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From: Sparky
Date: 04-13-2005, 12:43 PM (1 of 11)
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I agreed to make a dress for a friend. Long story short - it's to be used as a wedding dress, and the wedding's a long ways off, so no hurry. But she couldn't find just the right pattern. We found one that was perfect, except that it was sleeveless and she wants to add sleeves. I bought a second pattern with sleeves in the style that she wants (more or less) but that garment has a different shape than the dress. I need to add sleeves to this sleeveless dress, and I KNOW it's possible. I just don't know how to do it. Yet. I plan to start playing with it any month now. I figure I'll make a blouse out of the top part of the pattern and add the sleeves to see how it comes out. Or maybe I'll just make a muslin. I'd love to hear any suggestions anyone can give me. Sparky
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User: Sparky
Member since: 03-13-2005 Total posts: 94 |
From: MariLynnTX
Date: 04-13-2005, 07:05 PM (2 of 11)
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Sparky, you're right, it can be done. And it is not hard. The armhole has to be altered slightly, because sleeveless dresses come up higher under the arm than the ones with sleeves. I usually just use a pattern with sleeves, lay it on top of the one without sleeves, and cut according to the one with sleeves and just proceed normally from there. I would also check the shape of the sleeve where it is sewn to the dress and cut it like the sleeve you want to use and cut the bodice armhole to match the sleeve you are using. If you have any questions, just e-mail me. I have taught sewing and done custom sewing, including a lot of bridal, for many years. MariLynntx
Life is a song...we give it harmony or dissonance.
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User: MariLynnTX
Member since: 08-13-2001 Total posts: 256 |
From: Serenity
Date: 04-14-2005, 07:34 AM (3 of 11)
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MariLynnTX is right. I do it the same way. Laying it on top of the original piece is the easiest way to do it. It is not hard and you should not have any problems. Make sure and let us know how it turns out. Arub "The struggle is not greater than the goal". Be blessed. Stay encouraged.
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User: Serenity
Member since: 01-12-2005 Total posts: 85 
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From: Sparky
Date: 04-14-2005, 05:50 PM (4 of 11)
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Whew! Thanks. I'm glad you both don't think it's hard, because it sounds hard to me. Don't let the term "wedding dress" fool you. This is not a formal gown - my skills are not up to that. It'll be made from a crinkle cotton fabric, which is what she wants. The things that concern me is are: 1. The dress is princess cut. The "princess" seam comes into the armhole, so the armhole is not all in one piece. This makes it more confusing to lay another pattern on top of. 2. We could not find a similar dress with the kind of sleeves she wants (belling out from the top), so the sleeves pattern I have is for a loose-fitted blouse. I do have yet a third pattern. This one is for a princess cut dress with long fitted sleeves. Do you think I should lay the armhole for this dress on top of the pattern? Then I could lay the top of the sleeves on top of the sleeve pattern, to get things to line up. But I don't think that princess seam will hit at the same spot. I guess I can pin the pieces together with the seam allowances overlapping to get an idea. What do you think? Sparky
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User: Sparky
Member since: 03-13-2005 Total posts: 94 |
From: MariLynnTX
Date: 04-14-2005, 06:45 PM (5 of 11)
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It sounds like she wants puffed sleeves, at least puffed at the top. Can you find a pattern or a blouse or dress with puffed sleeves, because they are very different from other sleeves at the top. If you can't, e-mail me and I will send a drawing of a pattern for one. MariLynntx
Life is a song...we give it harmony or dissonance.
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User: MariLynnTX
Member since: 08-13-2001 Total posts: 256 |
From: AndreaSews
Date: 04-14-2005, 07:39 PM (6 of 11)
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Sparky, don't be discouraged. I haven't ever tried this either, but after thinking about it, it sounds like a fun challenge! What I would do (and, seasoned bridal sewers, comment on this, please) is go ahead and cut out the pattern as it is, and construct the bodice with the princess seams, but do it in muslin. You might like to use a long basting stitch for this, so you can open up the seams later. You'll see why. Next, with the bodice formed, let the bride/model try on this bodice, with whatever bra she wants to wear on her big day. Now cut out the second pattern, the one with the sleeves. Pin those pattern pieces together, placing pins at 5/8 inch from the cut edge, so it looks like half of a bodice, just as it would if you had sewn it. Put it on the model, over your muslin bodice. Now use whatever you like to mark the muslin, to show how the armholes should be cut according to the sleeve-ful pattern  You may also choose to use this opportunity to fine-tune the fit of the rest of the bodice, if needed. Now all the muslin pieces are marked up, and you can let your model get dressed. Start taking the muslin apart, piece by piece. Cut where you drew the lines on the muslin, and all panels of the bodice will be formed properly to allow for sleeves. Now you can use the sleeve pattern piece that is included with the sleeve-ful pattern. The muslin pieces have become your new pattern pieces (instead of using the paper ones) for a unique dress made especially to fit the bride to be.
