1940’s Skirt

This is the pattern I am using

This little skirt with the same front and back piece is proving to be challenging.  I thought I needed to add a little bit around the hips based on the hip measurement on the envelope.  Good idea?  Nope because I forgot to re-measure myself.  All the running I have been doing has whittled an inch or so off of my hips.  Yay!  But I had already added to the skirt and cut the fabric.  Oops!

Second problem is the back piece is the same as the front piece and that does not seem to be working for me.  I would like to blame the rather stiff fabric.  But nope, can’t do that!  When I try on the skirt, the front looks great and the back looks like a big old bubble. Because I assume I did something wrong to one piece, I flip the skirt around, since the front is the back, and but it is the same thing – front looks nice and there is just too much fabric in the back.

Nice blue.  If only I can make this work
for me!

I do not know what you do in these situations, but I just throw the project aside and think about starting something new.  Some thoughts have occurred to try and fix the situation.  Both pieces have gathers on either hip so it does not seem as if a dart could be added.  What I may do instead, since I added about 2 inches to the width of the skirt is cut the back up the middle and put in a seam with the hopes of manipulating the seam to get a better fit.

Do you think this will work?  I have only a few days to finish my April skirt.

When Sewing Machines Attack

It wasn’t my regular sewing machine.  It wasn’t even this one; but it was a similar machine.  I had never used the machine before.

It was my second machine which I had never used before; bought as a spare at a garage sale so that I would always have one available.  I was sewing with friends.  Just before the attack, one of my friends noted that this machine sounded very angry.  You know what…it did sound angry.

Little did I know how angry.

A few minutes later, I had my head down lining up a seam and my foot, almost unconsciously pressed on the foot pedal.  I did not mean to press on the pedal at the time.  Why I did, I have no idea.

What happened.  I was too close.  The bit that goes up and down (yes, that is some high tech sewing jargon for you) went up into my forehead.  On this machine, unlike my regular machine, it actually come out of the machine, a little way but enough if you have no idea it is going to happen.  It came out and into my forehead.

Pain first, then blood.  A head wound or maybe a head slice is a better description which leads to lots and lots of blood.  I just sat there, unable to really move with blood streaming down my face. 

Thank goodness I was not alone!  My friends jumped to with paper towels and bandages.  Lots of bandages.

Needless to say my sewing weekend came to a grinding halt!  Yup, no more sewing.  I am now back home with my regular machine but still a little gun shy!  A couple of friends blamed the incident on Skynet.

The Skirt with One Piece

Next up is Du Barry 5551 with a copyright date of 1943.

Unfortunately, this pattern was
in this condition when I
purchased it.  I wonder what
ate the envelope

I wanted to give this skirt a try to see if I liked it because I wanted to make a little summer suit with this pattern.  Also, I am running out of time to make my April skirt.

See, one main piece.  Odd!  I get the
need to save fabric but this does not
do that

Turning the pattern over, imagine my surprise when there is just one piece for both the front and back of this skirt.  Let me explain, the same pattern piece is both the front and the back.  Wait….there is a waistband so two pieces.  But the important bit is just one piece.

   Huh?  Really?  How is this going to work

Jerry Parnis Dress in Action

First off a big thanks to KM for giving me hints on how to research Jerry Parnis.  I am still searching for more information.  KM suggested that I focus on the different trade names used by Jerry Parnis.  It appears that she used quite a few over the years.  Though, I am still wondering why I can find no obituary or something of that nature.

Also, a thanks to Gwen on her kind comment!!

Gotta love the wind!
Maybe I will skip the tennis
shoes next time

I finished the Brown Leaves Dress aka the Jerry Parnis dress just in time for a weekend getaway.  Well, just barely.  I like the dress….a lot. 

Some thoughts:  This was a really comfortable dress to wear; I wore it all day Sunday.  However, I need more buttons down the front because dress kept flipping open in the wind so that my slip was on view.  Not a great look!  I plan on adding more buttons

The pattern

Also, the pockets are problematic.  The best way to describe them is they do not sit just right.  I know this is user error because I have only put in one other set of pockets and they were wonky as well.  I need to work on this.

