Part One - The Instruction Sheets
As promised, I'm going to take you inside the pattern envelopes and do a comparison of Vogue S-4007 and the reissue, Vogue 2239. Today we'll look at the instruction sheets and construction details.
Here are the patterns we're going to look at. Notice the envelope art is similar, with the dresses being colored the same. The faces and hair really are the only difference.
This is a rather simple gown, with no overlays or drapes, so there are very few pattern pieces. The general shape of the pattern pieces hasn't changed at all. V2239 has more pieces because pieces are provided for making the sash, bias binding strips and a guide for cutting the waist stay. I would guess that most seamstresses of the previous era could make those things without pattern pieces.
While both gowns are very similar in construction, there are a few differences. One difference is the insertion of the zipper. In S-4007, the zipper is machine stitched in place, in 2239, the zipper is hand picked. Interesting difference, you'd think it would be the other way around, with the newer version having the zipper machine stitched in. The older version is shown in first photo and the newer version in the second.
Another difference is that of the lining and boning placement. In the old version shown on the right, the lining is placed with the right side of the lining to the wrong side of the fashion fabric bodice. Notice that this leaves the boning channels exposed. The newer version has the lining and fashion fabrics placed wrong sides together, thus concealing the boning channels and make it (I would think) more comfortable to wear.
The other difference between the two is the inclusion of a waist stay in the newer version. The old one does not have one at all. This one is sewn to the finished product on the inside and finished with hooks and eyes, which is one method of installing a waist stay.
Tomorrow we'll look at the pattern pieces and see if there are any differences between them.Parting Shot: Mini Moguls. Here's my son concentrating on skiing the mini moguls or the little bumps. He's just on the downside of one bump, and is about to go up the other side. The place where we ski builds these little sections off to the side of the trail, and the younger children think these are the most fun thing to ski in the entire ski area.
7 comments:
those design drawings are funky!... as for snow, we don't get that here anymore: thanks to global warming... (:-<...)
Your little guy looks so cute! You couldn't get me on skis. I hate snow.
It's interesting to see how a pattern from long ago can be adapted to today!
Thanks for sharing!
The ladies on the later pattern have better posture and seem to be a bit more muscular too!
I've actually made the re-release of this dress. However, it was nearly 10 years ago (sheesh, that long?!) I know I didn't put in the waist stay (I didn't know what it was for and I was on a time crunch to finish over Christmas break). It was a gorgeous, and simple, dress to put together. I made my version out of a grey suiting flocked with black roses and wore it with long black gloves and a tiara (I should have made the sash as well but I ran out of time).
Cool Michee! I'd love to see a picture of it if you have one! It sounds gorgeous.
I find the comparison between the old model and its newer version very intriguing. I would say on a first analysis that there was an effort to improve (I'm not referring to the extra pattern pieces, I don't mind using my tape measure for that).
just a comment about the lining:
If I can see you pattern instructions correctly, in the older version, the bodice is what I know to be termed "flat lined". This is when the lining and fashion fabric are cut at the same time and sewn as one piece. In that case, putting in the boning has to be done on the inside on top of the open seam, and it does show. But what that process does do (as so many handmade gowns from the 50's show), it it makes the bodice really smooth. It won't pucker or pull when tightly worn. That lining is reinforcing the fashion fabric in a way that the drop-in lining with boning won't.
I don't think the girls minded the scratchy part, since they were probably wearing full 'merry widow' corsets and those just about covered everything!
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