Two weeks have left of the challenge. Have you already finished your garment?
Well, according my plans, by now I should post pictures of my perfected muslin and my dream-fabric (sort of), but my muslin is not ready yet.
To tackle a couple of problems I decided to include yet another pattern in the mix. And I made another blouse muslin! So what I have today is an all new muslin, of which I'm planning to use the bottom part (to be precise).
Hence my choice for today's Western-inspired 'intermezzo':
Let's start with something else (talking about steps sideways) Exciting news, I've recently bought a pair of brogues! Okay, this maybe not soooo exciting, but after 1.5 years of 'shoe-diet' I'm glad to have a pair of these beauties! As you can guess, these are from my current favorite brand, Clark's, I wrote about in
these posts. Usually I buy new sneakers to wear with jeans, but this year I decided on brogues which are more elegant and can be worn with skirts as well. Brogues are (of course) totally 30's and 40's too!
did you know...
that brogues were very popular through the 30's for women's polo- hike-, and sportswear outfits? Of course, those weren't this flat type of shoes, these became popular during the war years, "for war work and play" unfortunately only in black or brown.
I chose a fun, grey-and-white color combination. I don't wear browns, black looked just black, the beige was not pretty, the white was too white and this fits more in my personal style. I don't wear authentic, fully vintage styled outfits, but rather mix and match vintage styled and contemporary things to create something new, which is 'me'.
Now bending back to the Sew for Victory project...
the new pattern:
The new pattern in the game is the famous Simplicity 3688, which is a sort of mini-wardrobe consisting a 40's jacket, a skirt, pants and a blouse. A very good value, because you get 4 patterns for the price of 1. It sells for about 10$ (sadly, in Europe more, about 16 euro's, which is in comparison to other patterns still a bargain though)
You will find several dozens of those pants on the internet (seem to have a very good fit!) a few versions of the skirt and the blouse and practically none of the jacket. Why?! You guess: this goes on my 'to-make-one-day'-list....
Let's take another step sideways, just for fun:
Look at the pictures of the re-issued pattern (below right) and that of the original one (below left, source: vintage pattern wiki). How vivid are the original 40's colors in comparison to the remake?! They probably had a really, really faded pattern envelope when recreating the items in boring beige-ish, pale browns and pastel-yellow, though the styling and the hairstyle were spot on.
Below a little mix of fabrics which I think could have been more effective: marroon-brown, forrest green and bright yellow. What do you think?
By the way, I love how the original pattern introduces one more color for an extra skirt!
Bending back to my blouse project:
I'm interested in this blouse pattern, because of the pleats at front and the length from the waist down. (I'm pleased to say that my frankenpattern-yoke has the same shoulder-width as that of the Simplicity blouse!) Looking at the finished measurements I decided to make a muslin of the size 10 pattern instead of the size 12, which I would have chosen by looking at the body measurements. Tip: always check the finished measurements before making a muslin! While the 40's garments were close-fitting, the contemporary remakes often include a lot of ease.
did you know...
...that the finished garment measurements are always printed on the pattern tissue and sometimes (partly) on the pattern envelope?
simplicity 3688 blouse muslin:
Want to see my muslin of the Simplicity 3688 blouse? Here we go:
Front and side view (please ignore my 'made-in-China' pajama pants and chopped-off head) Below two sets of front and side view pics:
Try not to forget that this blouse is supposed to bu tucked in. (Just in case you wonder why the sides look so bulky...)
When I lift my arm you can see that the sleeve is a tad too tight. There are a lot of small wrinkles along the underarm and there are a few horizontal wrinkles from the armhole to the bust and to the sleeve: horizontal wrinkles usually indicate tightness. (By the way, do you see any side-bulks below? They are gone!)
the verdict:
+
+ the length is perfect for me (which was one of the reasons to make this muslin)
+ the finished measurements were right, size 10 has a perfect fit along the bodice
+ the neckline: even if I don't love high necklines, this one looks really pretty! The finishing with the self-bias fabric is a breeze (even if I managed to sew it on inside-out...)
+ fit of the yoke and shoulders is good
+ bust fitting: the gathering gives enough room and looks great
+ waist pleats: I like the look
+ the elbow-dart: a pretty, vintage addition which also adds comfort (the slightly bended sleeve is more natural, just look at the pics below. When standing relaxed your arms aren't 'hanging' straight!)
-
- the back is too baggy (I guess this is necessary to be able to put it on without a side opening, but still...)
- the sleeve is a tad too small, I need more room for my upper arm
- the problem above can be solved by sizing up the sleeve (or by altering the sleeve pattern by cutting in along the fold-line and spreading at the top)
- I had high expectations of the shoulder darts of the sleeve-cap but I was disappointed. The darts don't really add fullness or shape whatsoever.
to change:
- cut one size larger sleeves
- add darts to back (why not to try?)
- open up the side if needed (in case the blouse gets too tight to pull on)
Actually, this might be the my second project for Sew for Victory!
to adapt for my 40's blouse design:
- the length
- the front pleats
Next up: muslin adjustments
For other Sew for Victory posts click here:
1. project plan
2. style, pattern & fabric inspiration
3. muslin, the good, the bad and the ugly
