5 years ago
This medium weight viscose blend jersey was the perfect choice to realise the vision I’ve had for a while of a Nina Lee Mayfair dress that plays up the 1940s style of the pattern but in a relaxed and comfortable way.
The fabric is really well suited for this hack; beautifully drapey, so I have a nice flowy skirt, but it’s nice and stable, so it didn’t give me any slippery jersey grief while cutting and sewing.
It’s not so heavy that it is too thick for the gathers at the neckline, waist and wrists, but not so light that it clings to everything.
The colour is a slightly warmer grey than the cooler tones I normally favour; which mean that I didn’t have an exact thread match in my stash and so I can’t give a Gutermann number for reference. Fortunately grey is pretty forgiving, and there isn’t a lot of visible stitching so it’s not too much of an issue.
The only challenging part of this pattern was the grown-on collar/neckline facing area; it’s a clever burrito-y manoeuvre that didn’t make immediate sense to me/I couldn’t really picture beforehand. It theoretically creates a nice clean finish, but mine has room for improvement. I fudged the sewing of the back neckline, it’s really not the neatest on the inside, but it doesn’t show from the outside.
When it came to sewing the stitching that encloses the rest of the dress I really struggled; I hadn’t rolled the rest of the dress up tight enough to fit neatly within so it was really hard to sew the seam. In fact I actually caught a bit of the skirt front (just below the knee) in the stitching, and ended up making a tiny hole. So my advice for anyone attempting the pattern is to really take your time to create a very tight bundle before attempting the required fabric origami.
To hack the pattern for a more 1940s vibe, I lengthened it to midi, which falls between the knee-length and maxi variations. I actually added in 15 cm at the lengthen/shorten line to use the fullness of the knee length version
Moved the waist elastic down (#sewingtall) and took it in by a few centimetres at the waist on the side seams to add shaping.
I merged the top of the Mayfair sleeve piece with the Bishop sleeve from the By Hand London Hannah dress and added cuffs (rectangles of fabric folded and sewn into a band)
I was feeling lazy so decided to use 5mm elastic to gather the bottom of the sleeves (by stretching the elastic to the width of the sleeve and zig-zagging them together), which was quick but not as neat as I would like; next time I’d use gathering stitches to have more control for a nicer looking gather, and to reduce bulk. I’d also straighten out the currently curved bottom of the bishop sleeve to make it easier to gather and attach the band neatly.
To get a clean finish inside the dress, the pattern has you sew a length of elastic to gather the dress front, then cover it with the waist tie which is then stitched in place with the ends left free.
Since I wanted to use a belt rather than ties to cinch the dress, in keeping with a more vintage aesthetic, I changed how the elastic was attached, sewing the elastic to the inside rather than outside of the dress. This way I don’t need the ties to cover the elastic and also have the option to wear it without the belt. I also added elastic to the back to gather the fabric there for more shaping. I made a simple belt out of a length of the fabric along with a gorgeous vintage buckle from my stash (Minerva stocks buckles that would work in a similar way).
Unfortunately, when I added the elastic at the back, I placed it too low so it doesn’t look as good as I would like. I should have got help to properly mark the position, rather than awkwardly trying to mark it on my own back. In the photos I have the belt sitting a little lower at the back to cover the gathering, and that positioning doesn’t look great; it looks far nicer when sitting properly at my natural waist. Removing and re-sewing the elastic would be an easy fix but I’m going to leave that for Future Me, as I’m not feeling motivated to do it at this stage.
I am very sorry to have to tell you that sadly this dress has no pockets; as much as I hate to leave them out, I didn’t want to ruin the line of the skirt by adding any. I have ideas for further hacking of this pattern, and any future dresses would indeed incorporate pockets, as I always feel bereft without them.
As it is though, I think this is a fun twist on a great pattern. Best of all, it’s definitely a secret pyjamas win. I’m often trying to find ways to incorporate retro looks into super comfortable garments, for outfits that feel relaxed AND a little bit elegant.
#minervamakes #minervamakers #isew #memade #memades #handmadewardrobe #isewmyclothes #diyclothes #dressmaking #memadeeveryday #imakemyclothes #memadewardrobe #memadefashion #diyfashion #diywardrobe #fashionsewing #mayfairdress #ninaleepatterns #ninalee #indiepatterns #youcanhackit #vintageinspired #modernvintage #vintagelookmoderncomfort #sewingwithstretch #sewingknits #secretpyjamas #secretpajamas #sewingofficewear
The fabric is really well suited for this hack; beautifully drapey, so I have a nice flowy skirt, but it’s nice and stable, so it didn’t give me any slippery jersey grief while cutting and sewing.
