{"id":76985,"date":"2021-04-26T07:31:24","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T11:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/?p=76985"},"modified":"2021-04-25T20:58:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T00:58:05","slug":"the-fitting-room-asmitas-cinema-dress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2021\/04\/the-fitting-room-asmitas-cinema-dress.html","title":{"rendered":"the fitting room: asmita’s cinema dress"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know how disappointing it can be when a garment doesn’t fit the way we had envisioned. Asmita<\/a> didn’t let it get her down, and persevered to get the perfect fit on her Cinema Dress. It’s the latest installment of The Fitting Room<\/a> blog series.<\/em><\/p>\n

When I began my sewing journey to sew clothes specifically for me, I was looking\u00a0forward to trying out dress patterns from Liesl + Co. I knew that the impeccable\u00a0instructions would help me achieve my dream of sewing the perfect dress. Having\u00a0enjoyed making the children\u2019s Hide-and-Seek Dress<\/a> several times, I was excited\u00a0when the Cinema Dress<\/a> pattern was released and knew pretty much right away that I\u00a0wanted to make it. But when I finally gathered up the courage to try last year,\u00a0my first version ended up being a huge disappointment.<\/p>\n

\"Asmita<\/a><\/p>\n

The first try<\/h2>\n

To begin with, my measurements are: high bust 33″, bust 34 1\/2-35″, waist 30″, height 40″. Looking at the\u00a0finished measurements, I decided to attempt a size 4 for the bodice and grade it to a\u00a010 at the hips. I did this grading for the front and back side panels and cut\u00a0a size 10 for the front and back skirt.<\/p>\n

Results (and causes for the disappointment):<\/p>\n

\"Asmita<\/a><\/p>\n

1. My dress did not look anything like the model on the cover was wearing. It\u00a0was too curvy on the waist which for some reason made me feel like I was\u00a0wearing a child\u2019s dress, or at best, someone who was pretending to be\u00a0Goldilocks.<\/p>\n

2. It was too short for me. I made view A, with no attention to the finished\u00a0measurements.<\/p>\n

3. On the positive side, I did like the fit on the top, although I felt the yoke to be\u00a0too short.<\/p>\n

4. I did not even attempt to make a muslin, and so I cut out some well-loved\u00a0fabric (especially for the yoke) and just hoped that miraculously my body\u00a0shape and hence the dress would match the look that I was envisioning.<\/p>\n

This first version definitely put me off sewing any dress for a while, until recently I\u00a0came across another version of this dress on social media and I knew it was time to\u00a0try making it again.<\/p>\n

This time I knew I was going to start out with a muslin.<\/p>\n

Muslin #1<\/h2>\n

The main part that needed work was the grading from size 4 to a larger size. I also\u00a0needed to do a length check. So, the changes made in muslin 1 were as follows:<\/p>\n

1. Made a version B and shortened it by 1 1\/4\u201d at the bottom lengthen\/shorten\u00a0line (L\/S line henceforth). This was to adjust for my height which is 5\u20194\u201d.<\/p>\n

2. Instead of grading from a 4 to 10, I decided to grade from 4 to 8.<\/p>\n

3. Whereas in the previous version I had done a sharp outward turn following the\u00a0first L\/S line (near yoke), in this case, I used a hip curve ruler and did more\u00a0gradual grading from 4 to 8. I started this grading out at a much lower point\u00a0than what I had done previously.<\/p>\n

4. Finally, and the easiest change, was to skip the V of the neckline. I wasn\u2019t too keen on\u00a0it in my first version and so I simply increased the depth of the neckline curve\u00a0by about 1\/8\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Asmita<\/a>
Muslin 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was happy with the length and the side curve between my high waist and high\u00a0hip looked promising. But I wasn\u2019t yet 100% sure that I liked it. It was then I\u00a0realized that what I really wanted was\u00a0more ease at the waist. My waist is 30\u201d; going by size 4 I only got\u00a01\u201d ease at the waist where as I needed a little bit more. That was my a-ha\u00a0moment!<\/p>\n

Muslin #2<\/h2>\n

Changes in version 2 muslin:<\/p>\n

1. I re-drew the outer line of the flat paper pattern to accommodate for my waist.\u00a0Here is how: I gave myself another 1\/4\u201c by extending outwards (horizontally)\u00a0the top L\/S line of side panel (both front and back). I wanted less curvature\u00a0from about 4 1\/4\u201d below my armpit to 12\u201d below my armpit so I re-drew the\u00a0pattern line to give the pattern less of a curve.<\/p>\n

\"Asmita<\/a><\/p>\n

This final muslin gave me exactly the silhouette I was looking for: the additional ease at\u00a0the waist stopped the dress from \u201cspreading\u201d at the hips. It\u00a0finally had more of that \u201cadult\u201d shape that I was hoping to achieve.<\/p>\n

