Analysis of the "Swayback," the making of V8532

In spite of my blog silence the past month, it does not mean my sewing machine has been in hibernation. In fact, it's been quite busy, sewing up a few projects. None have been completed though because of the issue of my dreaded swayback. The latest project to fall victim to the swayback, is Vogue 8532, a lovely alternative to the classic sheath. Empire waist, fitted design, and my favorite and most flattering neck line. Observe...


I've sewn up a muslin because the sheath would present serious fitting challenges that would have to be worked out before cutting into fashion fabric. In that effort, I've consulted at least a dozen sewing resources trying to establish the best and most effective (read: easiest) way to alter the pattern so that 1) I'll have this awesome dress to strut my stuff in and 2) basic alteration I can use for most similar patterns.

The swayback is my greatest fitting issue and has been the source of pretty much every single UFO in my closet. Most patterns (and RTW clothing) are made from slopers that conform to more universal measurements, meaning they fit to the least curvy denominator. So, it then falls to the sewer - or tailor if you are not sewing inclined - to alter patterns to fit your various curves and hollows. After consulting various sewing resources, the most common fix mentioned is to remove the excess fabric at the back waist by taking a "horizontal tuck" until smooth. Also, this is typically accompanied by letting out the side seams or center back seam to achieve the perfect fit.

In V8532, I tried the "tuck" method. First, I sewed up the unaltered pattern and tried to pin out the excess fabric from the back and sides. Emphasis is on "tried" because it's exceedingly difficult to pin fabric while you are wearing it as every move, twist, bend, contortion attempted pulls and creates yet another wrinkle. Anyway, I was able to guestimate well enough to determine I needed to remove a full 1" from the back waist. I did this by cutting the pattern along the waist line from center back seam to side seam. At the CB, I removed an inch and then drew a line to taper this to the side gradually to nothing. I also had to increase the dart. Here is the result; the original pattern is underneath and my alteration is on top:

Here it is sewn up, from the front and the side. I wasn't able to successfully photograph myself from behind but you can get a good idea of the issues that remain, even with my fairly significant alteration. The wrinkles on the front are because of the way I cut the front piece after the first sewing. Let's just say I can cut a straight line but curves are another matter entirely...Anyway, once I smooth out the actual patter, I expect the fronto lay smooth(er). I have a much bigger issue with this image of the side. It's just as bad on the right as the left. That wrinkle starts from the left waist and extends to the bottom of the dart. I'm not really sure how to fix it, either. Any suggestions???



What is a sway back you ask? Good question, because it is the subject of some discussion lately and people really wonder exactly what is the swayback. From an anatomical perspective, it is a condition called "Lordosis," where the spine curves inward between the ribcage and the pelvis causing stress and discomfort. It can be from general bad posture or be physiologically based. Here is a good image of what it looks like in silouhette:

The sway back affects the way clothing fits and is typically diagnosed by the resulting "wrinkles" or "pooching" at the back waist, above the hips. The wrinkles can also be caused by proportionately large hips (waist:hip ratio), otherwise known as having, well, a big butt.

In my next post, I'll be highlighting how different authors deal with the swayback. Stay tuned and please, feel free to chime in with your particular fix! I need all the help I can get!

Designing a dress...how DO they do that?

Often - especially after award shows, movie premiers, and the like - I wonder what it's like to be a celebrity and have clothes designed by masters *just* for me. Well, courtesy of the Oxygen network we can live vicariously and see how Isaac Mizrahi designed a dress for one very, very lucky starlet, Selma Blair. First the concept and conversation, then the fitting where we see the dress in muslin first, later the reveal and grand finale of the dress in action. It's an illuminating look into how a dress is designed for a personality and Isaac really seemed to hit spot on for Selma. She looked amazing, especially next to her latest co-stars, whom she definitely out-shined (photo courtesy of wire image). Not that I don't love Cameron and Christina, but judge for yourself who makes the most of the red carpet...

Dreaming of Fall 2008...The Shirt Dress

One of the things I love most about being able to sew is getting ahead of the curve. Well, given my recent spout (er, habitual) of unfinishedness, I like the idea of being ahead. So, let us venture into one of Fall 2008's hottest trends...

The Two Piece Shirt Dress

Burda model 106, from September 2007.


We have one two piece dress which features a high waisted pencil skirt and a chiffon bodice with ruffles and pleats.

Now, let's take a quickie peak at Nordstrom's and see how many retail dresses we can find to match!

In order from left to right we have ABS by Allen Schwartz, Diane VonFurstenburg, Tahari, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren



Two pieces? Check! Pencil Skirt? Check! High waist? Check! Chiffon? Check! Pleats? Check! Ruffle? Check! Need I say more? Cidell made up the Burda is just about an afternoon! And people ask me why I sew. Of the bunch, the DVF is definitely my fave... You?

What a crock! Or, how bad things happen to favorite white shirts...

First off, thanks to everyone for their warm support and condolences. I'm feeling much more positive lately and it's largely due to much mindless surfing of the internet.

