Blog Social and Pattern Giveaway: Update

Hiya peops. So, as previously explained, I'm taking part in the Simplicity Patterns 'Get a Vintage Look' Blog Social and Giveaway. Upon receipt of the three patterns that are being given away my job was, along with four other talented sewer-bloggers, to make one of them and blog it on a specific day.

Except I got confused. When I was initially approached to take part in this, I thought that we had to make up each of the three patterns. So I delved into my fabric stash, waded around in there for awhile, and came up with some plans. By the time I figured out that actually I was only required to make one of the patterns, I had already got really into the plans for two of them. And seeing as I had sufficient time, I went ahead and made both anyway. Here's what I made...

First up is #2282. Initially my least favourite of the patterns, the view with the peplum really grew on me. I cut a size 12 for the bodice blending out to a size 14 for the hips/bum area. I also pinched 2cms out of the length of the bodice to allow for my short-waistedness.

the construction process for this pattern was quite interesting (have a go at making it and you'll see what I mean!) and it was something of a challenge at a couple of points. Particularly tricky was the stage where you join the side and back bodice to the centre front and skirt panels whilst trying to avoid catching the peplum section awkwardly.

I used some crazy black and gold matelasse/brocade-y stuff that I bought a fabric sale in San Francisco about five years ago. It's not as scratchy as it may appear! I think the stiffness of the fabric worked well, especially for the peplum, but I'm not sure it did the front pleats any favours. If I were to make this again, I'd probably try and remove either or both the front pleats, as I think the peplum detail would benefit from a smoother skirt underneath. I also brought the side seams of the skirt in to make it less A-line. I'd liked to have made the skirt even more pencil-shaped, but that would have involved making a back pleat or vent which I had run out of time and motivation for! All in all, I'm a fan of this garment which I've entitled the Super Hero dress!

Next up is what I think is the most obviously 'vintage' inspired of the three patterns: #2444.

This dress has some really nice elements to it which make it far more interesting than you standard bodice-and-full-skirt 1950's style pattern. It's tricky to tell from the front of the pattern envelope, but the bodice has some interestingly positioned darts which come up from the waist, and those are then echoed in the pleats which control the fullness of the skirt. As Lavender perceptively wrote regarding her creation, you could so easily get carried away with adding all the design elements these Project Runway patterns offer you. However, I was pretty adamant that it should be the waist bow OR the shawl collar, and I felt my fabric choice was more day-timey, so I went with the collar option, plus I didn't want to hide those cool darts with a big bow.

I know that I have some members of the sewing community would have expected a more nautical interpretation of this dress from me, and I'm sorry to disappoint! But know this: my love of nautical is almost matched by my love of African wax fabric! ESPECIALLY if the design features birds, or something mental like oysters, brooms or stilettos (and have seen and almost bought all three). This wonderful piece of fabric was given to me by my friend Anna who brought it back from her honeymoon in Ghana last year. This stunning dress by Cassie Louise taught me back in 2008 how good African wax fabric could look when made into, and somehow subverting, an overtly feminine 1950's silhouette.

I cut a size 12 bodice, folding only 1cm out of the bodice this time to account for my short-waisted issue. Seeing as it sits so high on the natural waist, I thought anymore might be too 'little girl's party dress'. I cut in between the size 12 and size 14 for the hips and beyond. The construction of this dress was pretty simple and would be a nice pattern for someone fairly new to sewing.

There are a few bits I dislike/would change/would have noticed if I could ever be arsed to make a toile. Firstly, I don't think it was necessary to design the pattern with a centre-front seam on the skirt. That was probably a measure for fabric economy, but I feel it is unnecessary and creates problems when using a printed fabric. Secondly, the back neck gapes a bit. I cannot be bothered to unpick the zip, facing and collar to adjust it, but I'd pinch out a couple of cms at the top CB blended down to nothing at the waist before making this again. Lastly, I think the pattern is a bit stingy around the top of the front bodice, making it quite tight across the front and difficult to raise your arms very high. You can kind of see the model on the pattern envelope is also afflicted by this issue. However, this probably wouldn't be a problem if you made a sleeveless version.

I am really into this dress though. I think the length is perfect for me (I'm 5ft 5") and I don't feel too much like a bridesmaid, which I often do in full skirts.

I'll do a more analytical blog post for each of these creations in the near future. But enough of my warbling for now! Head over and see what the other ladies in this blog hop have to show you. Suzannah made a delicate beige day-dress from #1913, Sunni turned the same pattern into an elegant, office-appropriate, rust coloured delight and Lavender rocked that pattern hard into an uber-versatile and fun piped chambray affair whilst bustin' her mama's stash in the process! We'll have to wait a little longer until 10th April to see what that talented chica Tilly makes of all this!