A Lutterloh Frankenpattern

Using pattern 254 from Supp. 282, pattern 202 from Supp. 292 &
pattern 229 from Supp. 287 

Hello Folks,

I know that it's been ages since I posted any new sewing. I have been working more than I ever intended to since being employed again. I've actually been wearing this dress for weeks already but have been trying to find the time to chronicle it.

The pattern for this dress was really born out of necessity. I looked through all my Lutterloh patterns, more than once, but I could not find a pattern for a basic T-shirt type dress with no bust darts. I know, I could just rotate the bust darts as Fonnell explains here. However, why not use some patterns that I already have drawn and combine them to create my simple pattern? With this style of dress once you have the pattern and fit worked out it's so easy to use it again and again. 

Here are the patterns that I combined to get my one simple T-shirt dress pattern. I have reviewed each of these patterns separately in the past. Here are the links to those reviews:
http://sewingnhumming.blogspot.com/2016/03/lutterloh-patterns-come-alive.html
http://sewingnhumming.blogspot.com/2015/09/supplement-292-model-202-spring-2014.html
http://sewingnhumming.blogspot.com/2015/03/lutterloh-patterns-come-alive.html 

Combining the Patterns:

Now this may sound like more trouble than it's worth but bear with me and you'll see it's not that complicated. The only real challenge was to combine the top of the shirt with the skirt of the dress pattern. You'll see in my photos below that it's not really a challenge after all. 

Copying the skirt:

I first laid out the two patterns with the dress pattern on top. Since they are similar shapes and both drawn to the same size you can see that there isn't a great deal of difference until you get to the neckline. With the center back lined up and the waist line matching on the two patterns there's just a slight flare at the bottom of the shirt pattern that needs to be folded in. Of course when I drew the pattern these pieces were on top of a new piece of paper but the dark background gives a better contrast. I folded in the extra shirt pattern and started copying the skirt but only up to the waistline.

Copying the shirt:

Once I got the whole skirt drawn to the waist I then folded the dress pattern at the waistline and anchored it with a huge pattern weight. I needed to be sure the center backs stayed aligned while I copied the shirt on top. I had already used this same bodice and sleeve pattern together so I knew there would be no issue there. I repeated this same procedure for the front pattern pieces, blended in the waistline areas, and PRESTO I had front and back pattern pieces for a dartless T-shirt dress!

The Conclusion:

The original dress pattern has darts suggested, both front and back, but I knew from my experience with the first dress that with the right fabric I may not need the darts. Sure enough, the stretchy, heavier weight knit I used, much like the original dress, did not need the darts. I do think a lighter, clingier knit would still need darts but I'll cross that road when I sew another version of this dress. Now that I have this worked out I'm sure this will become a staple pattern for me and with the pattern drawn to my measurements it will fit better than any commercial pattern out of the envelope. 

See, that wasn't that difficult. I'm sure there are many more applications for combining your Lutterloh patterns if really necessary. That is one of the beautiful features of this pattern system. Oh, and if anyone comes across a Lutterloh T-shirt dress pattern without darts, I'd really like to know. 

Happy sewing everyone,

Ann in Calif.