In other news, I have been sewing! Lately, the sewing machine has been humming away on McCall's 5624. This is an interesting pattern, featuring a dress in two lengths - mid-knee & maxi - and a jumpsuit. That's right folks: a jumpsuit. I have noticed lately that certain starlets in Hollywood have been seen sporting the jumpsuit in various incarnations. Certainly there are those that argue a jumpsuit really only looks good on WW2 airmen, mechanics in calendars smeared sexily with grease, and Elvis. I would tend to agree and say the modern woman should avoid the jumpsuit at all costs, as demonstrated by the model on the pattern photo... Even ignoring the unfortunate placement of the starburst motifs on the bodice, the jumpsuit does this lovely model no favors by lengthening her crotch, shortening her legs, let along having to get naked to use the loo. Seriously, who wears these?

The interesting details of this particular pattern feature twisted straps, an empire waist and midriff inset. These aren't that noticeable, but if you look closely at the line drawing, you can see the twists. Also, I cut the pattern for the shorter dress out of approximately 1.5 yards of fabric - definitely a nice feature for the odd piece in the stash.

The fabric I chose is a red printed rayon challis that I picked up for about $0.80/yd when the local Hancock's closed it's doors. Score, right? Wrong! Which brings me to the title of this particular post. Now, one of the reasons we should all prewash fabric is because sometimes cheap fabric reveals itself and its evil ways before it enters circulation in your wardrobe. So, I'm sure you're saying, "Rosanne just get to the point already." There was considerable excess dye in the yardage and it has transferred color to everything that has touched it, a problem referred to as "crocking". My fingers, the sewing machine, my ironing board cover, my iron! True, the fabric is rayon and dyes for rayons are notorious non-colorfast. But still...

So Friday morning, while I'm getting ready for work I decided I wanted to wear my favorite white shirt. It fits just so and hits me in all the right places, you know? I pull it from the hanger and realize it could use a good press so I readied the iron and board. From the first touch of hot plate to cloth, I knew I was done for! The impression of my iron in red on my favorite shirt! And this is after two washes and soaks with oxygen bleach and stain remover! Just look!
I'm about 65% completed with the dress. I just have to attach the skirt and midriff lining then it'll be ready for zipper installation. So far, the bodice is "okay," neither bad nor good. The only shaping comes from slight gathers under each bodice half and and I don't believe it's bra friendly on my body. I might end up taking out the straps and resewing the pleats on the bodice and re-twisting the straps. Looking at the photo now, the right side looks slightly off. That color is really red, though, isn't it? I should have known...
So, I'm going to try to do as the infomercials do and soak the shirt in oxyclean for a while and see what happens. I'm really hoping the dye isn't colorfast on my shirt, either...

Out of the blue comes sadness...

I want to thank everyone for the well wishes. Unfortunately, I suffered a miscarriage over the weekend. Needless to say, I'm feeling indescribably sad. I didn't realize how good it felt - both physically and emotionally - to actually be pregnant until I wasn't anymore... Now, as my body returns to its regular self, I'm trying to look forward, stay positive, and realize that it's not the end of the world. We'll try again once the professionals give us the ok.

And the fabulous jacket and dress in August's BWoF are going to have to wait just a little while longer...sigh...

Updates, updates, and more updates...

I've had a few concerned inquiries regarding my month long silence in the blog-o-sphere. There have been many, many changes going on in my life that account for this, I assure you. The biggest of which is that I found out a few weeks ago I am going to have a baby!! I am over joyed, to say the least, and my husband still seems a little shell-shocked. It was planned, but it's still pretty amazing to know there is a little person growing inside right this very minute! My little boy or girl is scheduled to make an appearance March 16th, so we are still pretty early on.

What this has meant is no more biking to work! I can't seem to regulate my body heat effectively anymore, so the 45 minute ride to work is out. Sadly, I still haven't finished the vintage skirt pattern. I has both feet firmly settled in Frump-town and I don't think even shortening it is worth the effort. Plus, the skirt is both too big and too small the same time! How is this possible? The waistband is just too tight and I had to ease the skirt to fit so it pooches in bad places. I suppose it is possible to actually remove the waistband, alter the darts in the front & back and then cut a new waistband to fit but that's an awful lot of work for a skirt I'm probably not going to even think about wearing until more than a year from now.

Other things being pregnant has meant is a new silhouette; the girls have grown, my friends. The girls have grown. The novelty wore off officially yesterday when the back of my bra kept riding up and I had to adjust 15 times throughout the day. I have no idea when the madness will stop, so I'm almost afraid to buy any new undergarments just yet. While the concept of making my own stuff is appealing, the reality is less so given that I hardly finish stuff people will actually see.

Also, being pregnant has opened up a whole new set of garments to me: baby clothes! Burda World of Fashion has quite the assortment and I willbe trying some of these in the future. Burda does do maternity wear occasionally, I think maybe twice a year, so I'll have some patterns to play with eventually.

