Monday, January 7, 2013

Simplicity 6276

This dress has been a long time coming! I made my first muslin early in December, but I kept getting distracted by shiny things. I told myself I was not allowed to do any Jungle January garments until I finished this, so here it is...
The pattern is Simplicity 6276, printed in 1965.  The fabric is a lovely rayon/wool blend garbardine from FabricMart. I'm so glad I bought this in several colors. It was a dream to sew and wore beautifully.
My BSF, Carrie sent the pattern to me, along with a whole bunch of other fabulous finds. She's the best! The pattern is wonderful, and includes the jumper/dress, which I made, as well as four variations of a basic darted blouse. Since the jumper was the simplest sew, I decided to make it first, but I LOVE those blouses. There's something that I find irresistible about a vintage blouse pattern.
So, fit - the bane of every sewist, right? This pattern is a size larger than I generally sew, as well as being a relatively unfitted style, typical for the 60s. I knew I would need to make a lot of adjustments to be happy with it, so naturally I started with a muslin, but really I should have graded down a size first. You can see that the shoulders are a little wide in front and there is a bit of extra room in the bust area (!!!).
In back, there is a little extra room in the lower back, and again, the armhole has a dropped shoulder. The upper back fits well, thanks to the shoulder darts. I did have to make a square shoulder adjustment to this dress, which isn't typical for me. As drafted, the shoulders sloped pretty considerably.
In my first muslin, the fit was quite shapeless through the waist, so I added vertical darts both front and back.
I draped them in on my first muslin, then refined them on the pattern tissue. It wasn't at all difficult to do, but it makes a great deal of difference to the fit.
The pattern calls for facings to finish the neck and armholes, but I like a lined dress, particularly in the winter. I used Trena's tutorial for an all machine clean finish lining insertion. I love that tutorial. It works beautifully every time.
For the darts in the lining, I sewed release tucks in the vertical darts to leave some ease in the lining, as the charmeuse lining (also from FabricMart) had no give, while the gabardine did have a bit of stretch. I did fully sew the horizontal bust dart, as I wanted a smoother finish over the bust. Horizontal tucks tend to bunch a little, which isn't attractive at the bustline.
Despite the vertical darts, this is still a pretty unfitted jumper, so I belted it at my natural waist. Yes, my waist really is all the way up there. I wore it with my Ottobre Woman blouse, which I think fits with the style of the jumper. I think it will also look nice with a turtleneck, so I suspect it will get a good amount of wear, despite the fit imperfections.

13 comments:

Jamie said...

Beautiful! I especially love the color against your complexion.

Joy said...

What a fun jumper! I love seeing the 60's patterns made up. Adding the darts seems like a good idea, especially given the length (it'd be different to have no waist shaping in a shorter swing dress). And the included blouse styles are very cool.

Lynneb said...

How cute! A jumper! I love it Kate...just adorable and grown-up at the same time.

gwensews said...

You really need a belt on that dress, since you have such a nice figure. You must have some long legs. Lucky you.

prttynpnk said...

I love it belted. It's sleek and business-like. Love it.

The Hojnackes said...

The belt really makes it perfect. I absolutely love the color- especially on you!

Virginia at A Sewing Life said...

I love it, too. It's a great color and shape for you. Jumpers are so sharp!

Marjie said...

It's a great color, and looks good on you. I'm high waisted, too, so I thought your belt looked exactly in the right place! It's nice that you value and use these vintage patterns. I have a box of them (women's, men's and children's) which were given to me, and I'm never going to use; I ought to send them to you.

meli88a said...

Great color, and those sleeves are great!

gMarie said...

What a great gift and a lovely jumper. Even after you pointed them all out - I don't really see an fit imperfections. Be kind - it's a lovely, flattering jumper. g

ladykatza said...

Wow! I think I have that exact same fabric in my stash. I also bought it in two different greens and black. Its yummy, isn't? Fabric Mart is like sewing crack.

I love this look on you! It looks like an easy "I have to run errands or go to work" outfit. My waist is also very high. I have a long torso, as well.

The Slapdash Sewist said...

This is such a cute look! I'm never sure whether a jumper looks right for me as a grown up, but I think you've convinced me. The crisp white blouse makes all the difference.

Janine said...

I am very behind blog reading so sorry for all these comments at once . You have really nailed your vintage dress but in such a modern way. I love your killer heels as well .