Monday, February 11, 2013

1950s dress... killing a modern woman

I was so confident going into this project.  I had made multiple muslins, fine tuned the fit, and thoroughly developed my plan.  I made full pattern pieces for the front so that I wouldn't have to fold the very old and beautiful vintage fabric.  I carefully traced all markings to my underlining fabric so that I wouldn't have to worry about them transferring to the fashion fabric.  I used the underlining as pattern pieces and placed them meticulously on the brocade and then basted them at the edges to prevent any distortion.  I proceeded like this one piece at a time.  I made lovely bias cord trim for the neckline and waist seam detail.  I even swapped my beloved over-sized quilting pins for actual silk pins (they're impossible to find when you drop them).  I fully assembled the bodice before noticing "dang this thing looks small".  Then I compared it to my muslin and nearly shit my pants...

Not only is it small, it's tiny.  The muslin required a bit of adjustment at the shoulder seams to ensure the angles were correct to prevent distortion of the front and back bodice.  I had drafted them a bit long so that I would have enough to work with.  Apparently when I transferred the changes to the paper pattern I neglected to add seam allowances???  I'm assuming this is what happened because I have no other explanation as to why they are too short.  Of course this realization comes AFTER I've trimmed and clipped the heck out of the seams to get all four layers to pull through the narrow shoulders. When I realized this I nearly screamed, cried, and vomited all at the same time.  I think if they occur simultaneously you also spontaneously combust.

Also the front bodice piece is 1 inch smaller at the waist than the muslin.  The only thing I can come up with is that the damn muslin fabric stretched.  FUCK.  Mom, I hope you aren't reading this.  If you had seen how much prep work I had put in to ensure the antique unreplaceable fabric wouldn't be wasted, you would probably say worse.  I think my perfect fit is just wishful thinking at this point.  I'm gonna have to rip this baby apart and either piece the shoulders or let them ride high.  If I let out all the seams, it should *just* make the bodice large enough.  This makes me wonder, I did everything like I should for once, why is the universe punishing me?  Universe, you suck!  I'm having a cocktail

1 comment:

  1. Oh no!! I just found your blog via Stitch N Thyme - and this is the first post of yours I read. I feel your pain! Man, I think I need a drink after reading this. I might be hyperventilating a little. I hope this tale of woe ends well!

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