I have a sewing machine and I'm not afraid to use it!

[dill616]

If this needs to be moved to a different area, so be it. [user]General Specific[/user] suggested I ask the Cosplay Department of Halforums for advice on my new adventures in sewing. For a long time, I've been hand sewing and embroidering with no problem. However, I FINALLY got a sewing machine for Christmas and am looking for some suggestions on making pretty dresses. I love wearing retro and vintage styles. Much of my closet is made up of eShakti dresses already and I wanted to try making some on my machine. One problem I'm having is that there aren't a lot of 50's dress patterns in plus sizes. Does anyone have any suggestions of places to find patterns or interesting fabrics? I love a full skirt and stay away from anything that makes me look like a sausage cut in half with string. Legit, some of the dress patterns I've found are NOT flattering.

As a point of reference, I'll include some pictures of the dresses I own, which is the style I'm going for:

Spoiler

This is the dress I'm really looking to recreate:

Any tips or links to blogs would be really appreciated! Thanks!!

 

[LittleKagsin]

I'm stuck at work right now, but I'm on it.

I'll start searching for helpful links for you when I get home!

(EDIT: I do like rustyzipper.com when looking for vintage patterns. But, they can sometimes get pricey depending on the rarity of the pattern, just so you know.)

 

[dill616]

I'm stuck at work right now, but I'm on it.

I'll start searching for helpful links for you when I get home!

THANK YOU!

 

[LittleKagsin]

Alrighty dill616 .

So, first off, here is the pattern that is the closest to the purple dress (that I've found so far):

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v2903-products-4894.php?page_id=857

Shorten the hem, shorten the sleeves and wa-la! If you do want to keep looking, that dress in particular has princess seams and inverted pleats, so that may help narrow the search.

Tip 1: Don't be afraid to mix and match patterns. If you like the top from something, but the bottom from something else, don't be afraid to put the two together.

As for patterns, you can find quite a few at the usual haunts; Simplicity, Vogue, Butterick, McCall's, Kwik-sew, New Look, Burda are all pattern brands that you can find online.

These two online stores do reproductions of vintage patterns, but they give you more size options (including plus size)
http://www.evadress.com/index.html
http://www.decadesofstyle.com/

This store offers plus sizes:
http://www.serendipityvintage.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14

(I'm not sure what size you need, but these are just some cute dress patterns, I think. Hopefully they come in the size you need.)
http://butterick.mccall.com/b5748-products-22646.php?page_id=155
http://www.simplicity.com/p-6954-burda-style-dress.aspx
http://butterick.mccall.com/b4790-products-6089.php?page_id=155
http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8784-products-16426.php?page_id=857

As for interesting fabrics...I'm afraid I won't be of much help. If you live in/near bigger cities, I know a lot of them have fashion districts. But for me, I'm stuck with JoAnn's fabrics. I browse through fabric.com every once in a while. And if I have the money, or I'm looking for something I can't find anywhere else, I go to http://www.moodfabrics.com/ It's pretty crazy expensive, but they have more...rare fabrics.

I hope that helps some and if you have any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[Cajungal]

Good luck, dill. Keep us posted

 

[dill616]

Alrighty dill616 .

So, first off, here is the pattern that is the closest to the purple dress (that I've found so far):

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v2903-products-4894.php?page_id=857

Shorten the hem, shorten the sleeves and wa-la! If you do want to keep looking, that dress in particular has princess seams and inverted pleats, so that may help narrow the search.

Tip 1: Don't be afraid to mix and match patterns. If you like the top from something, but the bottom from something else, don't be afraid to put the two together.

As for patterns, you can find quite a few at the usual haunts; Simplicity, Vogue, Butterick, McCall's, Kwik-sew, New Look, Burda are all pattern brands that you can find online.

These two online stores do reproductions of vintage patterns, but they give you more size options (including plus size)
http://www.evadress.com/index.html
http://www.decadesofstyle.com/

This store offers plus sizes:
http://www.serendipityvintage.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14

(I'm not sure what size you need, but these are just some cute dress patterns, I think. Hopefully they come in the size you need.)
http://butterick.mccall.com/b5748-products-22646.php?page_id=155
http://www.simplicity.com/p-6954-burda-style-dress.aspx
http://butterick.mccall.com/b4790-products-6089.php?page_id=155
http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8784-products-16426.php?page_id=857

As for interesting fabrics...I'm afraid I won't be of much help. If you live in/near bigger cities, I know a lot of them have fashion districts. But for me, I'm stuck with JoAnn's fabrics. I browse through fabric.com every once in a while. And if I have the money, or I'm looking for something I can't find anywhere else, I go to http://www.moodfabrics.com/ It's pretty crazy expensive, but they have more...rare fabrics.

I hope that helps some and if you have any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

Thank you so much! I do live in a big-ish town with specialty fabric stores, but a lot of them carry ugly patterns that southern women will slap on anything (imagine if Vera Bradley puked pink paisley on everything). I've recently been looking at how to customize vintage patterns to fit your size. My problem is that I actually like to wear dresses 2 sizes bigger. I can't stand fabric pinching or pulling across my stomach. Plus, I wear a bra size DDD and the extra fabric helps when I'm hand tailoring something to fit me. I'm super excited now! Again, thank you so much!!

 

[BananaHands]

There's a 'Sewing for Dummies" laying around my apartment that no one ever uses. I could send it your way if you're in need?