Making the Marfa Dress

A reader suggested I share a bit of the process getting to The Marfa Dress, and I thought that sounded like a splendid idea! I'll focus mostly on the darts at the neckline, as they're the focal point of the dress. I only wish you could see them a little better in the photos!

Inspiration

I scoured the web for tons of images and ideas, but the main inspiration for this dress comes down to just 2. The first is from a 1940s vintage pattern, McCalls 5590. It has 4 darts on the neckline.

Source

Angie from Sew I Thought actually made up a beautiful version of the dress on the right for Sew for Victory.

Source

The second inspiration was from an illustration from Make Your Own Dress Patterns by Adele Margolis. 

Fig 65

I loved the idea of darts coming off the neckline, and experimenting a bit with 1940s styles. Since my first design was a shirtwaist dress, and a good everyday staple, I also wanted something a little fancier for my second design.

Manipulating the Darts

I decided that I wanted 6 darts coming off the neckline, and I wanted them all to be of equal length. I also wanted to keep the bodice cut on center front, so my darts would need to be on either side of CF. I began with my bodice sloper, and then moved and separated the dart from the waist up to the neckline. It looks like this from start to finish:

Here are the steps: 

1. Redraw new dart legs that go all the way to the bust apex. 
2. Draw 3 points on the neckline where you want the darts to end up. 
3. Draw lines connecting the tip of the dart to those 3 points. 
4. Cut out the dart at the waist, and cut along each of the 3 lines. 
5. Close up the dart at the waist. Evenly distribute the open space across the 3 new darts.

Ta da!

Perfecting the Darts 

Now that I had the darts manipulated, I had to figure out the best way to sew them. Typically you move the darts about 1" away from the bust apex, so I started there. Because I had 3 darts, I had a bit of excess fabric that pooled at the end that was more than just adding fullness for my bust. Not very flattering! In the end, I made it work by: 

1. Moving the darts up 2 1/2" above the bust apex. 
2. Lessening the angle at the dart tip. I started tapering very close to the tip of the dart about 1/2" before it ended. 

Getting to that point was just trial and error over many different muslin versions. I was a pro at sewing those darts by the end!

I hope you all had a smashing Christmas! Next week, we get started on the Shift Dress Sew Along with a bit of inspiration!