Is a girl not entitled to dresses that fit?

I’m continuing to add to my 1940s wardrobe with my standard, self-made pattern, this time with a long-sleeved dress. The fabric is from Spotlight; I think it’s a poly-cotton. In retrospect it’s probably a bit too stiff and the print a bit too big*, but oh well, it’s a dress now.

*Large florals don’t work so well on me. Massive florals, on the other hand, are grand.

After making Elizabeth (Bioshock Infinite) I decided that tucks were painful and to be avoided. So, of course, as soon as I was looking for a feature for my 40s dress I thought “Tucks!” And not just tucks, piped tucks. So I added tucks to my pattern, changed the yoke and cut straight into my fashion fabric. I figured that if it went right I wouldn’t want to do all the tucks twice and if it went wrong they’re small pieces and I had enough fabric to cut them again.

Many years ago, when I was still exclusively sewing throw cushions, a friend gave me a pack of plain colour fat quarters. Since I am no longer inclined to use them for cushion backing I have found them quite useful for contrasting trims and piping. I returned to this set and found a perfectly coordinating green to pipe my dress.

I used flat piping for the tucks - basically just a folded over piece of fabric - and round piping for the waistband and yoke. The piping is slipped under the tuck which is then topstitched down.

The tucks went ok but the dress had other problems. The armscye was deeply uncomfortable, the shoulder points were too wide and the bodice was baggy. Overall I was displeased. I set the dress aside because I couldn't work out how to fix it. I wasn't sure if my patternmaking techniques would work here as the pattern wasn't made in a proper way to start with.

Fortunately the solutions presented themselves over the course of the next few months:

• I started another 40s dress, this time the collared version, and realised that my pattern required a small bust adjustment. I wasn't about to redo that now but I took the darts in some more which worked well enough.
• When I did the fitting for my 1950s pattern I invented a solution to my perennial uncomfortable armscye problem. I thought I could apply it to my forties pattern – and even better, I could use it on the pieces I had already sewn the tucks in.
• Then my mum pointed out that in combining the back and front yoke into one piece, I had completely lost the shape of the shoulder seam. Oops. That I did recut and repipe.

The end result was a vast improvement in both appearance and comfort

I'm so glad to live in the age of YouTube. For the photos I did my makeup following the instructions from this video. My hair is based on this tutorial.

Canberra Show Results

Another Canberra Show has been and gone. I only entered 3 things this year as there was no historical or costume category (much sadness). Hopefully they will be back next year.

I won first in Any other article of machine or hand sewing with my 1830s dress and corded petticoat. The ensemble also won overall champion of the Sewing section.

My 40s dress with piped tucks took first in Winter/Summer Garment.

This year I ventured out of the Sewing section (into Textiles) with my 1830s bonnet which I entered in the Any wearable hat/creative headpiece/fascinator class. It won second place.