Dad

I feel that there hasn't been much actual sewing on this blog lately. I alluded to the reasons for this when I made my tie-on pockets, but this week seems like the time for more explanation. My father has been increasingly ill with heart failure for some months and on Monday he died, very peacefully, in his sleep and in his own bed. After several periods in hospital, with little or no visiting allowed due to Covid restrictions, he just wanted to be at home. Thanks to the wonderful support provided by Severn Hospice, Mum and I were able to achieve this.

Although my mum crops up quite often in my posts (usually as the provider of vital fitting information and fixes for sewing fails), Dad has rarely done so. But he's been a huge influence in my life. I owe my creative abilities to both my parents - Dad was a skilled railway modeller - and my left-handedness solely to him. Albeit more by accident than design, I followed his career path of a geography degree and a working life in I.T. Dad could also be relied upon for practical things such as making the template for my hexagons quilt, and teaching me how to wire a plug*. Even quite recently, he was advising me on how to design a database for some research I want to do. I shall miss him more than I can say.

Dad and me, August 1967

Sewing will definitely be taking a back seat for a while, as I support Mum and deal with all the admin. (So. Much. Admin.) But happily for me, Marie and Kerry are hosting #SewVintageSeptember again, so I'm hoping that will inspire me to pick up my needle once more next month.


* - When I was younger, electrical appliances were often sold without a plug, just with a length of cable sticking out. You bought the plug separately (usually from Woolworths, as I recall), and attached it yourself. In the summer before I went to university Dad sat me down and informed me that he was going to show me how to do this, and that I was going nowhere until I could demonstrate that I could safely attach a plug to any kettles, lamps etc. that I might be buying once I'd left home!

Seven decades ago

I've had no time for any sewing at all this week, so instead, I'm looking at another of my old copies of Vogue Pattern Book. This one is the August/September 1951 issue, so is exactly 70 years old.

The change of seasons is the main theme of the issue, although there are a few other articles. The first, and longest, feature is titled "Summer into autumn", and features patterns for 'town clothes' in crêpe, satin, silk jersey, wool jersey, faille, and sheer silk. One of the suggestions for wool jersey, 7444, is also the cover image.

Vogue Pattern Book, August-September 1951

I must admit that one of the first things I noticed about the cover was the puckered crown of the hat (once a hatmaker, always a hatmaker). On the photograph inside the magazine, however, the puckers have mysteriously vanished. I wonder if the black and white version had been tinkered with a little, but it was too complicated to do the same with the colour image?

The miraculously improved hat

Amid the choices for silk jersey, 7228 is described as "For the older woman". Even though Mrs Exeter had been appearing in Vogue for a couple of years by 1951, it seems as though she hadn't yet made her way into the pattern book.

L to R - 7352, 7362, 7228

There are no references to older women in the four-page feature "Designed to be slimming", and nor are there any illustrations of figures which might need such help. 7443 is described as "particularly flattering to the not-very-slender", which prompted my mum to comment, "She looks pretty blooming slender to me already"!

L to R - 7443, S-4214

The 'Vogue's-eye view' of fashion is also apparent in a short piece on the 1951 National Sewing Contest. One section of this was won by Mrs Irene Basford of Birkdale, who made up a Vogue Paris Original Schiaparelli pattern, 1098.

1098, taken from Pinterest. Photographed in Paris, of course!

Either Mrs Basford was publicity-shy, or she was not considered Vogue material, as the photograph of her wearing her creation is severely cropped.

The mysterious Mrs Basford

Returning to the autumnal theme, "Now - and later" features clothes which can be worn with or without a coat, as the weather cools.

Colourful images for autumn . . .

. . . and a more restrained palette

These include S-4214 "specially designed on softer lines for the older woman" and 7414 which creates "an illusion of slimness for the not-so-slender".

L to R - 630, S-4214, 7414

The feature "Packing for an autumn holiday" offers suggestions for suits, separates, and dresses for sightseeing.

Holiday suits

The green dress in the centre of the right page looked familiar, although the fabric suggestion of shantung is far more formal than the seersucker I used for my version.