\"Asmita<\/a>
Muslin 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lessons learned<\/h2>\n

1. Muslin: one or more until I get it right! I still regret the fact that I cut up the\u00a0beautiful hand block printed fabric of the bird print for my very first red dress. It\u00a0would have been worth it to save for the dress I really wanted to make!<\/p>\n

2. I have never before extended a pattern and re-drawn entirely new lines\u00a0outside of the pattern markings as I did for muslin 2, to bring some ease to the\u00a0waist. I am glad I was able to stick to my mental image of the dress and\u00a0persist to make a reality of that dress using Liesl\u2019s beautiful pattern.<\/p>\n

\"Asmita<\/a><\/p>\n

3. As still a new sewist, I struggle with lengths. It might seem like the easiest part,\u00a0but going forward, I am going to always make the first muslin in the length that\u00a0I imagine I want the dress to be, and not skimp on fabric.<\/p>\n

A note on the fabric: This is a triple-layer gauze cotton fabric that I bought at Mood\u00a0in New York 12 years ago! It was a special fabric then as it is now, and I am\u00a0glad that I made this dress out of it. But it was crazy to work with because it frays\u00a0tremendously. Still the weight that it gives the dress is lovely, and despite many\u00a0hesitations (and swearing!) the dress does leave me feeling like I am wrapped in\u00a0a cool gauzy blanket, which is not a bad thing in summer!<\/p>\n

Finally, I want to say a special thank you to Rachel of @oakbluedesigns<\/a>. It was\u00a0her Cinema Dress that prompted me to give this another shot and she did a lot of\u00a0hand-holding through the first stage of muslin making and grading to a larger hip\u00a0size.<\/p>\n

\"Asmita<\/a><\/p>\n

Challenging as it was, I enjoyed the journey that this dress making took me\u00a0through. I can already see some problems with it, but for the moment it is\u00a0definitely a huge step forward from the very first version I made of it last year, and\u00a0I know that I will enjoy wearing it tremendously in the coming months.<\/p>\n

The Fitting Room<\/em><\/a>\u00a0blog series seeks to demystify garment fitting. It is our hope that these fitting stories from real people will inform and inspire you to create clothing that fits you the way you prefer.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If at first you don’t succeed, make a muslin. That’s what Asmita did, and she ended up with a Cinema Dress that fits her exactly the way she wants. It’s the latest installment of The Fitting Room blog series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6023,"featured_media":76991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20687],"tags":[192,20821,20820],"class_list":["post-76985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-cinema-dress","tag-fit","tag-fitting-room"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/asmita-Cinema-Dress-hero.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5jZS5-k1H","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":82065,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2024\/01\/asmita-conquers-darts.html","url_meta":{"origin":76985,"position":0},"title":"asmita conquers darts","author":"Kari","date":"January 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Asmita conquers her fear of sewing darts with the Kyoto dress pattern.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Untitled-design-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":76705,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2021\/03\/asmitas-hollywood-trousers-getting-the-perfect-fit.html","url_meta":{"origin":76985,"position":1},"title":"asmita’s hollywood trousers: getting the perfect fit","author":"Masha Richart","date":"March 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Who would have guessed that Asmita was intimidated before sewing up this pair of Hollywood Trousers? 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Here's Asmita to walk you through her fitting process.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Liesl-Co-Hero-Template-17.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":78042,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2021\/11\/the-fitting-room-lyndseys-fira-dress.html","url_meta":{"origin":76985,"position":3},"title":"the fitting room: lyndsey’s fira dress","author":"Masha Richart","date":"November 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Even simple silhouettes like the Fira Dress can benefit from a bit of custom fitting. Lyndsey walks us through the adjustments she made to create a special dress In this installment of our Fitting Room blog series.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/fittingroomfirahero.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":81862,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2023\/10\/asmitas-amarena-dress.html","url_meta":{"origin":76985,"position":4},"title":"asmita’s amarena dress","author":"Kari","date":"October 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Asmita digs into her stash of precious fabrics for a beautifully personalized Amarena Dress.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Hero-Image-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":74554,"url":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2020\/06\/the-fitting-room-camelias-saint-germain-wrap-dress.html","url_meta":{"origin":76985,"position":5},"title":"the fitting room: camelia’s saint-germain wrap dress","author":"Masha Richart","date":"June 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Camelia has honed her fitting ability through years of sewing for herself. 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Fitting really doesn't take that much time, and the results speak for themselves.","rel":"","context":"In "general post"","block_context":{"text":"general post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/list\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/oliverands.com\/community\/content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/camelia-hero.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6023"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76985"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76996,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76985\/revisions\/76996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}