Supplement 299 - Model #56 - Winter 2015
Princess Seam Knit Dress
While shopping for a dress to wear to a Christmas party last month I was reminded why I sew for myself. I found a bunch of dresses with a nice hounds tooth print as an inset but none of them fit quite right. If they fit on top they were too loose in the waist. When I found one that fit everywhere else it was too tight across my bust. If I'm going to spend good money on a party dress I don't want to have to alter it too. Then my Lutterloh supplement arrived in the mail and I knew just what to do with that great hounds tooth knit I'd been saving!
Pattern Drafting Hints:
This particular pattern is a shoulder seam princess cut. I have tried other princess seam patterns that end at the arm hole but always felt they drew too much attention to my bust. I have found the princess line ending at the shoulder to be more elongating and generally more flattering for me. I still use both my high bust and full bust measurements to enlarge the pattern so I need to remember to mark the dots on all the pieces to remind me where to switch numbers on the Lutterloh scale. For a visual of how I mark my dots see this post here.
Fabric Used/Suggested:
I was fortunate to buy the last 3 yards of this hounds tooth print Ponte knit from Girl Charlee Fabrics last Summer. Along with a solid black Ponte I was able to make this dress from just a little over 1 yard of each. If I hadn't needed to lengthen the pattern I probably could have made it with just one yard each. This pattern could probably even be made from a woven with stretch as long as there was a high percentage of spandex included and a nice long zipper to get into it.
Design Changes:
The first thing you likely noticed is that I left the collar off this pattern. I did make a collar piece but when I tried it on it reminded me of a schoolmarm and that was definitely not the look I was going for. I removed the collar altogether and cut the neckline down by about 1/2 an inch. My usual satin edge elastic treatment cleaned up the look to my satisfaction. Besides omitting the zipper my only other change was to fold the pattern a little longer than the pattern #56 view. The pattern has you draw the length out to the length of view #55 and then fold the pattern up a certain number of cm for view #56. I just folded it about an inch and a half longer and ended up with my perfect length.
Closing Tips:
I do believe this could turn into a TNT pattern for me. The shape is right and the panels lend themselves to options for color blocking or an allover print fabric. I can even see this shortened as a tunic over leggings or perhaps with godets added to the seams for more flair at the bottom edge. Of course with the Lutterloh System's ability to switch out sleeve patterns you end up with even more options. Uuugghhh, so many ideas, so little time!
If a princess seam pattern is what you're looking for I would wholeheartedly recommend this one! Here's hoping you can find some time for sewing with your Lutterloh patterns.
Happy New Year and Happy Sewing from,
Ann in Calif.
Bernice left a comment below and here is her lovely outfit
Best wishes for the year 2016 ! I like your dress very much moreover
because it has the princess cut from the shoulder. Using the Lutterloh
pattern N° 41 of 2013 I too made a princess cut dress for a friend in
December 2015. This pattern fascinated and challenged me because of the
raglan Magyar sleeves with a seam in the center. But I changed the front
opening making a double breasted front with soft folds at the waistline
on the left. After drafting it, I realized that it was for a very tall
figure so I had to adjust the waistline and remove a couple of inches
between the bust line and the waistline. The rest had a perfect fit. I
used a shiny dark blue lace for the front panel and black double knit
fabric for all the other panels. I'm enclosing a photo of my gift.
Pattern Drafting Hints:
This particular pattern is a shoulder seam princess cut. I have tried other princess seam patterns that end at the arm hole but always felt they drew too much attention to my bust. I have found the princess line ending at the shoulder to be more elongating and generally more flattering for me. I still use both my high bust and full bust measurements to enlarge the pattern so I need to remember to mark the dots on all the pieces to remind me where to switch numbers on the Lutterloh scale. For a visual of how I mark my dots see this post here.
Fabric Used/Suggested:
I was fortunate to buy the last 3 yards of this hounds tooth print Ponte knit from Girl Charlee Fabrics last Summer. Along with a solid black Ponte I was able to make this dress from just a little over 1 yard of each. If I hadn't needed to lengthen the pattern I probably could have made it with just one yard each. This pattern could probably even be made from a woven with stretch as long as there was a high percentage of spandex included and a nice long zipper to get into it.
Design Changes:
The first thing you likely noticed is that I left the collar off this pattern. I did make a collar piece but when I tried it on it reminded me of a schoolmarm and that was definitely not the look I was going for. I removed the collar altogether and cut the neckline down by about 1/2 an inch. My usual satin edge elastic treatment cleaned up the look to my satisfaction. Besides omitting the zipper my only other change was to fold the pattern a little longer than the pattern #56 view. The pattern has you draw the length out to the length of view #55 and then fold the pattern up a certain number of cm for view #56. I just folded it about an inch and a half longer and ended up with my perfect length.
Closing Tips:
I do believe this could turn into a TNT pattern for me. The shape is right and the panels lend themselves to options for color blocking or an allover print fabric. I can even see this shortened as a tunic over leggings or perhaps with godets added to the seams for more flair at the bottom edge. Of course with the Lutterloh System's ability to switch out sleeve patterns you end up with even more options. Uuugghhh, so many ideas, so little time!
If a princess seam pattern is what you're looking for I would wholeheartedly recommend this one! Here's hoping you can find some time for sewing with your Lutterloh patterns.
Happy New Year and Happy Sewing from,
Ann in Calif.
Bernice left a comment below and here is her lovely outfit
