Comments on: Overcoming Pattern Failure

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 15:56:21 +0000

In reply to Demarie Jones. Time out is important for certain projects at times. ;-)

By: Demarie Jones

Demarie Jones — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 13:29:21 +0000

i had this same problem with a costume I made for my daughter, it turned into a two year nightmare of me going back and forth every couple of months to get it right. Mainly the skirt on it. The pieces wouldn’t line up properly with each other, actual costume pattern, and even when going step by little step everything would fall apart on me when trying to get the back center seam even on the multiple layers. Usually my husband would leave our joint work room when I started throwing pieces of fabric, raining pins everywhere, and screaming at it. Then I would pick everything up and put it away neatly for the next attempt. Which this year came together all at once. Not sure how or why, maybe the sewing gods took pity on me, but I sat down and finished not only the skirt but the rest of the outfit in a week. Some days you just have to walk away and not look at it for awhile. Good thing my daughters size didn’t change or I would have lost it right there and just had a bonfire in the backyard with that outfit as the starter.

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:14:15 +0000

In reply to Dean. Oh, best of luck it getting it done!

By: Dean

Dean — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:09:18 +0000

I think I’m almost at this point. Since I’m big even for a guy, literally no pattern works for me…I have to upsize everything.

And then get it to fit. And then my duct tape dress form I made isn’t actually representative (I think it got flat on the back).

I’ve been wrestling with this bodice for oh…months now. Same three pieces, over and over again. I _think_ I might be on the last one, and can finally make sure that the overskirt and the puff sleeves go on properly before I dive into the velvet (I’m definitely doing this on Hard Mode).

But I think that if this try doesn’t work I’m going to go and make the skirt from Scarlett O’Hara’s prayer dress since I could also use that as a petticoat for a gown I already have (and as you say, can’t have too many petticoats).

By: May

May — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:40:08 +0000

In reply to Jennifer Rosbrugh. One of the Victorians and earlier secrets is that they were sewing from a very young age. At 5 and 6 they would be making dresses for their dolls or even the dolls them selves. Learning their ABC's by doing samplers. In short they knew the patterns and how fabric works by the time they were teenagers. Most of us conversely don't start sewing till we are grown up and have a lot of catching up to do.

By: Jennifer Rosbrugh

Jennifer Rosbrugh — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:32:12 +0000

In reply to Gail. Haha Gail! Sometimes it DOES seem that they all knew how to make up the most gorgeous of dresses from a plain line on a page. They took all their dressmaking secrets to the grave and now we're having to muddle through the process of how they did it. :-)

By: Gail

Gail — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:01:13 +0000

I read patterns from Victorian fashion books and I look at the finished picture versus the pattern. And I’m lost.
I mean, did everyone back then know how to get from the vague-as-hell to the dress-of-your-dream?

By: Martha

Martha — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:17:32 +0000

I have made several of the Simplicity Civil War era dresses, but I make the same skirt over and over. I just know it works the best and I understand the instructions well enough to adapt to other patterns. I also learned to read through all the instructions before ever starting to sew. My sister taught me that. It makes things a lot easier to follow later on. Final piece of advice from my mother…just follow the instructions. Sometimes when I’m trying to visualize the fabric doing one thing the pattern is getting it to do something completely different. Sometimes (only sometimes) this does not work, but in general it does. Great article!