intermediate Tag

The vintage inspiration for this weeks #PatternPuzzle has come from a pattern I found on the So Vintage Patterns website.  Unfortunately, this particular one has been sold but they have a mountain of great vintage patterns for all eras.  I was attracted by the asymmetrically-set,  diagonal seams with gathered drape.  But not so much the button decoration.  By adding the extra seams I believe I have made it easier to construct as they eliminate the corner seams.  I have also reworked the back view from the original design to carry the front diagonal seams through to the back dress.

Since the earliest of my pattern making days I have had a passion for the tailored femininity of vintage styling.  And now that I have discovered an extensive online community that enjoys both fashion and vintage designs I am presented with so many beautiful options for our weekly pattern puzzle.   I found this weeks inspiring image in a wonderful tumblr blog, The Tailors Desire, full of all things vintage.  :)

You may be forgiven for thinking that we often torture the stuffing out of our fabulous #PatternPuzzle fans.  Well, last Saturday was no exception.  I did a slightly tricky thing with a 'grown-on hood' and it was enough to make the pattern shapes very hard to read.  I have seen similar styles in both historic and current fashion and have waited some time to try this out on the blog.  The idea I have is to cut this dress from my knit block using a merino jersey.  That could be either a one-way or two-way stretch knit.  The Double Drape in this Maxi refers to the #CowlDrape on the back of this dress and the #GatheredDrape on the centre front (CF) seam.  The hood styling may also be considered a #CowlDrape with the large tuck and the centre back (CB) line on the fold.

A huge thanks to all the fans that turned up on Saturday to play and watch the #PatternPuzzle.  This weeks puzzle was less complex than most but a favourite for the wardrobe.  Our post this week has two versions of the Tucked Drape Top, the first with two large tucks facing each other on the front neckline and the second with one large tuck only in the front neckline.

It was a demanding Pattern Puzzle this week that ran live across all time zones and gave everyone a chance to join in.  You can see by the pattern shapes below that the final move of adding the front side panel to the backside panel was just enough to make it a very challenging game.  Huge thanks to all fans and friends for dropping by and making it a great day.

This is the first of a new series of pattern making posts called #PatternInsights, that's me sharing the lightbulb moments of my pattern making career. Not quite as 101 as my #PatternFundamentals and nowhere near as complex as some of#PatternPuzzles, it's another opportunity to share. :)  Now available as a PDF download, detailed worksheet for making Jersey Twist Patterns using My Knit Block. For just a few dollars you'll get the same training you'd get if you came to the workshop in my studio.

This weeks #PatternPuzzle was about targeting another of my favourite Erté designs and bringing this inspiration up-to-date.  As it turns out this is a truly challenging style.  I know I made at least two mistakes in putting these pattern making instructions together.  So please forgive any other errors you may find.  And because of its complexity, I imagine I would have to produce at least 2-3 toiles/muslins to really get the design and fit to work well before attempting in final cloth.

Green Velvet Drape - A homage to Ceil Chapman 1950

Over a year ago I found the image of this amazing vintage dress on Pinterest, compliments of Mill Street Vintage.  Unfortunately (for us) it has been sold and is no longer in their shop.  So I made up the back view to hopefully balance with the wonderful design detail on the front.
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