Notes on a Pattern - Butterick B6090

Way, way back in November of 2014 Rhonda  helped me fit Butterick B6090.  It was a workshop that she and Susan Khalje hosted in Chicago.  Oddly, I never made the dress, but I knew one day I would.  At the beginning of every year, I review my list of unfinished projects and decide which ones to add to my list of things to finish the first half of the year.  I pulled this muslin from the closet to try on to see if all the adjustments were still valid.  Luckily, they were. 

Prior to coming to the workshop, I made this muslin.  It was made with my initial pattern adjustments listed below:

• FBA
• Prominent Shoulder Blades
• Swayback Adjustment
• Lengthening of the Sleeve

FBA

Lengthen Sleeve

Prominent Shoulder Blades and Sway Back

My goal was to see if Rhonda or Susan could help me get the best fit for this dress and to provide my with the best approach for fitting a non-princess seam bodice. I love the way Rhonda talked through all of the changes as she made them and show me how the change affected the look and fit of the dress. 

Below are explanations of the changes.

Please note: this post is mainly to express the importance of making a muslin and to provide some explanation of the fit process.  Some of you may need similar adjustments. So these details may or may not help you with your fitting process.   By no means am I an expert, but this process helped me get the best fit for this garment.

• The full bust adjustment is usually the first thing I tackled. I start with examining the pattern and determining how much more width is needed to make the front bodice fit.  My adjustment can be anywhere between 1.5" to 2.5".  With this adjustment I decided to make two waist darts instead of one.  The FBA extended into the yoke pattern as well.  When I tried on the muslin, Rhonda saw a few more adjustments needed in the yoke, the side, and the armhole.

•  The yoke had to be adjusted above the bust at the armhole and on the side of the bust at the armhole.  So the front armhole was decreased by 1/2", 1/4" in each area.  See above pictures.  Next, the side seam needs to be taken in starting 2" below the armhole almost to the waist.  The front sleeve was fine.
• The prominent shoulder blade adjustment.  I made a 3/4" adjustment.  At the left shoulder seam I made a small dart and at the right shoulder seam I eased the excess to fit the front yoke shoulder seam.  This was a test to see which construction technique looks the best.  And the small shoulder dart was the winner giving a smooth seam and curve at the shoulder.

Left shoulder seam with dart.

Right shoulder seam with ease.

• As Rhonda worked her way around the upper back, she indicated that more room was needed in the upper back sleeve area.  She pulled out the stitches and re-pinned the upper sleeve to secure the change.
• Next, she said that the shoulder seam was not aligned and that I needed to add about 1/2"to the back along the shoulder seam near the armhole and reduce the same amount on the front yoke.  I think this is a forward shoulder adjustment.  The shoulder seam should be parallel to the ear.  You can see the marked adjustment in the picture above. 
• My initial swayback adjustment was not enough.  Starting from the right side front all the way around the back, I need to reduce the length at the waist.  So that the waist remains parallel to the floor all the way around.  The reduced length now needs to be added to the hem of the skirt so that the dress hangs evenly.

These changes were transferred to the tissue pattern to finalize the fit adjustments for this dress.  Now, this dress pattern is ready to make into my fashion fabric.

This process is so important.  Making a muslin gives you the experience of making the garment, testing not only the fit but also the construction.  You will be able to identify any challenges with making the garment.  Without the expense of cutting into your fashion fabric, you can determine whether or not you like the style. So many benefits of the muslin making and fitting process.

My next step for this project is to choose a fabric for the actual dress.  Hopefully, I can decide this week.  I think for sure I'll make two dresses.  A lot of work went into getting the fit right.  I'll be able to benefit from this exercise for future projects of similar style lines.  I'll use the muslin and the pattern as a point of reference.  That will save me some time with future adjustments.

I hope you find something useful in this post.