Holiday separates and dresses

Also on the side of formality, the final packing suggestion is an evening dress - something which I have never needed on any holiday, at any time of year!

Never part of my packing plans

Vogue Pattern Book readers seemed to attend a lot of cocktail parties, if the number of cocktail dresses and related clothes featured in the issue is anything to go by. Among others, 7155 is described as a jacket "for cocktails or evening wear", while 7208 and 7391 are cocktail dresses in faille and taffeta respectively. That all three appear in a section on maternity wear suggests that pregnancy, like a lot of other things, was very different 70 years ago!

For the cocktail-quaffing mother-to-be (don't try this at home!)

New Look 6594 - battling on

I've not had much time for sewing this week, and what little I have had has not been a soothing experience. New Look 6594 still feels like the dress that doesn't want to be made. I took the bodice toile for a second opinion, and Mum confirmed my suspicion that the shoulder seam needed to be shortened by about ½". Very odd, given that the sleeves of New Look 6093 (which I was wearing at the time, to show Mum the finished article) are fine, and I assume that both patterns are from the same sloper. Anyway, I redrew the upper armscye, and lengthened the sleeve head to compensate.

Shoulder-fitting mysteries of New Look!

Then it was on to the dreaded skirt. I left the front as it was, but at the back I added some extra width and a second set of waist darts, to accommodate my sway back. And . . . it worked! The end result might be over-generous if I make the pattern up in a stiff cotton, but in the drapey viscose I'm using for this version, it should be fine. Another possibility would be to not sew the darts at all, but leave them as soft pleats instead. New Look patterns are always short on me (or possibly, just designed for people who wear their skirts shorter than I do), so I ended up with a skirt length somewhere between views A and C.

Going between floor length and New Look's idea of knee length

I machine-basted a spare zip into the toile, so that I could check how easily I could get the thing on and off. The zip I used was slightly longer than the one recommended on the pattern (40cm/16" instead of 35cm/14") and this definitely made things easier, and did away with the need to add a front opening.

It's been a battle to get a pattern I'm happy with, but worth the effort. I also felt much better once I discovered that I wasn't alone in my struggles; other people have come close to giving up with this design as well.

Nancy modelling toile number two

The fabric I planned to use was one of my UseNine2021 choices, and had been bought as a remnant. It turned out to be 133cm/52" wide which, along with my between-views skirt length, meant that I had to devise my own cutting layout. Not a problem, I thought, I do this all the time. Then I took a close look at the fabric.

Rude words were said

It had obviously warped during the printing process, and the horizontal element of the design is off-grain. The photograph shows one of the worst areas, but the sloping effect is not consistent across the full width of the fabric - and in one place it even briefly slopes in the opposite direction! Because it's such a drapey fabric, I decided to risk ignoring the crosswise grain, and work with the pattern instead. I cut across the full width following a line of the motifs, and laid it out on my cutting table, ready to start pinning on the pattern pieces.

More rude words were said

Those weird bubbles won't go away, no matter how much I try to smooth them down. It's some sort of manufacturing fault, and as a result it is impossible to keep the rows of the design horizontal, even across a single pattern piece. This clearly explains why it was being sold as a remnant - a case of 'buyer beware'!

Wisely or not, I've decided to carry on. I do really like the pattern, and am already thinking about versions I could make with other fabrics in my stash. So I'm treating this version as a wearable (albeit only at home) toile, and using it as a way to fully test the design, and to liberate some problematic fabric from my stash at the same time.

Toiles and trouble

New Look 6594 feels like the dress that doesn't want to be made. It has been 'next on my list' twice, and was knocked back by this and this. And right now, I'm wishing that something else would come along to make it third time unlucky.

It all looks so simple . . .

Even though I use New Look patterns a lot, I knew that I had to make a toile for at least the bodice for this one - with the V neck and two-part bodice front there was just too much that could go wrong. I decided to go back to basics and make the toile direct from the pattern, without my usual short torso adjustments.

