One Pattern, many looks

I've been meaning to share my summer pattern alteration journey. It started out with a party dress made from Mrs. Chancey's Regency dress pattern:


I liked it so well, I thought I'd try making a blouse from it:


That was ok, but I didn't like how the front gapped when wearing modern undergarments. (I wore period stays for the party dress) Also,because of this, the waistline was too high, and tended to ride up.

So I lowered the "waist" seam about 2 inches, and dipped the pattern on the fold to get rid of some extra fabric across the bust. Problem: it made the underarm seam too high. I don't like having to be a contortionist in order to get into my clothes! On this blouse, I also omitted the back buttons, and did a drawstring instead all around instead. (Lesson learned: never rush through the last stages of a project. Don't look at my seams too close!)




So, final try. I wanted a summer dress with a more modern look. I used the skirt lining pieces instead of the normal gathered skirt-with-train. Tired of making on-paper changes to the pattern, I had my mom pinch out all the extra fabric in front on my toile (that's a practice version in cheap fabric), and I drew a new pattern piece. (also, I cut the underarm seam lower) It resulted in this:



I'm pretty happy!

Journey to a Blouse

I wanted to make a blouse. Either Regency (Empire line) or a peasant blouse; but I had no material, and no idea what kind of material I wanted. After a day of work at the Farmers Market we (Kara, Matthew, and I) made a trip to the fabric store. After picking out several batiks for some skirts, I made my way to the clearance section, and on a whim, grabbed a bright, green material with yellow embroidery-- it had possibilities (especially for $2 a yard). After reducing the numerous rolls of fabric I had picked up along the way, to a petty few, (a pink with brown splatters, a lavishly colored one, and the green), I had them cut. I distinctly remember the “cutting lady” saying ‘I can tell you like color’. Oh yes, indeed, I love color!

After considering, I set my heart on an Elizabethan blouse, McCalls 2293. Of course that wasn’t my original plan, but…flexibility is the key, is it not?

As Kara helped my lay out my fabric and pattern pieces, we soon discovered that there just wasn’t enough fabric for the blouse. Ok, time for Plan B— a peasant blouse, McCalls 2608. I was sure of what I wanted now; it had to be longer than “normal” shirts, and ruffles along the neckline and the short sleeves were a must. That meant pattern alterations. Simple alterations, but alterations none the less; we added 2 inches to the neckline, 2 inches to each of the sleeves, and 7 inches to the bottom edge.

It was the easiest pattern I’ve ever sewn. Even with the small alterations. For the ruffles I turned under about a ¼ inch on the neckline, sewed it, and then followed the instructions for the neckline, only I sewed the bias casing an inch from the edge! Hence, a neckline ruffle. Ditto for the sleeves. I finished it within the afternoon.

I am very happy with the result. A few things I’d do differently next time: make the slit in the sides bigger (I only did about 3in), make the sleeves a little longer (about elbow length) and in order to do that, I’d need to alter the underarm to make it fit right. But overall? I really like it… I’d like to make some more.