The Pleated Dress...creation

To create the pattern for the pleated dress, I started with a basic sheath...a dress with darts but no waist seam. (I'll post my PMB style sheet at the end of this post).

I copied and mirrored the FRONT piece so I would have a complete FRONT pattern.

Next I created the 'tab'. I located a point on the neckline that was 1" from the center front. I wanted my tab to be 1.5" wide, so I created a circle around the bust point that was also 1.5" in diameter. Then I drew a line from the point on neck to the side of the bust circle. I OFFSET that line by 1.5" to create the other side of the tab...then I decided to shorten the ends to be 2" away from the bust point (after the muslin, however, I reduced this amount to 1"). I rotated the right bust dart to this tab, putting half of the dart on each side.

Next I had to decide on the location of the pleats. This was kind of trial and error, using what looked right. Once I was happy with the location of the pleats, I rotated the left bust dart to the lowest pleat line. I KNEW this would create a pleat that was much too large, but once sewn, the excess fabric in the back could be removed, so that this pleat would have a seam instead of a fold.

I had a harder time with the placement of the 3 smaller darts on the right of the tab. To be sure I liked the way they lookeed, I printed my front pattern in quarter scale and folded the little darts and pleats closed. I could tell I didn't love the first attempt (on the left), so I respaced the pleats and moved them closer to the neckline. Nope, that wasn't it either (middle one)...so I respaced them a third time...better. Now it was time to try this is fabric.

I marked all the darts/pleats on my fabric and began sewing. First, I basted the horizontal pleats and sewed the vertical waist darts.

Then I put a row of stitching about 0.5" away from the basting on that large pleat that is also the dart...that stitching will be permanent. At this point, I wondered if it might be a good idea to stitch close to the fold on EACH of the pleats, so they would tend to be neater...(?). Not being sure, I did go ahead and do that stitching. On the 'real' dress, I omitted that, though.

Once the pleats were done, I could stitch...baste...both sides of the 'tab'. Like the big dart, this one also had to have 'real' stitching (permanent) that was about .5" away from the basting, because this pleat is also a dart.

At this point, it occurred to me that once the basting of the tab is removed, it will 'spread', and that is NOT a good thing...so it would need to be stabilized. I used hand stitches to keep the dart folds close to each other, to prevent the spreading.

This is the muslin on my dress form. It was a good fit, but I felt like there was a but too much fullness UNDER the bust. I wanted the vertical waist darts to be closer to center, so I decided to reduce the distance between bustpoints...which meant I had to completely redo the pattern! And FYI, this turned out NOT to be a great idea...I should have left the location alone, or at least, not move it the full INCH that I did! :)

Here, the pleats are still basted closed. But you can kinda get the idea, I hope!

Next time, I'll show the 'real thing'!

Here are my design choices:

Style Details

Style Name: 100615_basic_sheath
Date: 6/15/2010
Last Update: April 1, 2010
Chart: Trish 050710_waist_HIP

Garment Type: Sheath
Style: Classic Sheath
Closure: Back Zipper
Front Neckline: Jewel
Back Neckline: Jewel
Hemline Sweep: Tapered
Back Kick Pleat: Yes
Front Darts: Side
Back Darts: No Darts
Sideseam Shape: Fitted

Front Waist Darts: 1
Back Waist Darts: 2

Front Neckline Depth: 1.5
Back Neckline Depth: 1.375
Neckline Width: 2.5
Neckline Point: 0
Back Neckline Shape Right: 1 clicks

Armhole Depth: 0
Dart Override: 0

Side/Arm Point: -1
Side/Waist Point: 1
Side/Hip Point: 0

Cf/Extension: 0
Cb/Extension: 0

Shoulder Pad: 0
Shoulder Point: -0.375

Sheath Length: Knee
Finished Cb/Hem Length: 40
Hip Depth: 8
Kick Pleat Height: 8

Bust Pt Vertical: 10.25
Bust Pt Horizontal: 4.5
Upper Front Dart Length: 1
Upper Back Dart Length: 0
Lower Front Dart Length: 8
Lower Back Dart Length: 5.5
Back Shoulder Dart Length: 4