The bodice pieces

As expected, it was too long, and also as expected, the amount varied - 5cm/2" at the centre back and 2.5cm/1" at the centre front. The neckline was fine, though. I had intended to just shorten the back and midriff pieces (2 and 3), but there seemed to be some odd excess at side of bodice top, so I also shortened that a little by adjusting the curve.

The first toile, modelled by Nancy

Bodice adjustment

I made a second toile with these adjustments, plus a little extra width in gathered section of the bodice. It also seemed like a good idea to add a sleeve on one side, to check what if this had any effect on the bodice.

The second version mostly worked. There is still a slight pouffe in the bodice top, but it turns out that it's necessary if I want to be able to raise my arms!

The sleeve sticks out a lot, mostly because the fabric I used is quite stiff. However, this did make me wonder if the shoulder seam is too long, as the sleeve head seems to be off my shoulder. The usual solution will be sought - a trip to my mum's for a second opinion!

Sleeve and shoulder

I've decided that I also need to toile the skirt. After the (still unresolved) fit issues I had with my 1930s/1970s mashup skirt, this is necessary, but not appealing.

Once the skirt is added, there's one more thing to consider. 6594 has a 1940s feel and this extends beyond just the 'look'. Unusually for a modern pattern, it has a side zip, and no centre back seam. This makes it, like Vogue 9546 (a true 1940s pattern), a bit of a fight to get on and (especially) off. So, do I resign myself to the struggle, or do I tweak the pattern even more and add some sort of front opening to the bodice section?

Do I replace faux buttons with real ones?

All in all, this project is starting to feel like a lot of work. I've always had to alter patterns to fit me, but previously it was just a case of making the bodice 2" shorter all round, and I was good to go. I found I was really starting to begrudge the time it’s taking to fit this pattern, and that got me thinking about why I make clothes.

I have plenty already, so I don't really need more except to replace actual worn-out items. I make clothes because I enjoy sewing, and I take pleasure in creating things which fit properly. I've known for over a year that I need to devote some time to understanding how to fit to my changed shape, and have been putting it off as 'too hard' and just tinkering round the edges instead. So, rather than resenting the time it's taking to get this pattern right, I really ought to be looking at it as learning new skills - skills which I'll then use for everything I will make subsequently.

I'm still not looking forward to fitting the skirt, though!

New Look 6093 completed - and a new venture

My fourth 6093 is finished, and looks likely to meet the fate of the dress it replaced - being worn until it's worn out! I love it. The fabric is perfect for a self-confessed fan of all things blue, and I'm very happy with the fit.

The completed dress

After leaving the facing until the very end in case I needed to adjust the neckline, I discovered that it fitted fine as it was - no need for darts at the back. Most of the extra skirt length I'd added ended up in the hem, but this didn't feel like a waste of effort as I've had to make do with tiny hems on previous versions. The biggest win, however, was the bust alteration. It was only slight, but it subtly changes the dress from 'OK but snug' to 'just right'.

Look! I can move my arms!

Taking photos gave me a reason to wear my gorgeous new hair flowers from Pin Up Curl - thanks to Ms1940McCall for the recommendation. The necklace, meanwhile, qualifies as 'vintage'; that's to say I bought it new in 1980! I remember spotting it in the window of a gift shop in the town where I grew up and saving my pocket money for several weeks, all the while anxiously hoping that it wouldn't be bought by someone else in the meantime. I've not worn it for a while, so it's nice to have a dress with the right neckline and colours to show it off.

Showing off hair flowers and necklace

Completing this dress has also neutralised the fabric purchase on the Stashometer.

Back down to a 3.8m deficit

While I was taking the photos, I remembered this article I'd read on the (now sadly ended, but still available to read) Sewcialists blog. Although pattern envelope illustrations are becoming more diverse in terms of size, skin colour and age, models are almost exclusively able-bodied, and pictured standing up. As Michelle, the author of the article points out, this means that wheelchair users who sew have to guess whether or not the pattern might work for them.

