This is one of my favorite pattern book, Pattern Drafting vol. II, it was bought several years ago in a secondhand bookstore in Indonesia for only $1! The book was published by Kamakura-Shobo Publishing in 1970, it shows how to make a basic bodice pattern and how to use it to draft patterns for blouses, dresses, coats, skirts, and pants. There are also small sections for maternity and kid’s garments. The drafting techniques used in the book is from Japan, but the book is in English.
The last section in the book shows several sewing techniques for pockets, collars, zippers, and finishing seams and hems. Since it was published in the time when not many people have sewing machines with fancy stitches, the sewing techniques discussed involved a lot of hand-sewing. And there is also a section on making adjustment for several body types. Such a delightful book!
I love browsing it and read all the diagram , but still have not much chance to use it. A part of a dress pattern was used to make sleeves for this denim dress. Several days ago, I finally decided to make one of the pattern, a simple A-line dress with diagonal stripes and decorative button details on one shoulder. The fabric was bought about two years ago, it has black thin fabric as a base with rows of white wool dots on it. The fabric was so beautiful that I was always afraid to cut it!
I was starting to draft my pattern when I noticed something. All the drafting samples in the book used the same set of body measurements, scaled to 1/10 of the original size. Incidentally, they were my body measurements! What does it mean? It means that I can scan the pattern and enlarge them by 1000%, print them out, and I have pattern in my size! So I cheated and did just that. All I needed to do after that was adding the seam allowance. Hurrah!
Apart from omitting the collar and pockets, I didn’t change any other thing about the pattern. I also used invisible zipper on the back instead of ordinary zipper like in the book. The fabric was so difficult to work with! It kept shifting around no matter how I pinned them. I tried to match the lines, but then gave up after several failures. The fabric couldn’t stand too much unpicking because of its thin base. And since it was cut on bias, the fabric grew in length. I hung the dress for two days before marking the new hem and cutting it.
The finished dress ended up slightly different from the drawing in the book. My fabric turned out a bit too heavy, so the A-line shape doesn’t show up as prominent as the dress in the book. Although it didn’t really turned out as what I had in mind, I still love this dress. It is so warm and comfortable for the autumn season. I also love how the diagonal lines move fluidly with every moves. Now that I know I have a book full of patterns of my own size, I need to scan and enlarge some more!
30 Comments
You’re so talented!! I love this dress. I wish I am more motivated (or patient) enough to make a dress for myself or for my girls. Very inspiring. I’ve been looking at many of your posts. So fun!
Thank you! You have such a cool blog too! :)
This dress is adorable, I love it!
Love the dress. Looks super cute on you!
fabulous dress, great pattern!
Oh lucky, lucky you! I wish I came in a standard size. fab dress!
Modern patterns are usually too big or too long for me, so I guess I’m a standard size in the sixties :P
I also have that book! My daughter wanted me to make that dress in plaid and your beautifully aligned herringbone stripes make me more confident that plaid will work.
I think a plaid version would look great! I would want to see it! :)
omgosh I have the exact same book! Also picked it up for a cheap price :) but I haven’t made anything from it. I’m inspired now!
http://emeraldflare.blogspot.com/2009/04/vinatge-sewing-book.html
It’s such a wonderful book, isn’t it? I would want to see what you’re going to make from the book! :)
A+dorable.
I love old sewing books. They’re so fun to look at, and the explanations are so, so good!
I like the fabric. The dress looks great on you.
I love the a-line shape and the seam up the middle. I’m really interested in what kind of fabric you used. It has a thin base with wool dots? Sounds really fun!
The dress is a simple shape and different directions of the fabric make it interesting and cheerful so I think it’s a great combination! And those 2 buttons are a full score! Love it!
Thank you! :)
love it!!! its just delightful! i am happy to see the book you mentioned, how lucky! :D you look so great in it, makes me want to make one too. though i am not sure how i look in not tight fitting dresses as i am more on the chubby side– dont want to look maternity!
I looove loose fitting and A-line dresses! I have people asking me if I was pregnant all the time though o_O
Love love love!!! We should wear 60s dress sometimes together and hang out:D
Thanks for your comment. I am still refusing to go to hospital…. What a coward I am. But I keep using antiseptic solution, so I hope it’s okay… Push me harder!!:P
Okay Kayo, get on your feet and go to the hospital! :P
But, really, I have concern about this. My husband always got sick whenever he got back to Indonesia, I guess his body has gotten used to different level of hygiene after several years living here.
Let’s hang out and have a sixties fashion day!
Nice to see that you finally decided to sew something for yourself again! ^.^ This dress is so classy! The fabric looks so comfy and I like its kind of retro design.
The dress looks so professional, even the photography. I would love to have that book, so I looked it up on Amazon. They have one used copy listed for $75! I guess you got a bargain.
$75?! If the person who sold me the book knew this, he would go bawling right now!
I found the book in in a dusty sale box, the price had been marked down from $8 to $1 :D
I am speechless! It is simply gorgeous, all of it: the shape, the fabric and the fact you used the fabric in different directions!
this ’60 dress is amazing! I’m loving that years so much in this periond! the wonan that get on the moon of Andrè Courreges is just a dream!
It’s my favorite era too! Love all things mod :)
omg i love how you use different directions of the same fabric! very cool !
I love it!!!!! Can u give a tutorial?
The pattern is from a pattern book, as written above :)
It’s really cute!