Sleeve Style: Facing
Sleeve Length: Wrist*** This is wrong; this was sleeveless (hence, the FACING).
Sleeve Cap Ease: 1.45
Sleeve Elbow Depth: 8
Sleeve Elbow Circum.: 10
Back Armhole Shape Up: 0.2 clicks
Back Armhole Shape Right: 0.2 clicks


Seam Allowance: 0.375
Hem Allowance: 2
Facing Width: 2

Chest Ease: 1
Waist Ease: 2
Hip Ease: 4.5


Body Measurements

Chest Circumference: 41.5
Back Shoulder Width: 15.75
Neck Circumference: 13
Natural Waist: 35
Hip Circumference: 41
Crotch Length: 29
Height: 66
Weight:
Bra Cup Size: D
Center Front Length: 15
Front Shoulder Width: 15
Front Shoulder Slope: 18.5
Shoulder Length: 5
Center Back Length: 16.5
Back Shoulder Slope: 17.875
Bicep Circumference: 12
Notes: increased waist and decreased hip to 'real' (1" each)
USE MORE HIP EASE ON BLOUSES!

sneak peak

I have been working on a new pattern lately. It is a bit more complicated than my usual fare...my DD refers to it as my 'origami dress'. Here is a pattern picture:

The two sets of pieces on the right are the lining and facing pieces...I haven't yet decided if they will be used as is. I am thinking the facing...an all-in-one...will be fashion fabric, and the lining will be bemberg rayon (I hope).

My fashion fabric is from the stash...a mystery fabric that was in a collection I obtained from a garage sale several years ago. But the entire collection was good stuff...lots of silks and wools...so I am pretty sure this is 'good', too. I suspect it is a cotton and silk blend.

Today I printed the front and back patterns. I began assembling the front pattern...which took 20 sheets of paper to print! At first , the assembly went fairly well, but gradually, the registration marks began to be further and further 'off'...and by the time I got to the last column, it was nearly 1/4" longer than the first one! Needless to say, I was sorry I had used glue...I had to pull the sheets apart and start again, trying to 'make it work'!

I have been using PATTERNMASTER BOUTIQUE by Wild Ginger for over 10 years, so I am not new to pattern assembly. And I have had this same printer for most (if not ALL) of that time! Every now and then, it happens...usually when there are LOTS of pages to be printed.

I am using Windows 7 these days. I had installed PMB4 on my computer while using Vista, then installed it again when Windows 7 was loaded. That used up BOTH of my installation keys for PMB4...you are only allowed to load it twice. But I also now have a 'virtual computer' (loaded on Windows 7) that runs in XP mode, so I need to uninstall the PMB4 version that is loaded on the drive that uses Vista so I can get a new key...then I can load it on the 'virtual computer' and run PMB4 in XP mode, so that, HOPEFULLY, I will once again be able to print my patterns on banner paper. The printer drivers for the newer operatings systems don't support the 'banner' printing option, even though the printer is capable! Duh...I guess all the new printers are more geared towards photo printing.

But I used to print on banner paper and it was SOOOO much easier and quicker. When this pattern assembly messed up today, I was once again reminded that I REALLY SHOULD move that to the top of my to-do list!

The Red Floral KK knit top

Here is my latest knit top:

This pattern was made similarly to the black and white one, except this time I didn't lower the front shoulder angle.

I DID reduce both the CENTER FRONT LENGTH and the FRONT SHOULDER SLOPE measurements by 0.5", though, because I knew the knit fabric would stretch to accomodate my body's curves in front...and using a shorter CFL produces a smaller bust dart, so there is less dart to 'get rid of' from the start.

I also INCREASED my BUST measurement from 41.5" to 42"...not much, but this also made the bust dart smaller, so there was less dart to eliminate in the process of going 'dartless'.

