Possibilities: Back to our regularly scheduled programming . . . June 29, 2008 16:02 4 Comments
Simplicity 2925, Copyright 2008
Oh. Woe is me, she whimpered. I’ve nothing to wear, she sobbed. I know. You’ve heard it before. All of it. Start the violins. Bring out the tissues. (Cliché overload! Forgive me — I stayed too long at the ball this weekend. All right. No more clichés today. I promise.) But it’s true. Really. Saturday night, I wore an ancient but pretty royal blue linen dress made from a 1950s McCall pattern. Big skirt. Flares out like an umbrella when I whip a turn. It’s a favorite, and I love it. However, I have worn it so many times that I am sure the very sight of it elicits silent sympathetic murmurs from my fellow dancers.
Friday night, I wore what has become my ballroom dance uniform: jeans and a slinky knit top. So dull. More boring than rice pudding. So I decided I can’t lollygag any longer. I’ve gotta start sewing right away. I can’t face my pitiful, meager closet many more Friday nights. I can’t! Jeans and a knit top? No, no, no. Pizzazz. That's the way to go.
So. What do you think about this Threads/So Stylish number? The white dress, in the upper right hand corner. It’s current, so it’s not at all my style, but it looks like it would be a breeze to make and to make quickly. And hone my sewing skills, or perhaps develop my sewing skills would be more accurate. And the sooner I can sew a straight seam and handpick a zipper, the sooner I can start stitching up one of my beloved vintage patterns. In the meantime, would Threads let me down? Never!
Comments
jdk on May 20, 2015 12:08
To get you going faster, a tip to sew a straight seam: measure over from the sewing machine needle the number of inches for your seam width and place the edge of some masking tape the correct distance. There are even inch and mm. premarked tapes for this that can be bought at the store to stick on, and some of the face plates on recent machines have grooves for that already cut in. If your machine is older, see if the company offers a replacement face plate that has the grooves. When you get the line in place by whatever method, just run the edge of the fabric along the guide line and don’t watch the needle.
The white dress should be easy and lovely, but with a straight skirt perhaps not as versatile for dancing. After you make it, consider getting one of the new or used books out there on making patterns from finished clothes and use your favorite royal blue dress for a pattern. Or when it gets threadbare you can even cut it apart instead of throwing it away and use the pieces for a pattern—then you can enjoy versions of it forever in whatever fabrics you crave. In the meantime don’t be intimidated by a replacement from your stash of similar 50s short dress patterns. After you are comfortable doing the no-shape quickies, a 50s shirtwaist pattern, done sleeveless with a full skirt, is one of the best ways to learn to sew a fitted bodice before tackling set-in sleeves.
Sue Lamphere on May 20, 2015 12:08
Nice style, shouldn’t be too difficult, I think you’ll do OK with this one. As for sewing a straight seam – use vintage patterns, not vintage machines!! Loads of gadgets and gizmos to help you keep on the straight and narrow.
I’m off home to England tomorrow – and I expect to see a photo of your new dress when I come back……
Lacy on May 20, 2015 12:08
I am also learning to sew right now. I actually made a simple skirt that I am excited to wear. I made the famous “Walkaway” dress from 1952, but am not 100% thrilled with it, but have found some great suggestions on how to alter it to fix that. So that is in my to do pile. And I have managed to rekindled a friend’s desire to sew. She’s taken seamstress courses and used to sew a lot. But getting to my point she is making this dress as her 1st project… it’s been a couple weeks since I last talked to her and we were supposed to have our projects done for this weekend. So I will get to see how her’s turned out soon. It is a cute dress.
Pattern_Nut on May 20, 2015 12:08
If it’s not your style, I say pass this one up. You can find patterns that are your style and that would be fine for a novice sewer, with some guidance.