1930 Evening Gown Part 2

What a busy couple of days I have had!

I went to Swannanoa, VA on Saturday, where we found this old mansion summer home a railroad baron built in the 1910's. It's the sister building of the Maymont building in Richmond, VA. I'll post some pictures later after I've gone through them.

I am still crocheting my mother's shawl. Two more skeins to go!


And then there's the dress.
Ah, how sewing brings out the best and the worst in you. I finished putting together the skirt of the mock-up Sunday.
I basted all the seams to that I could be sure it was big enough. Then I undid one of the seams to that I could attach it to the top half of the dress.

Or try to.

I had to make the top 8" wider than the original pattern (4" on the front, 4" on the back).

However, we weren't sure how we needed to add those 8 inches to the skirt, so I cut it out using the original pattern. Putting the top to the bottom revealed how the 8 inches were distributed across the top, and how that affected the 4 pieces of the skirt. My mom and I spent over an hour Sunday evening actively discussing how to fix this.

The Front Panel needed nothing added to it. It just sits in the very front, and the side panels need to be visible from the front, as shown here.

The 4" increase of the Front Top was added to the Side Panels and the 4" increase of the Front Back was added to the Back Panel of the skirt.

On Tuesday I cut out the extra paper for the pattern and the extra fabric for the mock-up. The increases worked!

I have a neat striping effect on the skirt of the mock-up. The summer dress I am going to make out of the mock-up will definitely look different from the final evening gown.

The mock-up has not been put together completely, just enough for me to see that the increases worked and when pinned together, fit me. So here's a not-so-awesome picture of the WIP. It looks better than the picture suggests.

I need a dress model. This would be easier to sew if I had a dress model. I have started to make one out of duct tape, but need to make the support structure for it. I considered buying one, but I like the idea that the duct tape one really will match me. Most of those manufactured models have small breasts and no butt! Plus, you can't pin anything to most of the more affordable models. There are cloth ones, but those are very expensive.

On Sunday, I bought my gown fabric at the new Jo-Ann's on Midlothian. It's so pretty! I'll take a picture after I iron it.

1930 evening gown WIP

I decided to take a picture of the WIP for the evening gown. The dress pattern was recreated from a 1930 dress with a 34" bust, so I had to resize it using cheap cotton material. The material will be used to cut the pieces of nice material instead of the original pattern (plus the original pattern lasts longer if I want to make more dresses). I have all of the pieces of cheap material cut out and am working on creating a working pattern with them. My mother helped me fit the bodice to me, and now I have to baste everything together to make sure it works.

Then I can buy the fabric for the actual gown. After the gown is done, I'll turn the pattern pieces into a green summer dress with straps instead of the sleeves or yoke.

People were shorter back then, so I did not have to adjust the height of the pattern at all for my petite frame! Most modern patterns are too tall for me, even the "petite" patterns.

I love the vintage pattern lending library

If you are into steam punk or vintage clothing, the vintage pattern lending library is a great source for patterns. They sell original patterns and recreated patterns from the 1860's to modern patterns.

I am currently working on the 1930 Evening Gown with Ruffled Sleeves. I don't know if I'll add the flowers.

Tweedle Dumb

I like Moda Dea fashion yarns in general. Bamboo Wool, Fashionista, Sassy Stripes. They are generally fun yarns.

Except Tweedle Dee. Tweedle Dee is a beautiful and wonderfully soft yarn, but it is a pain to work with. I think it is overwound or something, because it starts to coil after a few stitches unless I let the stuff unwind regularly. Unwinding takes longer than crocheting does. I am taking easily 3 times longer to make a shawl for my mother than I should be.

But it is so pretty! I am using the Blue Heather, and the colors fade into each other so well. The picture from the Moda Dea website doesn't do it justice.

I just won't buy it again. I am ready for a more agreeable yarn.