Also, I INCREASED the SHOULDER LENGTH measurement in my chart for this one...because when I rotate that remaining little dart closed, it increases the width of the neck opening on the front pattern. By increasing the SHL I have created a more-narrow front neck to start with, so that when I rotate the little dart closed, the resulting front neck width matches the back neck width.

I DID NOT scale this pattern at all...I used it as drafted, with zero bust ease. In hindsight, I *should* have used MORE hip ease, then scaled it smaller, because I had increased both the shoulder and bust measurements! duh. But it is very wearable...the ladies in my sewing guild liked the extra ease. BTW, the back neck depth is 0.75".

There is a bit of 'drapery' under the arms, both in front and back. Part of this is the excess bust ease, but also, part of it is due to the shoulder angles being the same as for WOVEN fabrics. I should have lowered the shoulder angle after all! I have decided that for next time, I will lower the back shoulder angle by .375" and will lower the front shoulder angle by .75"...twice as much in front as in back. You can see by the picture below that when I pinch the shoulders UP, the drapery is lessened.

So, I *think* I have finally figured out how to get a good dartless pattern using my Patternmaster Boutique software! Yes, it takes some manipulation, but not alot...and certainly much less manipulations that I have to go through to alter a commercial pattern! And it only took 11 years to figure it out! ;)

Oh, and the 'KK' in the title stands for Klassy Katz...the fabric store where this fabric was purchased!

Here are my drafting choices:

Style Name: 100520_4_dartless_tiny_dart
Date: 5/20/2010
Last Update: April 1, 2010
Chart: Trish 050710_4Drtls_tinydt

Garment Type: Blouse
Style: Blouse
Closure: Front Zipper
Front Neckline: Scoop
Back Neckline: Jewel
Hemline Sweep: Straight
Hemline Shape: Straight
Front Darts: Side
Back Darts: No Darts
Sideseam Shape: Fitted

Front Waist Darts: 2
Back Waist Darts: 1

Front Neckline Depth: 4
Back Neckline Depth: 0.75
Neckline Width: 1
Neckline Point: 0

Armhole Depth: 0
Dart Override: -0.625

Side/Arm Point: -1
Side/Waist Point: 0
Side/Hip Point: 0

Cf/Extension: 0
Cb/Extension: 0

Shoulder Pad: 0
Shoulder Point: 0

Finished Cb/Hem Length: 24
Hip Depth: 8

Bust Pt Vertical: 10.25
Bust Pt Horizontal: 5
Upper Front Dart Length: 1
Upper Back Dart Length: 1
Lower Front Dart Length: 4.75
Lower Back Dart Length: 4.75
Back Shoulder Dart Length: 3


Sleeve Style: Set In
Sleeve Underarm Seam: Tapered
Sleeve Hemline Shape: Straight
Sleeve Length: Short
Sleeve Cap Ease: 0.35
Sleeve Underarm Length: 2
Sleeve Overarm Length: 7.849
Sleeve Hem Circumference: 15
Sleeve Elbow Depth: 8
Sleeve Elbow Circum.: 10
Sleeve Cap Height Adj: -0.75
Front Armhole Shape Down: -0.3 clicks
Back Armhole Shape Right: 0.2 clicks


Seam Allowance: 0.375
Hem Allowance: 2
Facing Width: 2

Chest Ease: 0
Waist Ease: 0
Hip Ease: 1


Body Measurements

Chest Circumference: 42******increased by 0.5”
Back Shoulder Width: 15.75
Neck Circumference: 13
Natural Waist: 35
Hip Circumference: 41
Crotch Length: 29
Height: 66
Weight: 98:)
Bra Cup Size: D
Center Front Length: 14.5***reduced by 0.5”
Front Shoulder Width: 15
Front Shoulder Slope: 18***reduced by 0.5”
Shoulder Length: 5.375**********increased by 0.375”
Center Back Length: 16.5
Back Shoulder Slope: 17.875
Bicep Circumference: 12

Notes:
duplicating/improving NOVeDrtls6 CSL2

DARTLESS 4 has 42 bust and longer SHL...which makes Fneck .5" narrower than Bneck...so rotating bu dart closed will equalize the neck widths

As happens every summer, I am once again sewing DARTLESS knit tops. I am once again trying to create the perfect dartless pattern, which will create the perfect dartless top. Again.

