Not recommended unless you’re looking for a challenge. I like jigsaw and logic puzzles, so the overskirt for this was a good evening’s diversion for me. The text is copied verbatim from sewing instructions of the time. The vocabulary is obscure and the instructions confusing: “Pleat the breadth as indicated on the pattern and fasten a on b so that a revers is formed.” The “pleat indication” on the pattern is a single line of stars and dots; I found b, but a is nowhere to be seen. I still haven’t figured out what the extra dotted line on the skirt front is for; the instructions make no reference to it. The pattern included pieces for the overskirt and bodice, but the cover illustration shows trim and flounces for which there are no pieces, including a “side pleated flounce of the material 28 inches wide, which is sloped off at the top toward the middle of the front to a width of 6 1/2 inches.” A lot of improvisation is required here. I’m not a novice sewer. I’ve made many, many suits, evening wear, superhero and Renaissance costumes and my own wedding dress. Many garments were made from my own patterns. I’m used to cobbling together pieces of patterns, but this takes the minimalist award. On the plus side, she’s got some stuff available that I’ve never seen elsewhere, and she included an underskirt pattern to go with the outfit that was not in the original pattern. It was a nice gesture.
Holly Messinger –
Not recommended unless you’re looking for a challenge. I like jigsaw and logic puzzles, so the overskirt for this was a good evening’s diversion for me. The text is copied verbatim from sewing instructions of the time. The vocabulary is obscure and the instructions confusing: “Pleat the breadth as indicated on the pattern and fasten a on b so that a revers is formed.” The “pleat indication” on the pattern is a single line of stars and dots; I found b, but a is nowhere to be seen. I still haven’t figured out what the extra dotted line on the skirt front is for; the instructions make no reference to it. The pattern included pieces for the overskirt and bodice, but the cover illustration shows trim and flounces for which there are no pieces, including a “side pleated flounce of the material 28 inches wide, which is sloped off at the top toward the middle of the front to a width of 6 1/2 inches.” A lot of improvisation is required here. I’m not a novice sewer. I’ve made many, many suits, evening wear, superhero and Renaissance costumes and my own wedding dress. Many garments were made from my own patterns. I’m used to cobbling together pieces of patterns, but this takes the minimalist award. On the plus side, she’s got some stuff available that I’ve never seen elsewhere, and she included an underskirt pattern to go with the outfit that was not in the original pattern. It was a nice gesture.