Trapeze Act

 

Simplicity 7335 is a pattern that I've been searching for on eBay for a while and finally managed to get a copy in the right size.  As you can see it looks gorgeous on the model-sized model in the illustration, so is sure to look great on me - right?

 

The problem with trapeze dresses is that they have the teeniest tendency to look like maternity dresses on anyone with boobs - sad but true.  So while I'm quite pleased with how it turned out I think I may have to save it for actual pregnancy.

 

 

It's not an easy pattern, I was a little baffled by the inset pleat at the front, which is sewn in behind the front of the dress, which is then ripped open!  I'm always happy with a bow though.

Two-Tone Adventures

My last project was an excellent 1960s pattern purchased from eBay some time ago, McCalls 2083. I've been too chicken to try this one in the past, worried that my sewing skills weren't up to the job.



For the first time in my life I actually made a dress using PROPER measurements and I am very pleased with the results!



To start with I made a test-drive of this dress using some cheap material that I bought in a charity shop in two shades of purple.

However this mock-up highlighted certain problems:

- The pattern is a little large for me in the bust and small in the hips (or I am)

- The curves on the front are very hard to sew without little puckers appearing at the joins

So, in my second version I actually cut the fabric allowing for the difference in measurements and then sewed the front and back together with a tacking stitch and tried it on, then slightly altered before sewing it together properly - the result was MUCH more wearable.

In the second version I also added the optional pockets, but decided rather than plain to opt for one side in the plain and one in the patterned fabric, which gave a pleasing effect of contrast pocket flaps. I also added a covered button to the front - et voila!

VADS

I stumbled across this site whilst googling Federico Forquet, the designer of the afore-mentioned GLP (Great Lost Pattern). This amazing archive covers a wide variety of subjects, but the London College of Fashion’s archives are the most interesting to me.









I could spend all day browsing this and drooling over impeccable tailoring - check it out.

Existence is Futile

Oh my god! Thanks to my good friend Natalie OGL I've found a photo to prove the existence of the pattern. Unfortunately it's on a site that wants to sell it for $75! What a dilemma!



But why? WHY would you ruin such a fabulous dress by accessorising it with a hat that looks like a turd?

The Lost Pattern

I've been searching in vain for The Great Lost Pattern - a pattern that I have obviously thought about making SO many times that I have managed to convince myself that I owned it, when in fact, I don't.

The pattern in question is a Vogue pattern from the late '60s - possibly Vogue Paris, possibly Vogue Couturier - the designer might be Pucci, then again it might not. It's a sleeveless shift dress with a starburst pattern radiating out from the centre - I can picture it so clearly - the photograph of the dress on the front is rendered in two shades of brown.

Not only can I not find the pattern that I imagined that I owned, but now I can't even find a picture of said pattern on t'interweb - even after trawling through Vintage Pattern Wiki! So perhaps I imagined not only my ownership of this pattern, but also it's very existence.

A most depressing state of affairs.

Oh well - in my travels I came across several other Vogue patterns that I am now desperate to own. Some of those are Pucci too!







None of them bear the slightest resemblance to the missing pattern though. The search continues...