This one is very similar to a pattern I created a few years ago which pretty closely duplicates a Coldwater Creek short-sleeved knit top.

Basically, the pattern's front shoulder point is dropped severely, as if the side bust dart was scooted upward and removed at the shoulder! Of course, that is NOT what I did. No, I spent hours (days? weeks? years?) figuring out which numbers to change so that the program would create this shape for me!

The RED pattern (below) is the pattern for the above top. The blue/green patterns are my basic block, using similar drafting choices as were used for this one...for example, with the bust dart in the front armhole. You can see how the RED pattern has a very dropped front shoulder, yet the back shoulder remains unchanged. To prevent that front armhole from being WAY too small, I used the DART OVERRIDE tool to put some of the bust dart into the front armhole. As you can see, there is not much change in the sleeve, which means there is not much difference in the armhole lengths between these two patterns.


Below, the same two patterns are aligned at the hem/waist. As you can see, the front pattern is shorter on the RED one than on the basic block...this is because I reduced the CENTER FRONT LENGTH measurement to account for the stretch of the fabric.

I know that the front of my body will stretch the knit fabric more than the back of my body, so I can get more length from a knit fabric than I would get from the same cut-length of a woven fabric. So I can reduce the length of the front pattern to start with.

Also, as mentioned before, to lower that front shoulder point I reduced the FRONT SHOULDER SLOPE MEASUREMENT even more than I reduced the CFL...to increase the angle of the front shoulder. This is to prevent 'sagging' of the knit on the side of my body.

But as you may have noticed, this pattern is NOT dartless. There is a little dart there in the front armhole. Yet, I want a DARTLESS pattern! So the rest of the patternmaking was done in the PATTERN EDITOR.

I simply extended the dart to the CF line then rotated out HALF of the dart width. Then I drew a new CF line to connect neck and hem. The remaining dart will be eased to the sleeve...or ignored! This dart-rotation DOES remove a little width from the front pattern at bust level. And if you look back up at the top two pattern images, you might notice that the RED pattern is narrower at bust level than the basic block to start with! That is because I also reduced the BUST CIRCUMFERENCE measurement by 1.5". As it turns out, that was too much, especially when combined with this alteration which also reduces the width at bust level. But the top is wearable, even if the fabric is not gorgeous.

Speaking of not-gorgeous fabric, I am thinking I will over-dye this, and maybe print/paint on it, too. I mean, really, with my brown hair turning grey, I really don't need to wear a little black and white print that kinda reads as grey! Actually, this is not as bad on me as some shades of brown are these days!

This method DOES create a wearable dartless knit top and, as I said, it is VERY similar to the size, shape and fit of Coldwater Creek's knit top (size L). But it DOES ride backward some (just like the CWC tops) and I would like to eliminate that phenomenon.

I have created and sewn another knit top since this one, and I changed the way I treated the shoulder angles...stay tuned!

FYI, here are the drafing specs:

Style Name: dartless_with_tiny_dart
Date: 6/8/2010
Last Update: April 1, 2010
Chart: Trish 050710_2Drtls_tinydt
Garment Type: Blouse
Style: Blouse
Closure: No Closure
Front Neckline: Scoop
Back Neckline: Jewel
Hemline Sweep: Straight
Hemline Shape: Straight
Front Darts: Armscye
Back Darts: No Darts
Sideseam Shape: Fitted
Front Waist Darts: 0
Back Waist Darts: 0
Front Neckline Depth: 2.5
Back Neckline Depth: 0.75
Neckline Width: 0.625
Neckline Point: 0
Front Neckline Shape Up: 0.4 clicks
Front Neckline Shape Right: -0.4 clicks
Armhole Depth: -0.5
Dart Override: -0.625
Side/Arm Point: -1
Side/Waist Point: 0
Side/Hip Point: 0
Cf/Extension: 0.5
Cb/Extension: 0
Shoulder Pad: 0
Shoulder Point: 0
Finished Cb/Hem Length: 24
Hip Depth: 8
Bust Pt Vertical: 10.25
Bust Pt Horizontal: 5
Upper Front Dart Length: 1
Upper Back Dart Length: 1
Lower Front Dart Length: 4.75
Lower Back Dart Length: 4.75
Back Shoulder Dart Length: 3