It’s not so heavy that it is too thick for the gathers at the neckline, waist and wrists, but not so light that it clings to everything.
The colour is a slightly warmer grey than the cooler tones I normally favour; which mean that I didn’t have an exact thread match in my stash and so I can’t give a Gutermann number for reference. Fortunately grey is pretty forgiving, and there isn’t a lot of visible stitching so it’s not too much of an issue.
The only challenging part of this pattern was the grown-on collar/neckline facing area; it’s a clever burrito-y manoeuvre that didn’t make immediate sense to me/I couldn’t really picture beforehand. It theoretically creates a nice clean finish, but mine has room for improvement. I fudged the sewing of the back neckline, it’s really not the neatest on the inside, but it doesn’t show from the outside.
When it came to sewing the stitching that encloses the rest of the dress I really struggled; I hadn’t rolled the rest of the dress up tight enough to fit neatly within so it was really hard to sew the seam. In fact I actually caught a bit of the skirt front (just below the knee) in the stitching, and ended up making a tiny hole. So my advice for anyone attempting the pattern is to really take your time to create a very tight bundle before attempting the required fabric origami.
To hack the pattern for a more 1940s vibe, I lengthened it to midi, which falls between the knee-length and maxi variations. I actually added in 15 cm at the lengthen/shorten line to use the fullness of the knee length version
Moved the waist elastic down (#sewingtall) and took it in by a few centimetres at the waist on the side seams to add shaping.
I merged the top of the Mayfair sleeve piece with the Bishop sleeve from the By Hand London Hannah dress and added cuffs (rectangles of fabric folded and sewn into a band)
I was feeling lazy so decided to use 5mm elastic to gather the bottom of the sleeves (by stretching the elastic to the width of the sleeve and zig-zagging them together), which was quick but not as neat as I would like; next time I’d use gathering stitches to have more control for a nicer looking gather, and to reduce bulk. I’d also straighten out the currently curved bottom of the bishop sleeve to make it easier to gather and attach the band neatly.
To get a clean finish inside the dress, the pattern has you sew a length of elastic to gather the dress front, then cover it with the waist tie which is then stitched in place with the ends left free.
Since I wanted to use a belt rather than ties to cinch the dress, in keeping with a more vintage aesthetic, I changed how the elastic was attached, sewing the elastic to the inside rather than outside of the dress. This way I don’t need the ties to cover the elastic and also have the option to wear it without the belt. I also added elastic to the back to gather the fabric there for more shaping. I made a simple belt out of a length of the fabric along with a gorgeous vintage buckle from my stash (Minerva stocks buckles that would work in a similar way).
Unfortunately, when I added the elastic at the back, I placed it too low so it doesn’t look as good as I would like. I should have got help to properly mark the position, rather than awkwardly trying to mark it on my own back. In the photos I have the belt sitting a little lower at the back to cover the gathering, and that positioning doesn’t look great; it looks far nicer when sitting properly at my natural waist. Removing and re-sewing the elastic would be an easy fix but I’m going to leave that for Future Me, as I’m not feeling motivated to do it at this stage.
I am very sorry to have to tell you that sadly this dress has no pockets; as much as I hate to leave them out, I didn’t want to ruin the line of the skirt by adding any. I have ideas for further hacking of this pattern, and any future dresses would indeed incorporate pockets, as I always feel bereft without them.
As it is though, I think this is a fun twist on a great pattern. Best of all, it’s definitely a secret pyjamas win. I’m often trying to find ways to incorporate retro looks into super comfortable garments, for outfits that feel relaxed AND a little bit elegant.
#minervamakes #minervamakers #isew #memade #memades #handmadewardrobe #isewmyclothes #diyclothes #dressmaking #memadeeveryday #imakemyclothes #memadewardrobe #memadefashion #diyfashion #diywardrobe #fashionsewing #mayfairdress #ninaleepatterns #ninalee #indiepatterns #youcanhackit #vintageinspired #modernvintage #vintagelookmoderncomfort #sewingwithstretch #sewingknits #secretpyjamas #secretpajamas #sewingofficewear
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