McCalls M7154 Update: Stress

   So I am working on a 1930s dress for a Halloween get together and I am not even cutting into the real fabric yet and I am stressed.

    Currently, I am trying to understand how to do as fba on this thing. The dress has an underbodice and an over bodice, so it's not treated as and doesn't function as a lined piece. The underbodice is a standard two dart bodice construction and is more form fitting. It's inside and not really seen. Then the overbodice is a looser, no dart, free-flowing piece that has a slight shrug appearance.

     The finished measurements on the underbodice are 47 inches, and my full bust 49ish. Both pieces need an fba of about 2.5 inches (an addition space of 5 inches in the finished piece) to fit properly.


 
   Now on a standard arm and waist dart bodice, the fba is very simple and straight forward, however,
the waist dart is off center from the bust apex about 3/4 inch so trying to get the right fba has been hard. I am already on the third muslin shell for just the underbodice alone. you can kind of see in the picture to the right how there is an undershirt. I would also like to add that even though they are two bodices they do intertwine each other as one.

*What I have done for the next alteration attempt shifted the waist dart to be centered with the bust apex, did a normal fba and then shifted the tip of the dart back to the 3/4 off center it was. Also, since I have added so much room to the side, I had to slightly adjust the position on the side dart as well.*

     Then the next task which I don't think will be too bad, is the overbodice has no darts at all. So I am going to do the dartless bodice fba, and when you do an fba it will automatically add that arm/side dart, then I will do another adjustment to remove that.

Now this is just the bodice, you can see from the pattern pictures that there are also many pieces that create the hips and skirts. I may have to adjust those two.

What did I get myself into????

Wish me luck,

Jessi Harm
Evil Regal

Halloween "Costume; 1930/40s Evening Gown

   
     So I have been thinking about what I want to do for my costume this year, and I am hosting a Halloween party on the 8th so I wanted to do something special. Originally I wanted to throw a masquerade-style party, but space and funds are limited for that, so I went simple and decided to do a pattern I bought over a year ago, its one of the first ones I ever bought, "Archive Collection Circa 1930" evening gown by McCalls. I have been dreaming of this for a while but have been too terrified to make it. I even bought a second pattern envelope in case something gets damaged since it was on sale.

Disclaimer: This is not just a costume. Any chance I get, I am wearing this.

     What I really love is the seams on the dress. I love how it drapes but is also tailored in the right places. I am going to be very careful with fitting and sewing because I want this to be near perfect. I found some lovely versions on Instagram and google, but you can see very quickly any errors made in these particular seams. I am nervous on how it will lay because I am an apple shape so I have been thinking of getting a set of appropriate foundations to wear under and basing my measurements and fitting with the foundations.

   
     The Fabric I chose is Crepe Back Satin, and I decided to do an emerald green after I saw Kiera Knightley's green gown in the movie Atonement. I thought the deep emerald green would also allow for some old Hollywood glamor, and bring in some of the 1940s which I love. This fabric also has some texture to it, so I think it will really show off those unique seams as well and do fabulous light play.

   
There are a few changes I am going to be doing.

First is a full bust adjustment. Needs to be done. The second is because I am so large in the chest I don't want the open in the back because I need to wear support, so what I want to do is some of the pretty cloth covered buttons and little button loops. This is new for me, so I am sure that I will say lots of naughty words.


I will keep you in the loop as I go step by step, and let you know of any changes, issues or concerns I have.

Make sure to check out my Instagram account for pictures of other fun finds and adventures.

Jessi Harm
Evil Regal