The Pleated Dress, completed

As promised, here are some pictures of the completed pleated dress.




The fabric I used had an all-over print (feathers!), which made the pleating a bit hard to see in photos. Here is a close up, but it still doesn't show the details...I guess you had to be there!


After cutting out the front pattern and marking all the dart/pleats, I fused a piece of interfacing to the 'tab' area, to help give it a bit of support. I extended the interfacing to what would be the dart/pleat's center 'fold-line' on each side of the tab, so that when the pleats that create the tab are folded, the interfacing will fill the fold on each side of the pleat, to avoid a knife-sharp edge. However, pressing the pleat while it is basted created a pretty sharp fold there anyway!

Once the horizontal pleats are basted closed, I could then baste the 'dart' on each side of the tab. After basting the dart/pleat closed, I then sewed (permanent) again about .5" away from the basting, to close the dart/pleat permanently. You can see how the tab's dart legs on each side of the tab are now of equal length.

Since I decided to do an all-in-one facing, I block-fused some rough-cut interfacing to my fabric before cutting out the pattern pieces.




Here is the completed dress. So much for the lighting...

I really struggled with deciding what length to make this dress. I was encouraged to go shorter...so I did. I wasn't uncomfortable wearing it, but it is shorter than anything I have worn in a while. I don't generally wear high heels, as my DH is not much taller than I am and I don't want to tower over him.

Here is another close up...from the other side/angle.

You might have noticed that I did some contouring under the bust. Remember in my last post, when I did the muslin, I was aware of a bit of excess fabric under the bust and so, decided to move the Bust Points closer to the center? Well, as I said, that was not the solution...and it actually had a negative impact on the fit in the bust area! What I really needed to do was a bit of contouring under the bust.

Here is my front pattern. I have indicated where I made changes...in bold hot pink (although I DID shorten the dress 2"...that is not shown!)

Look closely at the front (vertical) waist darts.

Basically, first I located the level that was 5" below my Bust Point, then increased the width of the front waist dart between that 5" level and waist level...offsetting the dart leg on each side by .25". This removed an additional .5" on each side of the front... a full inch of fabric across the whole front. But, notice, the original waist dart was not a 'normal' dart to start with...it was not a '/\' shape. I had already drawn that dart straight up from the waist to a level that was 3" below the BP. This was done to provide some contouring, but apparently it was not enough.

In my design choices, I had selected a SIDE/WAIST POINT position of 1...which means I made the total width across the front pattern 1" larger at waist level than the total width across the back pattern at waist level. That turned out to be too much. Increasing the size of the front waist dart would be the equivalent of a SIDE/WAIST POINT position of .5...meaning the front pattern's waist measured .5" more than the back pattern's waist, instead of the 1" as before. Better.

For the lower end of the waist dart, I drew curve lines to blend with the original dart legs (full tummy).

On the full front pattern above, also notice the hot pink lines at the sideseams at hip level. I had to reshape those during fitting, removing about .25" on each side (front and back), which means I lost about 1" of hip ease. But THE POINT of the reshaping was to smooth the curves there. TAPERING the hem created a point on the sideseam that my body doesn't have! Perhaps the start of the tapering should begin at a level just below the hip...? I just used the TAPERED HEM choice...there is no HIP SHAPE adjustment available on the SHEATHS, as there is on the PANTS.

Using the Tapered Hem choice creates another problem...the tapering extends all the way to the hem, instead of stopping 2" ABOVE hem level and drawing straight side seams to the hem. The way it is drafted, when the hem is turned under, the cut/free edge of the hem is smaller than the circumference of the dress at that higher level... something I forgot to consider beforehand.

I drafted this dress at 40" long, but then decided to hem it 2" shorter...at 38".

Here is a back shot...not terribly flattering but you can see the kick pleat.

In both the front and the back necklines, there was a bit of gaping. This gaping was NOT there in the muslin, but I had not cut the neckline away (wider) on the muslin as I did on this 'real thing'. I forgot to compensate for the contouring of my shoulders, which are curved lower in the middle than on each end of the shoulder seam. While my books tell me that I should have lowered the shoulder end of the neck seam, I can't help but wonder if I should also have raised the arm end of the shoulder seam...like a see/saw! I know that makes no sense...but that is just how I think! :)

I did use the facing and lining patterns that I showed in my previous post. Here is the dress inside out on my paper-tape dress form:

Yes, it is wrinkled a bit from sitting/wear but not too badly. I LOVE wearing things that are lined in Bemberg Rayon!! It feels so luscious to the touch...my skin just loves it!

I *hope* my dress form has posture that is much worse than my own!?! Those shoulders are very uneven...I hope mine are not as bad NOW as they were then! But I suspect they are...

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!