Not exactly Simplicity 1777

I've made Simplicity reissue 1777 (originally Simplicity 4463) three times. Each time, I've made various adjustments to make the dress more 1940s. The first time, I added length and shoulder pads, and attached the centre front bodice panel using a lapped seam. Subsequently, I changed from a centre back opening to a side opening (placket or zip) with a buttoned front neckline and added waist ties. But I've never tackled the really big difference - the shape and construction of the dress front. Until now.

In 1777 the bodice and skirt fronts are separate pieces, with the skirt cut on the fold and heavily pleated. In 4463 they are one piece, with a centre front skirt seam, and the skirt is flared - slightly at the front and more at the sides. There is a small amount of gathering around notch number 4, but no pleats.

Different approaches to the front

This is how the skirt pieces compare. The mauve tissue is 1777, cut to the same size as 4463.

Similar at the hem, but very different at the waist

The grainline of the bodice is significantly different in the original.

Both pieces laid along the grainline on my cutting board

Given the designers of 1777 only had the original illustration to work from, it's not hard to see where the confusion arose.

That skirt looks suspiciously well-gathered, all things considered

I was curious to see how these differences would work in practice, but as I have already made all the fit adjustments I need to my version of 1777, I didn't want to start again with 4463. Instead, I drafted a new front from my existing pattern pieces. I started off by laying the bodice and skirt pieces of 1777 together along the red lines.

All the pleating is in the centre section

Then I used the 4463 front piece to draft the skirt. Because I wasn't sure how well this would work, I went for the vintage approach of extra seam allowance in the side seams, making them 1" wide.

My pattern piece, ready to cut out

This is how the two completed fronts compare.

My first version of 1777

The current version - the gathering around the point is barely visible

Because the print is so busy, the skirt seam and the directional change on the bodice aren't at all obvious. I'll have to wait until the dress is completed to see what, if any, differences there are when the dress is worn rather than laid flat.