There is also some gaping.  I think I need to place the button holes closer to the edge of the right front because the front would flip over a little when I moved around.  This drove me nuts.  It was really just at the waist so a few snaps might save the day!  Or maybe some fabric tape.

I also may add some embellishments on the bottom of the skirt.  When I conceived this idea, I thought some brown stripes made on the bias would pull the whole dress together.  I ran out of time to add the bias stripes for the past weekend but in looking at the picture really think it would add to the dress.

This will be a dress that is perfect for wearing around on the weekends! 

Facings Face Plant

Apparently facings confuse me and are not my friend.  Also, I apparently am still unable to read pattern directions or simply have problems with reading comprehension.  Something is wrong.

There I am working on the Brown Leaf Dress, moving along well at the snail's pace that I prefer.  The very first direction given says to attach the front facing.  I did that.  Moving on....the dress is all sewn together; adjustments have been made.  The dress ….well….it looks like a dress.  So, I decide to take that step I really hate to take….. trim around the neckline and clip.  I do that and boy does that neckline sure look nice!

Then....the next instruction says to attach front facing to back facing...what???  The front facing is already sewn in but the instruction shows that it is not sewn in.  What??  I have already trimmed and clipped it.  What to do?

I then have to pick out everything I have done with facings and start over.  This means, I have to put it back together with a smidgen of a smidgen of a seam allowance left after my surgery to the neckline.  Blah...this is so frustrating.  And ah the hubris....as I was trimming and clipping I was so proud that I was actually doing this instead of ignoring this instruction and the difference the trimming and clipping made to the neckline.  I typically skip the trimming and clipping bit because I am scared to do this because what if I need to make changes later on.  This experience has just reinforced my fear.

Here it is with all the facings catch-stitched
into place

With a new day, I went back and re-read the instructions….this is where reading comprehension is so important (really, I don’t think I have though in terms of reading comprehension since High School which was a very long time ago.  But in re-reading the instructions, the first instruction dealt with only the interfacing, NOT THE FACING.  The facing and interfacing are from the same pattern piece it makes me wonder if all I did was look at the picture without really reading the instruction?!

So when it is all said here is the dress with facings AND collar attached.

Who is Jerry Parnis?

See, it even has a picture of her.
Why can I not find more information about her
and her dresses?

Advance 7065 is an American Designer pattern and the designed of the pattern is Jerry Parnis. 

My search has uncovered that she is the sister of designer Mollie Parnis  (who is quite well known and there is a good deal of information about her), and the sister of Peggy Parnis, a lingerie designer.  She was married to Ben Cahane and worked under the label of Jerry Parnis, Incorporated which manufactured moderately priced dresses.

There must be more information out there but I cannot find it.  I would love to see more of the designs she created.

Interfacing: Sew In v. Fused

I have been reading a lot on blogs about interfacing.  Its time for my 2 cents.

I have always used the iron on interfacing.  It always made me nervous; it also seemed either too heavy or too thin for the fabric in question.  I am lucky, I never had an accident with it nor has it seemed to have shrunk. 

However, after everything I have been reading lately, I went out and bought some sew in interfacing.  I must say, I quite enjoyed using this on the brown leaf dress: both collar and front piece are interfaced.  I felt like I had more control over what was happening rather than just holding my breath and wishing for good things which is what I would do with the iron in interfacing.

So, yes I am a convert.

It looks lopsided but it really isnt!
It is just this photo.

Speaking of interfacing - I have been working on the collar for the brown leaf dress.  Here it is basted on:

Line Backer Shoulders

Apparently I have these.  

A week Saturday, I went to a class on making an Edwardian waist using a book based on a ruler system (it sounds more difficult than it was).  When it came time to fitting the muslin, out of a class of about 20 students, only 2 experienced extreme fitting problems.  My luck….I was one of the fitting problems.