Happy Sewing!
C

Vogue 1352 - A Seemingly Easy Vogue Dress

I love wearing maxi dresses. Especially a comfortable one.  My review today is on a Rebecca Taylor Vogue pattern (V1352)  It's been out for a few years, copyright 2013.  When it was first published, I hesitated on buying it.   Then after about two years, I did.  If it works; good.  If not, in the trash it goes.

You're wondering why I hesitated?  The "required" FBA and the possibly of me not being able to get the "perfect" neck binding finish.  The FBA with all that gathering could be a bad look on me.  And who wants I wonky neckline on top of that. Anyway..,

There are only five pattern pieces.  Sounds pretty easy, right?  For the most part it was once I tweaked, tweaked it.

This is a pullover maxi dress with a gathered neckline. The front is a mock wrap bodice with a small inverted triangle at the center front.  It has short sleeves, and an elasticized waist.  I used size 16 with modifications.  Some I could have skipped if I may add.

The pattern is available in two size groupings:  (8-16) and (16-24).

The drawing and photos do look very much like my dress.  My neck binding is wider  because I didn't do the folder process.  I like the wider binding and the front opening drapes just a little, but the modeled dress does not.  I didn't think about making a tuck along the opening to reduce the length of it.   If I make it again, I'll make that adjustment.  Also, the back neckline is much lower on the modeled dress.  And I think my dress has a little more wearing ease than the one pictured on the envelope.

My fabric is a jersey knit from Vogue Fabrics in Evanston.  I bought three yards and knew that I'd make a maxi dress out of it.  I love the colors and the smooth hand of this knit.  It has a nice weight and great recovery.  I used a microtex sewing needle, size 12.

The instructions were typical and easy to understand.  But I didn't follow then to the letter. I also made a few fit adjustments.  All noted below:

• I didn't do the double needle top stitches along the front and to hem the sleeve.  And no top stitching on the neck binding.

• The first time I attached the neck binding I followed the instructions: basting it and matching the notches and circles, with right sides together.  When I tried it on, it didn't lay flat as illustrated on the envelope. So, I decided to take a break and think about how to make it work.  After a  day or two, I tried it on again to determine the amount of excess binding to remove.  The neck binding was about six inches too long.  Luckily, I did not removed the gathering stitches.  I measured each section of the dress bodice: front 6.5; sleeve 4.125; and back 5.5 (I created a center back seam that wasn't needed.  More below on that.).  For the neck binding, I reduced each section by an inch and removed the basting  so I could stretch the band to fit each section of the neckline.  I did not change the location of the center front large circles where the front opening is attached.  If that makes sense.  The results were perfect.  The band lies flat and smooth.  I didn't in case the raw edges of the binding.  Maybe next time.  I like the width of the binding as shown on my version of the dress.

 

 

 

Portion of the neck binding with the new marking on it.

•  The construction of the sleeve was a little weird too.  The ends are not sewn together, but overlapped at the top of the side seam.  If you follow the instructions, you'll end up with raw edges showing on the right side of you dress.  I curved the outer end into the armscye so that no raw edges were exposed.  Note:  the armhole is wide and low.  It wouldn't hurt to raise the armhole about an inch or two.  That will eliminate the exposure of your under garments.

• I didn't cut the back on the fold.  I should have.  This dress is roomy and I really didn't require a prominent shoulder blade adjustment.  Anyway, the center back seam took up the added width of that adjustment.  Save..,
• Full bust adjustment - just a small one to add a little width and length.  This FBA does not create I bust dart.  

• Finally, I added a few inches to the length of the dress.

After working through all those changes and adjustments, I still like the dress for the ease of wear, the mock wrap bodice, and the gathered neckline.

 

I have an obscene number of dress patterns to try, but I'll kept this one for me just in case I want to make it again.

Vogue rated this dress as easy to make.  It is once you've worked out the kinks.  Remember, it's very loose fitting.  The armholes are low and the neck binding may be too long.  Other than that it's good.

Happy Sewing!

C