Join me in my adventures as I write romance novels and sew vintage and contemporary fashion.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Sew For Victory 40’s Suit ~ Chapter One

The Sewing
I started the Sew For Victory project this week. The first step was to grade the pattern, which is one size too small. I've never graded before, but by following the directions in a Threads article,  and using a lot of tape, I made a size 34 bust jacket into a size 36 bust jacket.
This is the graded pattern on muslin before cutting.
Those stripes on the pattern are where I slashed the tissue I'd traced and widened it by the specified amount--1/4 inch under the arms, 1/8 inch at the other two locations. This is how I spend my lunch hours at school. Listening to jazz and slashing patterns.

To enlarge the simple A-line skirt, I did what I always do when sewing with a modern size 12 (which this pattern equates to) and added 1/2 to the sides. No need to slash.

I made a muslin, which went quickly. Amazingly, it fit. Because of the design of the jacket, it needs very large shoulder pads, as do many 40's styles--one of the reasons I love the 40s. Shoulder pads make me happy. I rocked the 80s.

The pattern primer gave instructions for making shoulder pads out of muslin and cotton batting. I have no cotton batting, so I used fiber fill and gave it a try. The first step was to cut two muslin squares. The next step was to place batting on the square so that it's "thin at the edges and 3/4 inches thick in the middle. I made a mountain.
After making Mt. Batting, I compressed it using the other muslin square and stitched the edges.
The next step was to make padding stitches to hold the batting in place. My padding stitches made the shoulder pad look badly dimpled, but it is thin on the edges and approximately 3/4 inches thick in the middle.
Then I cut the pad in half so that it resembled a warped apple turnover.
I'm supposed to cover this with fashion fabric, but you know what? I'll probably just buy shoulder pads. The suit jacket needs a lot of shoulder padding to keep the proper lines and I think these pads are just a wee bit wimpy.

The Writing
Well...

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