However, I did learn a lot.  First, I was told that I have broad shoulders….that is only in comparison to my allegedly small waist.  Who knew, because I do not consider my waist on the small side.  I would say it is average.  The focus was on the large differential between waist and shoulders which cause all of my fitting problems.

Remember, that civil war bodice that I have temporarily given up on?  Yup, the fitting issues there are exactly the same.  When the teacher went through and explained how to make the muslin fit, it was downright enlightening.  Really, a light bulb went off and explained so much.  The need to take out inches from side seams was due, as explained to me, to the waist/shoulder differential.

Dress prior to making changes

I learned that a center back seam will assist in fitting this issue without having to make crazy alterations to side seams.  You can bet that civil war bodice is now going to have a back seam.   As you can well imagine, big darts are also my friend!

With the Brown Leaf Dress as I am calling Advance 7065, as I was making it up I found that it was really not fitting through the bust and waist.  Here I was worried about an FBA and it is too big in that area.  Part of this is caused by the dreaded waist/shoulder differential.  So I made some changes to the seams around the waist and low bust area also increasing the darts in these area.

Take a look at this:

Original dart highlighted in blue.
New dart highlighted in purple.  Wow!
That is some difference!!!!

Original seam line highlighted in blue.  The new seam
line in purple.  Take a look at that difference! 

Seriously the darts are an inch width on one side for a total of two inches removed in the waist area from 2 darts on each side.  That’s a whopping 4 inches on each side.  Did I make any changes to the shoulders?? Nope….they fit quite nicely. 

Sewing can be crazy making but you can never say it is dull!

Diving In

This really says Fall rather than
Spring with all the brown leaves

Still dithering over the princess seam FBA.

I did a pin fitting…definitely one of the pluses of using the soil separator for patterns.  I sewed it up and tried it on.  It seemed to fit.  Seriously not too tight  at all.

So I think I need to take a deep breath and just go for it.  The fabric was not expensive so why not?

I am still afraid of the princess seams.

Fear

So this is the pattern I would like to work on. 

Why am I afraid of this pattern?

Two things are stopping me: 1. bound buttonholes and 2. princess seam FBA.  These techniques scare me. 

I know I can skip the bound buttonholes and just make regular one.  But no matter how you slice it, I will need to make an FBA on the princess seams.  I spent yesterday dithering around looking in my sewing books and online for assistance making a FBA on the princess seams.  All this research and I found a variety of ways to make the FBA and am not utterly confused.  I have rather decided the FFRP method is not for me.  It would increase the rest of the dress unnecessarily.  The Reader’s Digest Sewing book just has you draw bigger curves in the bust area which is a better idea because it focuses on the problem area but the question is how much bigger?

I think I will be doing the Sandra Betzina method of increasing the bust area with princess seams.

Why is this so confusing?  Does anyone have a favorite way of doing an FBA on a princess seam dress??

What I Did Over the Weekend

 While the rain poured down and down and down, I was working on a little revamping of my black and white ball gown for a ball Saturday night.  Some was busy work like finishing the inside of the bodice.  I also added some additional trim and re-bustled the back.

After

After

After

After

Before

Before

I am not sure if I like the extra trim down the front to hide the quick draping.  I to think about it more.  When I did it, I like it….a lot.  But now it looks like a disconnect happening.  Maybe if I continued it around the bottom of the overskirt?  Not sure. 

I do think the back bustling looks better though. 

Before

I ran out of time, so still no buttons!

Is It Spring Yet??

Tropical breezes, heat and a drink
with an umbrella are needed for this
fabric.

That’s what went through my mind when I found this fabric in the remnant bin a few days ago.  

Actually what happened is that I squealed and the guy in the store told me I was a naughty girl out shopping for fabric when most people were in watching what was happening in Japan.  Great, nice guilt trip dude!

But seriously, I scored almost 4 yards of this polished cotton, Robert Kaufman fabric.  I love the combination of turquoise and brown – really one of my favorites. 

