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Clocking In and Out: 1910s Peplum skirt #3

I’d hoped to finish this today.  Sigh.

As I’m waiting for Reconstructing History to get back to me tomorrow, I thought I’d do some VERY careful measuring, firstly the pattern pieces, then the actual skirt, as I’ve taken it in so much.

Reminder:  I cut their size ‘I’ with the intention of leaving it at the stated 38″ waist, or taking it in to my corseted 35″, depending on how it looked.  This is how the back looked when I pinned on the peplum sections

I marked the seam allowances, as on curves, measurements can be so distorted.  This is what I got.

Excluding darts, and seam allowances, the skirt waist is 42 1/2 inches.

The upper peplum attachment line is 17 3/4″, the  lower is 26″

The actual upper peplum seamline is 12 3/4″ the lower is 17 5/8″.  That makes the upper one 5″ too short, and the lower one 8 3/8″ too short.  Jesus wept!

After I took the skirt in, and adjusted the darts, my new upper seamline is 16 1/2″ and the lower is 19 3/4″

This reduced the error to ‘only’ 1 1/2″ on the upper, and 1 7/8″ on the lower.  Remember there are two of each though, and they need to meet in the middle.

I hate piecing, I hate pattern matching, too fiddly, but I got out all  my offcuts, and played about.   This is a large pattern repeat, so it took some hunting, but I managed it.  I WAS going to make the alterations at the back, but ended up opting for the shorter ends of the peplum pieces, that tuck into the long front darts.  

This may sound odd, putting the repair into the spotlight, but anyone staring at my crotch will be noticed, rather than surreptitious bum staring and making covert criticism…method in my madness.  There is also the option for adding some feature buttons to further disguise things.

Of course, I also had to piece the linings, as I didn’t want to unpick the ruddy lot and waste that fabric too.

This is how things stand now

Spot the joins.

I’m happier now, and the remaining assembly should go without a hitch…she said.

I will be demanding my money back though, two strikes is unacceptable.

 

19 thoughts on “Clocking In and Out: 1910s Peplum skirt #3”

  1. Good save, not noticeable at all and you’ll forget all about those pieced bits when you start to wear the skirt. I’m trying to remember how I put together something I made a few months ago. Construction is a bigger deal when we’re in the process, afterward, not so much. Just remember not to buy this make again.

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    1. No question. I’m waiting for her contact tomorrow, but after looking at those measurements, I don’t see how she can try to wiggle out of a refund. Or two. there are only four pattern pieces, and they don’t fit together!

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  2. Your fabric is simply wonderful with the timepieces. It’s unfortunate the pattern is leaving you frustrated. I hope your able to complete the outfit

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  4. Assuming you are right (and I do) this is so disappointing. I sometimes wonder if patterns are tested properly or only sold for their “dreams” quality. I.e. People dream of makin them but seldom do. Or they start, fail and blame themselves. I await an update from the Designer who should surely reimburse the fabric too. Which is very nice by the way and the join is imperceptible and in the right place.

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    1. Thanks missus. It was a pain though- this should have been a quick easy make. I always opt with historical stuff, to cut a bit bigger, then take in depending on which corset I choose to wear with it. This should NOT have been a problem. 9″ too small is outrageous

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  7. Go you! Awesome pattern matching, you clearly saved this project. Here, have my special whetstone for sharpening one’s tongue. And pen. You should definitely get a refund. This pattern should never have been sent to the market. I am actually quite shocked that it is possible to have such a lack of professional pride and integrity. Jeez.

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  8. I’ve had little luck with any of their patterns, using a muslin mock up is kind of a must for these, or the swedish tracing paper. GOod luck and cant wait to see how it comes out in the end!

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  9. I’ve got a printed copy of the instructions for the self-drafted version of the skirt. I’ll check tomorrow to see if I was clever enough to save it to my desktop as well.

    I’m assuming you can see my email address from my comment? If you want the instructions, drop me a line. If I haven’t saved them, I’ll type them out for you (the font on the original really isn’t scanner friendly).

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  10. You did a fabulous job with the “repair”. I think it was lucky that you picked the clock print because all I am seeing is clocks. It would probably have been much more noticeable if it was a solid colour shiny satin or some such fabric. I hope that the pattern maker does the right thing. Although you have saved this skirt and it will be beautiful … perhaps the cursing and hair pulling helped?

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