I recently had the pleasure of testing a pattern produced by the Nostalgic Pattern Company, which specializes in vintage dresses. The Myrtle Wood pattern has a dolman-sleeved bodice with a small, bias-cut collar, underarm gussets, waist darts, and a button closure. The highlight of the dress is a contrasting hip sash with large mock bow, which connects the pencil skirt to the bodice.
The sass of the dress captivated me immediately, and I found it fairly simple and straight-forward to sew. The only challenge was in understanding how the hip sash was assembled. Once I realized that the main seams for this pattern element center back and center front, not side seams, the sewing process was surprisingly easy and quick.
Since my figure generally requires me to make extensive alterations in the shoulders, armscye, and hip areas, I was delighted to find the the bias cut of the dolman sleeves and the hip sash eliminated these problems entirely. The dress is darling and very comfortable to wear. I really enjoyed getting in on the testing of a pattern while it was still in the preproduction stages.
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Your dress sounds intriguing, Tatsy. The bias cut sounds like something I could use. Is there any chance you could post a picture?
I'm planning on it but my husband is the photographer and he is one of those guys who loves his work--just can't get enough of it. I think he'll surface around Easter. I hope.
Hi Tatsy! I was the other tester for this dress and I loved it, too. I had the same problem that you did with the sash but once I understood it I had no problem. I really liked the way the directions are laid out - the way you do all of the sewing with certain pieces before assembling everything - then you can just assemble and get it done. That was easier for me than most directions are. I made my dress in muslin and have yet to remake it in regular fabric, unfortunately. I also had camera issues so I have not ever been able to take a photo that is decent.
I'm glad you started this thread. I've thought about doing it on several occasions and then again when I saw that Laura was looking for more testers for the next pattern she is going to release. I'm also thinking I should review it on Pattern Review because I did really like the design of the dress and the way it was put together but I haven't done that yet either!
I'm looking forward to seeing more and more of the dresses available for sale on the website!
http://nostalgicpatterns.com/index.html
JT
Actually, I'm the maverick tester. I'm so used to having to reconfigure the whole shoulder area that I sewed up that area first. Once I got it on and found out that it fit, the rest was a snap, except for getting my head around the fact that the two main seams were CF and CB.
I made the dress out of a tiny pink/grey/white geometric pattern with a grey hip sash. I used a midweight rayon challis for the sash because I got to working on it in the wee hours one weekend, and that was the closest thing I had to the recommended fabrics. It didn't quite drape the way it was supposed to, but that's my own fault. Except for the tiny gathers in the back, it looks fantastic. After I retire in June, I'll probably take waist apart and recut the outerfabric to make it smooth and "couturier."
How's the weather in Gothenburg? My sister keeps sending updates from Minneapolis and I just shiver!
Edited 2/27/2008 6:57 pm ET by Tatsy
The dress sounds really cute in that fabric. I was really happy with the fit of it, too. The only reason I haven't made it over in other fabric is that I haven't been wearing a whole lot of dresses lately. That will change when I get back to work so I will be making it again.
The weather here is actually better than where I'm from (Detroit, Michigan area) so I'm not going to complain other than to say that once it stops raining I'll be very happy!
Happy retirement to you! Sounds like you will be busy!
JT
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