Now I need a special dress pattern for this.  I am thinking 50’s but may have to go a little smaller on the skirt since I do only have almost 4 yards.

I do love remnant bins.  They can be overwhelming but the treasures.  With this purchase, I also picked up a teeny bit more than a yard of purple velvet and about 4 yards of a lavender cotton that I need for a lining material.  All this for $6.  This place charges by the pound.  Yes, gotta love those remnant bins.

Perfect for a Chilly Day

After a bright and sunny week, it has turned positively chilly in these parts.  I need to turn the heat back on.  However, it is perfect for the completed Very Easy Vogue 9311.  It really is very easy and makes a really nice skirt.  Definitely an instant gratification skirt.  I really need to shorten the pattern though, it was still about 2 1/2 inches longer than I would have liked. 

You can see the little darts I put into the skirt to fix my stretching of the fabric.

The fabric is warm and goes nicely with my navy sweater which is definitely needed today.

I lined it….a quick look.

I ran into a problem hemming this skirt.  I hemmed it a couple of days ago but I didn’t think about how think the fabric is.  It was too thick for my basic turned over hem which is, of course, what I did.  After it was done, I took a look and UGH it was horrible.  So I ripped out the hem, applied hem lace to the bottom and did it all over again.  Success!!!!

Now onto bigger and better things and hopefully the return of warmer weather.

Fabric Regrets?

Does anyone else have them?  I have to admit I don’t have a lot of them but the ones that exist are HUGE!!

Recently, I was going through the old bins o’fabric and found this:

It is really a richer darker olive green but scratchy!

I have had a lot of trouble photographing it.  It is a great olive green color and boy do I have tons of this fabric.  60 inches wide and 5 yards of it.  But what was I thinking?

It is a knit, a scratchy hard knit at that plus it has all those holes.  I don’t even sew with knits. What was I thinking????  How could I have thought I would be using this for anything?  Was I delusional that day?  Must have been because I can think of nothing…absolutely NOTHING…to do with this fabric!

Do you think washing it might soften it up?  Still, what to do with this?

There is a Reason for Stay Stitching

I have always blindly followed the instructions for stay stitching and never really thought about why there is a need for stay stitching.  I don’t, usually, man-handle my fabric.  I tend to try not to pull it out of shape.

But you know….the one time I do not stay stitch…….it was the one time I needed to stay stitch.

So picture this:  A simple skirt, 3 pieces including the waistband.  At this point, is there any need to look at the pattern instructions?  Sew up the sides, install a zipper and put on a waistband.  If desired, also add in a lining. Easy peasy.  At least it should be.

But what did I do?  Or maybe the question is how exactly did I screw up this time.

See that excess fabric?
That is how much it stretched.

I cut out the 2 skirt pattern pieces for forgot to mark which was the front.  Usually I can tell. This time, the pieces are almost identical.  So there is that mystery.  Then I sew up the pieces (but did not stay stitch the waist) but did not leave a big enough opening, or so I found, to put the skirt on my teeny tiny dress forms.  I guess while trying to put the skirt on the dressform, I stretched the waist of what I believe to be the front of the skirt.  Really….did I even think about what I was doing?  Nope, nada, no way… or at least not until matching up the lining and it did not work.  Go back to the pattern pieces and yup…it is all stretched out.  Not a lot, but enough.

So what to do?  I am making some darts in the front of the skirt. They are little darts, just enough to take in the stretched out bit.

Lesson learned:  I need to think before acting.

Disappointing February

I usually do not do a month end wrap up; however, February deserves note.  Why?  Because this has been an utterly unproductive sewing month for no apparent reason.

Yes, the Civil War Dress (still unfinished) sucked the life out of me.  Too time consuming and when the event was cancelled, it was thrown aside so quickly it could have resulted in an injury.  When it was thrown aside, so was all of my desire to sew.  Seriously, I have sat and looked at my machines. I have looked at patterns and fabric.  I even choose a pattern.   Alas, I had no desire to move any farther than taking the fabric to the washing machine to prep it.

