WIP: A Vintage Dress Pattern and Japanese Top

Hi, are you doing any spring sewing this month? I’m attempting to make at least two very different garments: A dress from a vintage dress pattern – Simplicity 2439 – for Lucky Lucille’s Spring for Cotton Sewing Challenge and a top from She Wears the Pants, a the new English translation of a Japanese sewing book by Yuko Takada, to be released by Tuttle Publishing in May. This is a bit ambitious for me because I don’t usually make more than one thing a month, really. I’m not the speediest at sewing because I can only work on things after work or on the weekends. Last week in my Spring Sewing post, I decided that I was going to make this dress and something from this book. I did that post entirely on my phone and only looked at it on a computer today – there were some major image size problems, which I just fixed. Oops.

Last weekend I finally got around to tracing this uncut Simplicity pattern …

As you can see the pieces were not on big sheets of tissue paper. Instead, each pattern piece was separate but needed to be cut – or in this case traced. I didn’t want to cut the pattern because I know I’ll be making a small bust adjustment and adding more ease to the waist and hips. This pattern has a 36 inch bust, 28 inch waist, and 38 inch hips. I taped down the pattern pieces to my work table and then traced them. Before I used the tape I made it slightly less tacky by placing the tape on my pants and also on my hand. Then it would be less likely to tear the tissue when I removed the tape.

Here are the front and back bodice pieces.

After I traced this bodice, I compared it to my Emery Dress bodice for which I made a 1/4″ small bust adjustment (SBA).

Clearly, I need to drop the armscye (armhole) of the bodice. That’s a mighty high armsceye! I decided to make a few flat pattern adjustments before I make my muslin – and hopefully avoid having to make more than one muslin of this dress. I dropped the armscye about an inch, made a 1/4″ SBA, added 1/2″ to the front and back side seams of the bodice and skirt pattern pieces for a total of 2 inches, and I added 3/4″ to the hips of the skirt for a total of 3 inches. I’m aiming to fit a 30-inch waist and 41-inch hips. (The bodice and skirt pieces are cut on the fold – so just multiply by 4.)

Last week I bought this bright blue eyelet fabric for this dress and jacket. I’ve been contemplating these three fabrics to underline as a contrasting fabric: Lime green, turquoise blue, and a fuchsia/hot pink.

If you follow me on Instagram (@csews), you may have already seen these photos. Many people liked the turquoise but fans of bright colors really liked the lime green. A couple of days later I posted the fuchsia image. I like fuchsia the best. I think I’ll be making another trip to Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics to get my contrast fabric – that’s where I got the eyelet fabric as well.

All those pieces are traced and so is the pattern No. 4, Top with Epaulettes, from She Wears the Pants. It’s the striped knit top on the cover. But I’ll be leaving off the epaulettes – not my thing really. I have broad shoulders so why draw more attention to them with that detail?

I made a flat pattern adjustment to this pattern as well – a total of two inches of ease to the hips.

I’m planning on making the top using this striped knit from my stash. The stripes aren’t very wide though – slightly less than 1 cm – so I hope it doesn’t drive me crazy trying to get them to match. I have a couple of yards of it in my stash. I made a striped Cake Patterns Hummingbird peplum top from this fabric a couple of years ago.

I guess you could say that my style is eclectic. 😉 What can I say? I like vintage patterns and I like Japanese sewing books. Next weekend, I need to cut my fabric and hopefully get sewing!