Andrea
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User: AndreaSews
Member since: 02-18-2005 Total posts: 1007 
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From: mamadus
Date: 04-15-2005, 01:11 AM (7 of 11)
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whoa Andrea... I am impressed!! good thinking!!! MO life is too short, not to explore
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User: mamadus
Member since: 12-31-2004 Total posts: 492 
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From: MariLynnTX
Date: 04-15-2005, 02:30 PM (8 of 11)
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I try never to make something basically simple into something difficult. MariLynntx
Life is a song...we give it harmony or dissonance.
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User: MariLynnTX
Member since: 08-13-2001 Total posts: 256 |
From: Sparky
Date: 04-15-2005, 06:07 PM (9 of 11)
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I really do appreciate your suggestion, Andrea. I promise I'm not stuck in "yes-but" mode. But I neglected to mention that the bride's several states away. Fittings are done by mail. She might be dropping by sometime this summer, though, so I'll bear your idea in mind. MariLynn, the sleeves she wants are like pattern 4946, shown on this page http://www.simplicity.com/index.cfm?cat=1&type=1&sec=1&id=1&startrow=1 They're not very puffy at the top, but are wide at the bottom. I did make this dress - a "practice dress" in another color- for her without sleeves. It was too big in the neckline, but taking the shoulders up an inch took care of that. Sparky
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User: Sparky
Member since: 03-13-2005 Total posts: 94 |
From: MariLynnTX
Date: 04-15-2005, 11:12 PM (10 of 11)
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Sparky, the sleeves on that pattern should not be difficult to make. Any plain sleeve should fit in a regular armhole. The main thing is that you have a blouse or dress pattern with a regular armhole, not one of the kind that are very loose, but one that has a definite shape for the top of the sleeve and the opening the sleeve will fit into. Cut the shoulder and the front and back of the armhole the same as that bodice. Don't sew the bodice side seams yet! Then draw the sleeve pattern by an ordinary sleeve pattern, making the center line from the shoulder seam to just an inch or two below the elbow. This line should be on the straight of the fabric and should be cut on the fold. The under-arm seam will be the longest line (edges of the sleeve should come on a slanting line straight down to a point when sewn together). Draw a connecting line from the center line to the underarm seam line which should be 10 or 12 inches longer than the center line. Draw the pattern on a piece of muslin and cut it out and try it on someone's arm to make sure it looks the way you think it should. This type of sleeve has a very small amount of fullness at the top, no gathers. You stitch a gathering line between the notches on the top edge of the sleeve and you pull the thread (always pull the bobbin thread) only slightly, flattening the line of stitching with your finger, so that you don't have any actual gathers. You are pushing the threads of the fabric closer together, so that you will have a smooth line when the sleeve is stitched into the armhole. I match the shoulder seam to the center of the sleeve and sew from that to the seamlines of the armhole and the sleeve on one side, and then on the other side, stitching right on top of the gathering stitch. Then I sew from the underarm down the bodice side seam first, then from the underarm down to the bottom edges of the sleeve. I hope this is clear, but just e-mail me if you have a problem. Good luck, MariLynntx
Life is a song...we give it harmony or dissonance.
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User: MariLynnTX
Member since: 08-13-2001 Total posts: 256 |
From: Sparky
Date: 04-16-2005, 03:41 PM (11 of 11)
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You guys are just the best! MariLynn, thanks so much for your suggestions. I'm going to print them out and keep them with my pattern. I think I may have halfway solved my own problem when I showed you the Simplicity dress pattern earlier. It would be much easier to work with, since it's a fairly snug-fitting dress, not a loose blouse. I think the sleeves are pretty close to what my friend wants, and I've suggested it to her. I'm just waiting for her approval. Besides, I can't find the blouse pattern right now anyway.  This is a sign that I should substitute the dress pattern. Either that or a sign that I need to clean up my sewing room.  I don't know how soon I'll get to this, but I hope to get to it soon. I'll let you know how it comes out. Sparky
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User: Sparky
Member since: 03-13-2005 Total posts: 94 |
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