Sleeve Style: Set In
Sleeve Underarm Seam: Tapered
Sleeve Hemline Shape: Straight
Sleeve Length: Short
Sleeve Cap Ease: 0.19
Sleeve Underarm Length: 2
Sleeve Overarm Length: 7.182
Sleeve Hem Circumference: 14
Sleeve Elbow Depth: 8
Sleeve Elbow Circum.: 10
Sleeve Cap Height Adj: -0.75
Front Armhole Shape Down: -1.8 clicks
Front Armhole Shape Left: 0.3 clicks
Back Armhole Shape Down: -0.5 clicks

Seam Allowance: 0.625
Hem Allowance: 2
Facing Width: 2
Chest Ease: 0
Waist Ease: 0
Hip Ease: 0

Body Measurements
Chest Circumference: 40
Back Shoulder Width: 15.75
Neck Circumference: 13
Natural Waist: 34
Hip Circumference: 42
Crotch Length: 29
Height: 66
Weight:
Bra Cup Size: D
Center Front Length: 14.5
Front Shoulder Width: 15
Front Shoulder Slope: 17
Shoulder Length: 5.125
Center Back Length: 16.5
Back Shoulder Slope: 17.875
Bicep Circumference: 12

Silly Chenille

After seeing this technic demomstrated again at the April meeting of a local quilt guild, I decided to play with it at home. 'Faux Chenille' is basically mulitiple layers of fabric that are stacked, then channel-quilted on the diagonal (bias). The layers are then slashed between the rows of stitching, leaving only the bottom layer intack. Because the fabrics are cut on the bias, they will ripple, but usually not ravel too badly. This creates a 'chenille' effect.


For my sample, I chose a dark purple cotton for the bottom layer. I stacked several layers of rayon challis and a layer of what is probably polyester chiffon, followed by a green cotton and finally, a snake-printed polyester organza (or chiffon...I am never sure of these things!). I drew a line to guide my first row of stitching and becan.

Then I slashed between the rows with scissors. Now, there is a really cool tool that makes cutting this a cinch...but I didn't have it. I thought, "This is only a small sample...it will be fine." But boy! did my hand ache after all the cutting!

To make it more interesting, I cut the piece into quarters and rotated them then stitched them back together with a multi-stitch zigzag. Then the whole thing was washed and dried to make it 'bloom'.

Meanwhile, I had begun creating some silly flowers using various interesting fabrics from my stash...a velvet, a lame' (don't know how to get the ' in the right place on my keyboard!) and another scrap from my friend, Etta.

But the flowers were too large...or rather, the background was too small for the flowers!

So I layered up some more fabrics and began stitching again...this time, creating a V shape with my stitching. This way, I could get more interest without having to cut and rotate.

Once the stithcing was completed and this piece was washed and dried to make it 'bloom', I cut it into strips and added them around the outside edges of the first piece.

Then I began to work on the stems and leaves. I cut bias strips from a dark green polished cotton for the stems, and the leaves were cut (free-hand) from a sample swatch of upholstery fabric.

I roughly pinned the pieces in place until I decided what to put where...then I removed the pieces and added the stems, one at a time. The leaves were satin-stitched around the outside edges, as were the flowers.

Then I cut and sewed some black felt around the outside. That is as far as I got...it isn't finished! The felt isn't even cut well...just kinda whacked. But I will finish it eventually...