Some are original and some are reprints.  Either way, WHO CARES?!  If I had “Fuck You Money” I would buy every last one of them and stock pile my apartment like some loser from that show “Hoarders” on A&E, check your local listings.

The only reason I’m putting this link on here is so that you, my loyal readers, will purchase these and give them to me periodically as gifts; tokens of affection for how much you love me.   No buying them for yourself!  You can buy them for Kathleen.... BUT NO ONE ELSE!

Click here to buy me presents!

Philip - Brooklyn