Vintage Supplement 109 Model #48 - Summer 1968
Sleeveless Dress w/ shoulder tucks
It can get really hot here in parts of California so I pretty much live in casual dresses all Summer long. I'm always on the lookout for patterns that I can translate into easy care pull on dresses with just a little detail. This sleeveless dress with asymmetric shoulder tucks certainly fits the bill.
Pattern Drafting Hints:
Although this pattern is considered vintage I was able to enlarge it to my size with my modern Lutterloh scale. There are no odd numbered dots to plot; they all fall either on a whole number or sometimes at the .5 mark. There are however quite a few dots to mark for the front bodice as you can see in the photo below.
Pattern Drafting Hints:
Although this pattern is considered vintage I was able to enlarge it to my size with my modern Lutterloh scale. There are no odd numbered dots to plot; they all fall either on a whole number or sometimes at the .5 mark. There are however quite a few dots to mark for the front bodice as you can see in the photo below.
Truly the front bodice is the only complicated step in this pattern. The rest of the pattern is pretty straightforward to draw and sew.
You'll see in the pattern photo above that there are three tucks on one side and a dart on the opposite side of the bodice. I found all of these needed some adjusting in the paper fitting stage. The side dart was way too high and the tucks just looked wonky once I pinned them in. The side dart was easy enough to change on my paper pattern but the tucks were a different story. Be prepared to fiddle with the tucks at the pinning stage because the fullness and height of your bust will determine where the tucks will look best. Here's a close up of how my tucks turned out.
Fabric Used/Suggested:
This casual version of this pattern is sewn in black cotton/poly interlock. The fabric has stretch on the cross grain but none on the lengthwise grain. This makes the fabric a nice stable knit. The contrast band is a remnant of a poly/nylon jacquard.
This pattern was probably intended to be sewn in a dressier fabric like crepe with an overlay at the waist. A description in the front of the book refers to this as a party dress. My version is still party worthy but perhaps better suited to a backyard barbecue.
Design Changes:
The only design change to this pattern was to lower the neckline and shape it into a gentle V. The pattern, as originally drawn, ended up with a deceivingly high neckline. I needed to lower it a full two inches to achieve the shape you see here. I did also need to reduce the width of the waist more than my usual amount so you may want to do some quick measurements of the pattern before cutting your fabric.
Closing Hints:
For those that don't have this pattern, don't despair. If you check out this blog post here:
Making the most of your Lutterloh patterns
you should be able to refashion a basic pattern with bust darts and a full skirt with waist seam into one that resembles the vintage one. You will need to draw a whole front bodice piece like the one above and then change the dart to tucks on only one side.
If you'd rather just buy your patterns all worked out already there is a pattern like this vintage one in the newest Lutterloh supplement #305 here.. You'll see model #227 has a very similar shape. It doesn't have the asymmetrical tucks but it does sport a nice pleated skirt instead. The most important thing to remember here is the more you use your patterns the easier it is to imagine them in new ways.
So keep using those Lutterloh patterns and feel free to ask any questions or make comments on our blog here. We check for comments every day and we'd love to help you make the most of your Lutterloh patterns too!
Enjoy your sewing time,
Ann in Calif.
You'll see in the pattern photo above that there are three tucks on one side and a dart on the opposite side of the bodice. I found all of these needed some adjusting in the paper fitting stage. The side dart was way too high and the tucks just looked wonky once I pinned them in. The side dart was easy enough to change on my paper pattern but the tucks were a different story. Be prepared to fiddle with the tucks at the pinning stage because the fullness and height of your bust will determine where the tucks will look best. Here's a close up of how my tucks turned out.
This casual version of this pattern is sewn in black cotton/poly interlock. The fabric has stretch on the cross grain but none on the lengthwise grain. This makes the fabric a nice stable knit. The contrast band is a remnant of a poly/nylon jacquard.
This pattern was probably intended to be sewn in a dressier fabric like crepe with an overlay at the waist. A description in the front of the book refers to this as a party dress. My version is still party worthy but perhaps better suited to a backyard barbecue.
Design Changes:
The only design change to this pattern was to lower the neckline and shape it into a gentle V. The pattern, as originally drawn, ended up with a deceivingly high neckline. I needed to lower it a full two inches to achieve the shape you see here. I did also need to reduce the width of the waist more than my usual amount so you may want to do some quick measurements of the pattern before cutting your fabric.
Closing Hints:
For those that don't have this pattern, don't despair. If you check out this blog post here:
Making the most of your Lutterloh patterns
you should be able to refashion a basic pattern with bust darts and a full skirt with waist seam into one that resembles the vintage one. You will need to draw a whole front bodice piece like the one above and then change the dart to tucks on only one side.
If you'd rather just buy your patterns all worked out already there is a pattern like this vintage one in the newest Lutterloh supplement #305 here.. You'll see model #227 has a very similar shape. It doesn't have the asymmetrical tucks but it does sport a nice pleated skirt instead. The most important thing to remember here is the more you use your patterns the easier it is to imagine them in new ways.
So keep using those Lutterloh patterns and feel free to ask any questions or make comments on our blog here. We check for comments every day and we'd love to help you make the most of your Lutterloh patterns too!
Enjoy your sewing time,
Ann in Calif.
The dress looks good on you. Another "you did it your way garment".
ReplyDeleteThank you Gloria. I think this is a great example of how fashion trends have been recycled for many years. We have a bunch more versatile fabrics now though.
ReplyDeleteThis is more FYI:
ReplyDeleteI have this pattern in a binder I bought at a garage sale for $2. Some of the patterns have been removed but it is interesting to see patterns from 1969 (as a reminder to me LOL).
It is The American Way to True-Fit Patterns and all seem to be Lutterloh patterns. The patterns are also for the left side of the body but they are in imperial/inches. Yay!
I have that binder too. I haven't tried it though. My
ReplyDeleteLutterloh binder seems to have more patterns.
Lovely dress- you even styled it with the perfect lace/belt. Thanks for all the helpful & encouraging information. Happy sewing to you, too! Rosemary, NZ
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Rosemary. With today's modern fabrics the vintage patterns become much more wearable for today's wardrobes.
ReplyDeleteAnn, I used your technique of high bust measurement for the shoulder and upper sleeve/ armsyce and it worked perfectly. I had been having trouble getting my princess seams to fit properly (they fit over my bust but had too much material at the armsyce, like I needed an extra dart), and this has solved the problem! Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteRosemary, NZ
So glad that worked for you Rosemary. When I first tried it I felt like it was truly an "aha" moment.;)
ReplyDelete