The Sewing Place

taking apart a dress for a pattern

RachelB

taking apart a dress for a pattern
« on: December 21, 2021, 17:30:19 PM »
I have been working off and on for 10 months trying to sew a knockoff of this Vampire's Wife dress.  I have done at least 6 muslins of the bodice of M8032 and the fit has never been correct, mostly on the back bodice.  It occurred to me (why it did not before I don't know  :S), to use a bodice that I know fits, the one from S2444.    I made the changes I needed to make to S2444 on the actual pattern tissue.  This was early in my sewing and it never occurred to me to redraw it on paper and make the changes there. This pattern piece is almost falling apart and, with all the problems that I have had in getting the fit correct, I was wondering if it would work to take apart one of the dresses I made with it, undo the darts, and just trace that actual bodice onto paper and use it. I don't wear those dresses anymore.   I am definitely going to make a muslin first.  Would that work?  I have a second question. The S2444 pattern has two darts on each side of the front bodice that slant from the waistline toward the bust point. You can see them in this picture. The Vampire's wife dress has one dart on each side of the front bodice that extends from the side seam to the bust point.  This picture of another Vampire's Wife dress shows the dart.  If I changed to darts on S2444 to be like the one on the Vampire's Wife dress, would it change the fit? Should I do that or leave them like they are?  Part of me says to leave them like they are because I know the bodice fits, but the perfectionist in me says change them.

Missie

Re: taking apart a dress for a pattern
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2021, 18:11:21 PM »
Yes that would work re taking the other dress apart.

Re the darts, the VW dress has a french dart, which is really an elongated and combined waist and bust dart, generally going from bust and stopping just above the waist.  You would need to slash the pattern piece from the side to the bust end of the dart and then close the original waist darts, which will open up the new french dart.

What is the problem with the fit on what you have currently?

RachelB

Re: taking apart a dress for a pattern
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2021, 19:40:54 PM »
Yes that would work re taking the other dress apart.

Re the darts, the VW dress has a french dart, which is really an elongated and combined waist and bust dart, generally going from bust and stopping just above the waist.  You would need to slash the pattern piece from the side to the bust end of the dart and then close the original waist darts, which will open up the new french dart.

What is the problem with the fit on what you have currently?

Thank you so much!  I just can't get the back bodice fit correct.  Every time I fix one problem, I create another.  It has been going on for months.

Missie

Re: taking apart a dress for a pattern
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2021, 17:50:37 PM »
Thank you so much!  I just can't get the back bodice fit correct.  Every time I fix one problem, I create another.  It has been going on for months. 

It might help to post photos so we can see what the problem, if that would help.

jen

Re: taking apart a dress for a pattern
« Reply #4 on: January 01, 2022, 10:03:02 AM »
Taking apart an old bodice will work. Just keep a beady eye of the grain. Often this gets distorted when clothes are worn, and you need to squidge the fabric back into the shape it had when it was cut out to get the pattern right. If the garment is not going to be worn you can pull a thread on the warp and weft to see where it has distorted.

toileandtrouble

Re: taking apart a dress for a pattern
« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2022, 12:02:56 PM »
If it is going to be worn, take  fine needle and thread and run a line of tacking stitches along the grain lines. That will show up distortions too,
Yarn down:  1000g
Fabric down:  29m