Projects currently on hold:
Vogue 1042...I started to make a muslin of the top View A, which has separate bra insets. Wonderful in theory, bullet/cone bra in practice. I posted a query on the boards at Pattern Review and it seems I am not the only one who ran afoul with this pattern. And, referencing my rapidly changing figure, it hardly seems worth the effort given that I am only going to outgrow it to the point of indecency in short order.

Vogue 8178...I actually made this dress and it's about 75% complete. However, it has darts that have to be matched on both the front and back for the bodice and skirt section and it requires further tweaking before being readied for outside wear. It is a work in progress, more or less.

Projects completed:
Vogue 8502...The pants for this pattern are now hanging in my closet. Yes, people it is possible for me to finish something! Hold the applause however as I goofed the zipper and used one that is really too short so I'll have to insert a new one at some point in the future. These are super high-waisted, as in just below the underwire high-waisted. The way I want to style them is with a scoop neck or halter top tucked it with a wide belt cinched around the waist. However, when I saw myself, i thought it a little too much Brenda Walsh circa 1992 and a little less Lucky Magazine's Season's Best Look style page 2008. I plan on making the safari type top as well, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet as I am going through a serious dress phase right now.

Project on the table right now:
McCall's 5466... View C, with the bias A-line skirt. How cute is that?! And the a-line skirt means no real sway back adjustment is needed! Given I have yet to master said alteration, this is a very good thing. My increasing figure has forced me cut a size 14 bodice, morphing to a 16 at the waist because I'd like to wear this dress at least through the fall. The (hopefully) wearable muslin has been cut from a stretch cotton shirting from Joann's Modern Neutrals collection. It's a bit busy, but I think it will work since I'm fairly tall and can carry bold looks.
If the dress works out, I plan on styling this with brown heels and a woven 3" brown leather belt.

Wish me luck!

Finger lickin' good, or why sewing makes a bad day better...

Today was a pretty rotten day at work, I have to say. Probably one of the top five in the past two years. A real doozy, so much so I had to shop, sew, and have a good cry to start feeling better. I went shopping for some new skirts, actually. I picked up a four more to add to the collection and a skort, too! I love those, BTW. It's a girly skirt but you don't have to be all modest and such when moving about since there is no risk of flashing the general public.

Lately, I've been biking the 10 miles to work each way and it's hot here. Imagine biking in a convection oven and you can probably understand (although, I ask no sympathy here; it's true what they say about the humidity being the true villain). I actually find it most comfortable to bike in a skirt. Now, most people are surprised - shocked, even! - when I reveal this, but really, it's great to have freedom of movement and be able to take full advantage of the breeze. Seriously. It does however have it's limitations: I pretty much have to stick to either jersey or a-line, preferably a combo of the two. Straight skirts are doable, they simply require a smidgen of elastane in the fabric and at least a 4" vent plus a relatively uncaring attitude towards being a wrinkled mess. I spend much of my day seated behind a desk so i don't care too much. Mostly. Anyway.

In the time since I have started biking to work, I have gone through the few skirts I willing to subject to the abuse of 20 miles on a bike rather quickly. What else to do but sew up a few more? In that vein, I cracked my very first vintage pattern: Simplicity 5454, copy write 1972, Misses and Women's Jacket, Skirt & Pants.
It does have a bit of a vintage feel in that the pants and skirt are seated just at the waist. Otherwise, it's pretty classic. The jacket is a princess seamed, slightly wider (though in the line drawing not so much it is dated). Plus, it's the only pattern I own with a box pleat in the front. Cute, right? And, look! The directions are printed in two colors for my viewing ease!
How great is that?! Also, as much as I understand multi-sized patterns revolutionized the home sewing experience in terms of fit, really, it's pretty awesome to have the seam lines printed on the pattern.

Since I'm on a (sort of) fabric diet until the end of the year, the stash was shopped for choice of fabric. The winner ended up being a seasonless poly-blend olive with variegated pin stripes woven without any stretch. It has decent drape and I thought the stripes would add good visual interest in the box pleat. Perhaps non-traditional, but if it doesn't work, I'll consider it a muslin. I have 5 yards of the stuff and I haven't touched it since it came home from SAS Fabrics Tempe, where I found it for $1.99/yd.
I started it yesterday and expected to finish it tonight, but I had a little sewing accident that I would imagine every sewer will experience eventually: yes, I basically sewed through my fingertip. It didn't hurt that bad, actually. The needle just sort of sliced the tip of my index finger as I was easing the waistband on to the skirt. You can see my bandaged finger in the photo of the pattern piece. It did make me cry a little bit, though, which I rather needed.

Tomorrow, I'll be finishing the waistband and hemming the skirt. The line drawing shows mid-knee, but right now it's a pretty dreadful and stumpifying mid-calf. Normally, this is not a bad length on me, but the cut of the skirt with the pleat serves to make me look somewhat squat :( I think I'll have to chop at least an inch off and then turn the hem the given 2.5" on the pattern.

The moral of my story is this: it's good to have a task that I can forget myself totally in. I hope you have one, too!