Alteration question ....

[Circe]

So, here's the thing: I adore vintage dresses. Figure-wise, though, unless I invest in the kinds of supportive undergarments that were popular back in the day ... that's not going to happen.

If, say, one happens to have 38-28-36 measurements, how easy/difficult is it to have things that are more in the 34/36-24/26 range altered? Hip measurements don't matter most of the time, since I tend to go for the full-skirted look.

Is this a fool's dream with most older dresses, in terms of there just not being enough of a seam allowance for them to be let out? If not, can panels be inserted? And, in either case, ballpark figure, what would a tailor usually charge?

P.S. - I know, I should just learn to sew, and I WILL. I bought the sewing machine and everything. Just need to find the time to take a class ....

 

[Circe]

Bumpity-bump-bump? No seamstresses or alteration addicts present?

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I don't think there are four inches to take out on any garment. Have you ever seen two inch seams in your clothes? My question to you is, do you think that women didn't have the measurements you have 40-50 yrs ago? My niece l;oves vintage clothes as well, and she has your proportions. You can find some in your size. Keep looking. Oh, my niece is busty, i am not and she wears some of my older clothing. I was probably two sizes larger than she is, but she takes up the top, and so they fit nicely.

Keep looking

Annette

 

[lliang_chi]

Circe, I'm not a seamstress/sewing guru, I kinda do it when the mood strikes. But I've seen on a lot of Bridal boards that to alter a top that's too small in the bust the most common tricks are:
1. Corset back
2. cut out V under the arms and insert panels in there.

As far as *how* to do either of those... you got me. So I guess I'm not much of a help, so feel free to just ignore what I'm saying.

 

[Circe]

Hi,

I don't think there are four inches to take out on any garment. Have you ever seen two inch seams in your clothes? My question to you is, do you think that women didn't have the measurements you have 40-50 yrs ago? My niece l;oves vintage clothes as well, and she has your proportions. You can find some in your size. Keep looking. Oh, my niece is busty, i am not and she wears some of my older clothing. I was probably two sizes larger than she is, but she takes up the top, and so they fit nicely.

Keep looking

Annette

In modern clothes? Nope. In some older clothes, yes, because they were made with the intent of being alterable - just not sure if the 50s were still in that zone, because while I love the styles, I don't have a ton of experience with the originals.

I'm sure pieces in my size are out there if I look hard enough ... but, well, it's hard enough finding contemporary clothes cut for my figure. Pare the market down by surviving pieces from the 50s, and multiply by the fact that big busts were apparently more unusual back in the day for whatever reason, and it can be a challenge. This question was prompted by finding one completely awesome dress on eBay that I'd happily spring for if I thought I stood a chance of getting it altered successfully.

 

[Circe]

Circe, I'm not a seamstress/sewing guru, I kinda do it when the mood strikes. But I've seen on a lot of Bridal boards that to alter a top that's too small in the bust the most common tricks are:
1. Corset back
2. cut out V under the arms and insert panels in there.

As far as *how* to do either of those... you got me. So I guess I'm not much of a help, so feel free to just ignore what I'm saying.

V's under the arms! That never occurred to me. But that does seem like something that could be doable - thanks for the tip!

 

[Jennifer W]

My mother is very handy with a sewing machine, and I'll give it a go myself from time to time, so here's what I've learned from bitter experience with similar projects:

It depends...

on the garment, on the type of fabric you can graft into a seam to form an expansion panel, on the type of fabric it is made from and how well it will tolerate a sewing machine needle, which puts different stresses on the fabric to hand sewing. It also depends on the construction of the garment.

Often with very old clothes, the seam allowance is as tiny as it could possibly be, as certain fabrics were hugely expensive. This means that as well as there being nothing to let out, it's also hard to stitch a seam that will graft in a new fabric panel without taking more of the face of the garment into the seam than was there originally.

If you do find a garment with a generous seam allowance, and you can let it out, there will be a couple of other things to consider. Firstly, has the garment faded at all? Because if it has, there's a risk that the fabric previously hidden in the seam with be a slightly different colour. Even if that's ok, if it's a very smooth nap fabric, or at all delicate, there will be holes where the needle pierced it and where the thread was. They may result in a fragile fabric.

The engineering of it can be difficult, too. Even when you get the garment in pieces, with new panels cut and ready to go in, or even just seams in a different place, it takes a surprising amount of skill to put it back together. A professional tailor won't have an issue with this, but I find it easier to make garments from scratch than to alter an old one significantly. If something has been reasonably well worn, it may take on shape other than that given by the construction (like the ass shaped bulge in that back of the skirt I'm wearing, for example. You can sorta still see that when I take it off...). This means that however carefully you measure and cut, getting it all to fit together and look right will be like nailing jello to a tree.

So what to do? Have a go - see if you can discover a talent for this! Some people (my mother) can just do this better than others (me). Even if you actually alter the design by adding things, it may still work. Also, I have occasionally taken a garment and unpicked the seams, drawn round each piece on brown parcel paper, then calculated the increase on each dimension needed to get it to my size, making a pattern to cut out from new fabric. It's still difficult, but I found it easier. Maybe that's the thing I'd ask a professional tailor to do.

All that said, there's one thing you can try (and I think you should haha). Get the undergarment! Just give it a go. Don't lace it so you can't breathe/ hurt your internal organs, that's all!

 

[movie zombie]

there are patterns for this style of clothing...and older;

http://www.bing.com/search?q=vintage+clothing+patterns&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IE8SRC

there is a woman that sells patterns at Maker Faire [http://www.decadesofstyle.com/] and her patterns are affordable with easy instructions. contact her. and while at Faire she usually has some clothing already made. check here to see if there is a Maker Faire near you: http://makerfaire.com/

also, Burda has some interesting hints at times: http://www.burdastyle.com/

however, i think the woman at decades of style is the one i'd go to for your situation. i've spoke with her and she really is helpful if i remember right, her patterns are for several sizes so you would use a cutting line that goes best with your figure.

MoZo

 

[LGK]

Circe, it is really tough indeed to find larger vintage clothes. Also in the '50s they did wear girdles that made waist sizes even smaller. Personally I haven't had much luck altering antique dresses much. The fabric is usually pretty fragile. Sometimes you get lucky and find larger sizes- they do exist- but they're in major demand these days so....

I do think sewing your own is a good answer. You don't really need classes to follow an easyish pattern, just stick to simpler ones at first.

One of my good friends is seriously into vintage '50s dresses and luckily for her, is like a size 4- and they are super duper easy to damage. I can't tell you the number of times we've been out and about and she's had some sort of "wardrobe malfunction" due to one of the seams splitting or something. They do look fabulous on her though!