I am blaming the weather for the lack of sewing.  The rain gets to me and there was sufficient rain to play the blame game with.  Yes, this is me grasping at straws.

The positive is that it is now March and Vogue 9311 was cut out tonight. 

A little fuzzy but you get the idea

Here is the fabric.

It is hard to see but the colors are navy, khaki and white.  It is a super soft fabric and it seems like it will be nice and warm.  I have no idea what kind of fabric it is; one of the downsides of pulling it out of the clearance box of fabric. 

I did do a little fabric shopping last weekend.  I only bought some lining fabric and fabric to make muslins.  But I did fall in loved with a purple/grey silk taffeta which was also in a bargain barrel.  $8 a yard but you had to take all they had.  I did not buy it but I may go back on Saturday to see if it is still there.  If it is…..well then the universe MUST be telling me to buy it. 

Palate Clearing Project

The Civil War Dress has been one of the most frustrating sewing experiences for me.  And heavens, it is not even done!

Let's hope there is truth in
advertising and it is Very Easy

I need something quick and hopefully a whole lot easier right now.  Something that I can finish with minimal or no fitting issues.  You know, a project that allows me to reign supreme over fabric and machine.  Yes, something that can be accomplished with no tears!

So I give you my new project.  Yes, a skirt that is labeled “Very Easy.”  This Vogue is from the late 70’s.  I know, this is as big a departure for me as the dreaded Civil War Dress.  However, the pattern has only 3 pieces including the waistband!  This seems very easy indeed.


The plan is to make either View A or B.  The views are the same the only difference being the length of the skirt.  Since I am so short, I fear a View A (the shortest) will be the equivalent to View B ( the next shortest) on me.

First There Were Tears And Then The Rain Came

Tears, yes there were a lot of tears along with a melt down or two.  The bodice of the Civil War dress was the cause.  This bodice is one of the most frustrating I have ever encountered.  I have done 2 muslins and still the fit is not right. 

Get this: after the first muslin I had to do the following

1.  Remove an inch from the back

2.  Remove a 1/2 inch from each seam of the side

3.  Add in 1 inch in the front

4. Remove 3 inches from the sleeve.

After the second muslin I have to do the following:

1. Remove a 1/2 inch from one seam in the side

2. Add another inch on the front.

Hey at least the back and the sleeves were fixed on the first go around. This process was so frustrating!  The event was fast approaching.

So boy was I excited when the prediction was 100% chance of rain for Saturday, the day I needed the outfit.  My tears of frustration became tears of joy!  Not one of my friends wanted to cross the weather man and our attendance was cancelled.

I have not finished this outfit.  I now don’t need it until the fall!  Maybe the third muslin will be right?  I don’t know and I certainly no longer care.  Yes, there is a bit of pride involved.  I do have to finish it ….sometime.  But for now a break is in order so I can regain some feeling of sanity.

A Skirt

More quick and easy because I am starting to panic.  My muslin of the bodice was horribly off.  So I put that aside to do a quick and easy skirt. 

Same method as the petticoat with the plans to put on a waistband.

It looks short on the dress form but the skirt nicely skims the ground when I am wearing it ‘cause I am really short!  I love that the skirt only has one seam in it.  I suppose I should have cartridge pleated the top.  I only pleated it and will have to do a bit of stack pleating in the back of the skirt.

I need to finish the
petticoat.

You can see that I have still not added the final ruffle to the petticoat.  Ouch…that hoop is noticeable on the bottom.

The only plus is that it looks like it may rain on Saturday because I am not sure that I will be able to finish a bodice that fits in time.

I think all this rushing is making me not like the outfit one bit.  If it does rain this weekend, I probably will not need this outfit until fall/winter of this year.  Plenty of time to get it done then!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I hope everyone out there is spending their day letting the important people in their lives how much they mean to you!  I plan on doing this and hopefully not having another sewing meltdown.