a movable feast

and so i went down to the sewing pattern mines searching for my beloved geoffrey beene 2031 vogue pattern . there are lots of places that trade with discontinued sewing patterns some of them actually quite good, others give you the shivers. one thing to applaud is the ingenuity in setting such a business. who would know vogue patterns would be so coveted amid the burda reign.

i still don't understand why vogue discontinued the career patterns. those 80's and 90's vogues are absolutely gorgeously drafted, timeless and elegant. no flounces ! the pattern in question is from the late 80's , but the shape is very contemporary, sort of julian roberts avant la lettre.

found the pattern in size 6-8-10 which is the one i have-i'll never be that size again.. sigh! and located a size 12 -14-16 which unfortunately had been sold. as a result, i was with the possibility of testing some newly acquired skills; those of pattern grading.

as a precaution i had collected information available on line here and luckily for me because it's extremely cold i didn't mind the sweating. after copying the pattern on to paper i started charting the measurements to then slice the pattern according to the new size. just out of sheer luck i ,the frugal textilian, had saved an old bed sheet which has become handy in making the toile.

i had never in all my sewing years made a toile because i was size 10 *without hesitation*, no alterations except maybe skirt length sometimes. and since i had to alter and make a toile going all the way sounded exciting so i edited the pattern at the waist and will be working on a skirt instead of the whole dress..i feel so very st laurent because he never cut any garment without making a toile first.

the dress will come in its due time because i love it. but i'll keep trying to locate the pattern in my size and at a decent price. only if i do not succeed i will attempt perfecting my newly acquired pattern grading skills ;-)

how did the saying go? necessity is what???