Dress Patterns: Vintage Style, Modern Price?

[Shana Nicole]

Hey guys! I love, love, love vintage styled clothing. I'm a more "curvy girl" and have a hard time finding retro clothing (the sizing tends to run small). I hate buying things online, because I feel like I get them and they don't fit (my shape is hard to fit into a "one size fits all").  Plus-- if it DOES fit... It's EXPENSIVE!!!!! I can't be as flexible and creative as I want on my budget.

 

I've looked into sewing patterns, and old ones are expensive, fragile, and so hard to work with. I know that there are more modern versions out there, that are there has to be SOMETHING out there that's perfect.

 

How many of you have found a pattern you liked?  Brand? Line? Pattern style? Color combos? Fabrics? Where to buy?

 

Have you made a dress with the pattern? Had someone make it for you? Show show show!

 

I'm dying to see if this turns out to be a lead to a new wardrobe!

[GlassCannon]

I sew all my own dresses, as I'm similarly hard to fit (large bust, small back, short-waisted, etc), and have since I hit puberty and first started having trouble buying anything off the rack.  

 

Sewing is a *great* hobby to have, especially if you're hard to fit and/or into styles that aren't easy to find.  But it does take a lot of practice to get good, so I wouldn't recommend jumping right into sewing dresses for yourself right off the bat.  Not that you shouldn't try, but keep your expectations realistic -- those dresses are expensive because of the experience, talent, and time it takes to make a well-fitting dress.

 

I would suggest you start out by finding a local fabric store.  Most towns in the US have a JoAnn Fabrics and/or a Hancock Fabrics near by.  Take a wander through the store, feel the fabric, look at prices and fiber contents, just to get an idea of what's available.  Most local fabric stores will have info on sewing classes.  Find a beginner's class, and start there.  A beginner's class focused on making clothes would be best, but any class at all is better than none.  That will get you started on the basics of using a sewing machine, following a pattern, etc.

 

Depending on the class, you may need to bring your own supplies, but even if you don't you should have some basic supplies to sew at home: good fabric scissors, a set of straight pins, a measuring tape, and a sewing machine.  Usually all of those can be bought at any local fabric store, with the exception of maybe the machine.  The ladies at the store should be able to recommend a good starter sewing machine if they carry them in the store, or recommend a local shop to go to buy a machine if they don't.  You don't need one with tons of bells and whistles, just a couple of basic stitches.  I recently upgraded my old college machine to a Viking Emerald 116 and I love it.

 

Moving on from the beginner's class, good first clothing projects are skirts.  A-line skirts are especially easy, and circle skirts are great once you get the hang of hemming a curved edge.  For those sorts of skirts, all you're really fitting is the waistline, and then adjusting the length to where you want it, so they're easy first projects.  From there you can move on to fitted pencil skirts, and then to dresses, and eventually trousers, blouses, costumes, anything you can think of.  (I've been sewing since I was 8 years old, so 22 years now total, and I'm just about to attempt making an honest-to-goodness boned girdle. So excited for it!)

 

As far as patterns go, any local fabric store will carry what are referred to as the "Big Four" brands: McCall's, Vogue, Butterick, and Simplicity.  They may also carry New Look, Burda, or other smaller brands, but the Big Four are institutions that you'll always be able to find.  Retro is in style at the moment, so finding modern patterns with a retro feel is actually pretty easy.  Vogue has a whole line of re-released vintage patterns, Butterick has a "Retro" section, and the others all have patterns mixed in that are already retro or could be made to look retro.

 

The most important thing to know when sewing from a pattern is that pattern sizing is no where close to off-the-rack sizing.  For instance, my measurements (ungirdled) are 39-28-40, and I can usually wear a size 4 off the rack, depending on the brand -- but I'm a size 14 or so in Vogue patterns.  Each pattern will usually have a size chart printed on the envelope (often on the flap), that gives the bust, waist, and hip measurements for each size.  However, in my experience the Big Four patterns all tend to run a bit large, and have way too much "ease" (the space between your clothes and your body) built in, so if you want something tightly fitted, you'll want to go down a size at least, and then adjust the fit once you can try it on, by taking in certain seams until you get it looking the way you want it.

 

The more you sew, the easier it'll get, and the more you'll get to know what works for your body and what doesn't, what fabrics you like and which you end up cursing, how to solve fit problems, etc.  Take any classes you can, and look for patterns with simple, clean lines to start out with.  The more you sew, the more you'll like it, and the more cute things you'll have to wear!

 

Beyond that, I would highly recommend two websites.  The first is a blog called Gertie's New Blog For Better Sewing (the name is in reference to Vogue's New Book For Better Sewing, published in 1952, which brought in the age of big skirts and tiny waists that so many of us retro girls love).  Gertie is a great blogger and a really talented seamstress, with her own book coming out soon.  She's got an every day retro style that I think would appeal to a lot of people here, and she often does tutorials for all sorts of clothing projects.  She updates at least once a day with something interesting, so definitely worth following, as well as reading through all the archives. 

 

The second is a community site called PatternReview.com.  As the name implies, it's a site for sewers to review patterns they've used, post pictures of finished projects, etc.  It's worth joining the site (free) so you can read older reviews.  This is a great place to read up on a pattern you're considering making, to see how hard it is, what adjustments other people have had to make to it, any tips or tricks for it, etc.

 

Other than that, it's just practice practice practice!  Good luck!

[Shana Nicole]

Wow... now THAT is an answer I can use! Thank you for all the advice! I've dabbled in sewing a bit... and had a few dresses, years ago, that I wouldn't call "successes" or "failures"... just "attempts"!

 

The patterns are exactly what I'm thinking of... thank you for the links! And the blogs as well! I appreciate your well-written response. 

 

:D

[Roxy Tart {PL Team / Comm. Mgr}]

My seamstress uses Vintage Vogue patterns and they come out perfect! She has made me a ton of outfits and dresses, and each one comes out beautiful. The trick to making them look "vintage" or "rockabilly" or "psycobilly" is the fabric. You can use the same pattern over and over but make it look different every time. Pick one that is versatile and learn to make it perfectly. Then make it with a lace overlay or taffeta for formal, light cotton in a pretty pastel for summer, wool for winter, cherrys for rockabilly... you get the idea. You can also take the same pattern and change the hem length, sleeves, add a collar, add buttons or bows, the possibilities are endless.