Vintage skirt meets modern bodice
Hi there, welcome back. I wanted to highlight the versatility of the Lutterloh system with a little experiment. I made the dress shown in the center a while back but wasn't happy that it didn't have pockets. You can see that review here. I suppose I could have just put in side seam pockets but after making this dress for my son's niece I knew I wanted to try the scoop pockets for myself.
Choosing the components:
You may have heard that many parts of Lutterloh patterns are interchangeable. I love the skirt on this vintage pattern from 1972 but not the jumper bodice on top. BTW the vintage pattern is also available in the original 1972 supplement #126, or #307 or the newest Vintage Special Edition. On the other hand I knew the bodice of the dress from 2018 fit well and could be easily adapted to accommodate the vintage skirt pattern. The modern pattern is designed for knits and has an empire waist but my challenge was to make it work with the vintage skirt that sits at the waist.
Making it work:
The vintage pattern is designed for woven fabrics but in a knit I knew it would go over my head without the need for a zipper opening. The real trick was to get the bodice long enough to make up for the extra length that I would lose at the top of the skirt. Below is a picture of one of the skirt panels and the front bodice for the 2018 pattern.
Because
the pattern is for an empire waist dress you can see the top of the
skirt extends above the waist line. The difference between the actual
waist and the top of the skirt measured 3 inches on my pattern. This means I needed to add 3 inches to my pattern between the bottom of the bodice and the waistline for the skirt. Since the 2018 pattern included a 1 inch contrast band I decided to add 1.5 inches to the band and another 1.5 inches to the bodice, both front and back. This brought my bodice down to meet the level of the vintage skirt without giving it a strange proportion in relation to the whole dress.
Not surprisingly, the pattern elements went together just like a Lutterloh pattern should. The A-line skirt was flared enough at the hips that it went over my head without a hitch and the knit waistband makes the whole dress fit closely without being tight. Since I ended up drawing a copy of my bodice pattern I also changed the neckline to a scoop instead of the original V neck. From the beginning I had confidence that this experiment would work and now I'm so glad I tried it.
In Conclusion:
I have found that the precision of the Lutterloh patterns allows for lots of experimenting like this. Since this skirt style is quickly becoming a favorite of mine I may look for more bodices, in different styles, that will work on top of this skirt. Perhaps a cross over bodice dress is in my future. I'll certainly keep my eyes peeled for more possibilities.
If you haven't tried exchanging your Lutterloh pattern elements yet I would highly recommend it. It is definitely worth a try since Lutterloh makes it so easy. Here's hoping your Lutterloh patterns are successful whether you decide to follow them or not.
Happy Sewing Everyone,
Ann in Calif.
