Ahhh...For the love of peter pan collars -- Simplicity 7852 (1968)

I picked View 2
(ABOVE)

I look happy, but I really just want to get
the pattern marking done so I can move on to actual sewing
(ABOVE)

Pinning(ABOVE)

TIRED, so tired...
(ABOVE)

Before sleeves, before hemming
(ABOVE)

Whew...It's been a busy busy last couple weeks. I've been sewing, but I'm behind in my posting (mostly because my husband and I have been too lazy to take the photos).

Time to crack that whip Devo-style.

Simplicity 7852 (1968) was a joy to construct. So few problems. So little bitching. I hardly recognize myself.

Making this dress, I decided to go with a white and navy blue color palette. I LOVE =peter pan collars (yep, I'm using caps locks to shout out how much I love them) and thought the dress would look adorable with the color scheme of a different view shown on the pattern (i.e. the view in the middle of the navy dress with the pointed collar).

After sleeves, before hemming

(ABOVE)

The tailoring went a lot better with this dress. I like the drape, but it skims the body too. I think I found a good balance there.

I also got a new toy this time around. I hated using a ruler to hand-draw my cut line for my hems, so I got this nifty tool. It's this weird do-hicky from Dritz that spurts chalk in a straight line where I set it to mark. It looks like a Victorian medical instrument but somehow it manages to work. Although, I did have some problems with the chalk clogging up and coming out messy. Not sure what the deal is there. That was annoying.
I got another product from Dritz that I hated and will never use again. I normally mark my patterns with chalk but decided to try a disappearing pen (i.e. blue for light colors, white for dark colors). The white hardly worked. The blue was so very annoying to remove. I had to wash the dress to get rid of the blue. This annoyed me, because the directions said a wet rag would work. I'm back to chalk marking...
So, there is one issue I'd like to discuss. I'm having this issue with long sleeve dresses. I'm not 100% pleased with the way my sleeves are sewn on. I follow all directions, but I feel like the shoulder seam should be more towards the middle of my shoulder. For some reason, the seam always lands at the far end, almost onto my arm itself (and this causes an uncomfortable fit in the armpit area). I'm not 100% fond of the look, because my shoulders are pretty broad, and I don't want them broader yet. The way the shoulder seams are landing, they tend to widen my shoulders. Not sure why this is happening? Could it have something to do with my adjustments at the side seams? Hmmm.....

You can sort of see the broad shoulder issue in this picture
(ABOVE)

Also, what's the deal with pattern sizing? I need some input on this. I had read that you should use your bust measurement to pick your size. I have a 36 bust, so I bought vintage patterns in that size. From the get-go, I've felt that the 36 bust size has produced results that are significantly too big. Not just a little too big, quite a bit too big. That's why I went a little "tailor-happy", I think. My results were so baggy; I tended to overcompensate. But I didn't really question my choice of a 36 bust, because I was terrified of making something that was too small. You can't make something too small bigger, although some men would beg to differ.

But, I have finally decided to try a 34 bust pattern, so I'm going to hope that it's perfect since the 36 is so big on me. I read something about "ease" in the pattern sizing. Does that mean that a 36 bust is closer to fitting a woman with a 38 bust? And that if the waist is listed at 28, it's more like a 30? My measurements are 36-26-36-- would a 34 bust accommodate me better? I'll know soon enough... I've got some 34 patterns in hand. It won't be the next dress and probably not the one after that, but it will be soon. Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger (ha).


Happy sewing adventures,
Astrid