The pattern envelope for New Look 6093 is fairly standard in this respect.

Standing model, and upright line drawings

This has been the accepted mode of illustration pretty much since pattern envelopes began featuring clothed bodies rather than just completed garments. I had a trawl through my collection of vintage patterns, and even those for blouses and tops mostly feature standing figures. When people are drawn sitting, they normally appear perched on the edge of something rather than fully seated.

Almost all the seated figures on my patterns for dresses are 'perchers'

Obviously, the point of a pattern illustration is to show the completed item(s), and the clearest way of doing this is on a standing figure. Very few patterns, however, only contain one version of one garment: there are usually variations included. Where these are for necklines and/or sleeves, there doesn't seem to be any reason why they can't be shown on a second, seated figure, as on this 1940s Style example.

The only vintage pattern I own with a fully seated figure!

Which brings me on to my new venture. From now on, I'm going to include seated photographs of me wearing what I've made, as well as standing ones. I wasn't quite sure how best to go about this but fortunately Michelle explained exactly what's required. "Draped poses are not helpful at all. I need straight-on, forward-facing seated poses because when you're in a wheelchair that's what you see."

So, no to this . . .

. . . but yes to this

I'm very aware that as I rarely use currently-available patterns (even New Look 6093 is now out of print) my seated images will be of limited use to other sewists. However by including them, both on this blog and social media, along with the hashtag #SewnShownSeated, I hope that can play a tiny part in making it more normal to see self-made clothes shown off in a seated position.

Tweaking a 'TNT' pattern

Tried-and-trusted New Look 6093 is officially my most-used pattern. The version I'm currently working on is my fourth, nudging it just ahead of Simplicity 1777, which I've made three times. Plus, I used the sleeve for my New Look frankenpattern anemone dress.

My current project

Obviously, one big advantage of a TNT pattern is that you can just take the pieces out of the envelope and crack straight on. I'm actually making a few alterations this time however, both to the pattern pieces and the construction methods. I'm keeping the slightly raised neckline I tried out in version three, lengthening the skirt a little, and making the whole dress a fraction wider - those covid pounds are proving hard to shift. I'm also aware that, thanks to this change, the earlier versions are now very close-fitting around the bust. So, I'm attempting to (quite literally) accommodate this by altering the curve of the bodice piece.

My alteration for a fuller bust

I'm also completely ignoring the instructions - something which is easier to do with a pattern you know well. Much as I like the design, each version has required a few fitting tweaks in the skirt. To make these easier this time round, the very first things I did were sew the centre back seam and put in the zip. Then, I attached the skirt side panels to the front and back.

I'm making view A - again

Next, I added the bodice pieces (discovering in the process that I hadn't thought to check how I’d positioned the pattern piece on the fabric, and as a result I have perfectly positioned boob flowers - oops!).

The real reason why you should 'avoid large florals'!

The shoulder seams came next, then adding the sleeves. Now I can just pin up the side seams, and use the zip to try the dress on for fitting.

I have deliberately left the neck facing off so far, in fact, I haven't even cut out the back facing yet. New Look patterns do sometimes gape around the neck on me, so I want to get the fit right before making and attaching the facing. I might need to add neck darts, a fit detail which appears quite often in my vintage patterns but seems to have been abandoned now.

Naturally, all of this has been noted in my project notebook, in case I ever need it for version number five!

'Follow by email' is no more

So long, farewell, etc. etc.

As readers who have their own blogs on Blogger will know, the 'FollowBy Email' option is being removed shortly. This means that if you have signed up to automatically receive new Black Tulip posts in your inbox, they will stop arriving some time this month. I will still be posting every Sunday, but the posts will only appear on the blog itself. So far, I've not been able to find anything in the blogosphere which would provide an alternative email service. If and when something comes up, I'll announce it here. And if you're a fellow Blogger user and have found an alternative, please let me know.

Sadly however, it looks as though this is yet another element of the general move away from blogs and the written word towards more image-based platforms - just don't expect to find me on TikTok any time soon (and by 'soon', I mean 'ever')!