From Dior to Ready to Wear Score

What most people are not aware of is that a lot of dress styles are not new but instead reflect vintage styles. If you can find the right silhouette most of the time you can alter the pattern just enough to make the dress look like its inspiration. I was honored to be asked to make this dress from the Dior museum in Paris, France.

I used a Simplicity #1510 pattern. I chose this dress pattern for a couple of reasons. The sizing was near to Krystal’s and the silhouette was also very close. The only things I had to change were the amount of pattern pieces the dress would be made from. I made the garment as 4 pieces total including sleeves, front, back and the collar. The pattern had front and back bodice that were originally separate from the front skirts of the dress.

I was able to alter this by simply pinning the two pieces together and extending the darts on the skirt. Krystal is tall to I left the seam allowance to get an extra 1 1/2″ in the torso.

I traced my darts with tracing paper and a tracing wheel. Next I pinned them all up and held them together to make sure the lengths were even.

I finished all the seams professionally. Then I added interfacing to my back seams where my invisible zipper will go because this is stretch knit and I did not want wavering. I marked where my invisible zipper ends on both sides of the fabric so I know I do not have it crooked. I squared the collar and arm cuffs up with my rotary blade, ruler and cutting mat.

Finished Pictures

Behind the scenes~

It’s my 2 year Tracy’s Sewing Studio LLC business anniversary!!
I’ve
Made new friends
Made 135 how to YouTube videos with 15,801 views
Made countless garments for the public and Dayton History
Made number 26 best dressmaking bloggers on the planet
Made 326 blog posts with 32,638 views
Accomplished a lot of big alterations
Tackled formal wear
Made the cover of Oakwood Register
Made it into a national sewing magazine
Had a full page story in the Dayton City Paper
Been on tv
Made a dress out of beer cans
Did 3 big art shows
Sworn into the Kettering Arts Council
Had 3 of my photos on Play Kettering’s IG page make the top 10
Almost mastered swimwear
Learned cycling wear and skate wear
Had my own mini sewing retreats
Designed my own PDF pattern for beginners
Kept quarterly meetings for my meet up group The Dayton Garment Designers Meetup
Made a kick butt smoking jacket with no real pattern
Made over 20 trash to treasure projects
Taught my own design at my favorite fabric shop Sew To Speak, Fabric and Yarn
Made a WAVEs jacket replica
Saw almost 20 art shows of which 3 were fashion related
Quit doing sewing parties
Quit doing private lessons
Pulled back on doing events
Quit vending

Personally
Learned to say NO
Bought a lot of local art
Found my joy
Found forgiveness
And am more than grateful for the growth.

What’s in store for the future?
Balance
Education
Minimalism
Streamlining

Thank you for reading,

Tracy McElfresh
Dream it! Sew it!

SaveSave

Author
Recent Posts

Tracy McElfresh

Owner at Tracy's Sewing Studio

Tracy McElfresh is an alterations and fit specialist, Kettering Arts Council member, and Kettering resident. Tracy has a skillset built from multigenerational roots in the sewing and garment industries. Operating out of a studio located inside Rosewood Art Centre she provides alterations, garment design (including a strong passion for swimwear), formal and casual dressmaking, and sewing classes. Tracy founded a meetup group in 2014 called the Dayton Garment Designers Meet Up that is open to all newcomers at any skill level. In her free time, she is an avid writer and blogger and was a recognized award winner in 2018 as having one of the Best Dressmaker Blogs on the Planet from Blogspot. You can follow her work on Facebook and Instagram at TracySews.

Latest posts by Tracy McElfresh (see all)