Vogue 9560 - Quest for a Flattering Skirt Length

Oh boy, oh boy, I finished something I actually wore out of the house! I found this 1986 Vogue 9560 pattern at the Goodwill Outlet months and months ago.

I liked the in-seam pocket and length. It also reminded me of an early New Look pattern I saw while browsing on the Vintage Pattern Wiki:

I thought this pattern would be great for the butterfly print bottomweight fabric I got at Jo-Ann's a few years ago. But, the pattern was already cut to size 14 – which I am definitely not :). So a practice skirt was in order.

I used the waist and hip measurements from my 1 Dress Project skirt pieces to do the grading. Then I used floral quilting cotton and some striped blue and white cotton fabric for the pocket facing. While I like the colors in the quilting cotton, such an abundance of floral print is not my usual thing. I was pleased with myself for the pattern grading work.

I practiced my hand-sewing with a picked zipper and hand-sewn ribbon bound hem. Instead of grading the waistband pattern piece, I used Sandra Betzina's waistband tutorial in Power Sewing. Ahh, to use my true waist measurement – a humbling experience. But the waistband fits great.

Once I got to the skirt hem process, a dilemma arose. The skirt length did NOT look good. So I had to figure out what length would look good.

While my favorite length was mid-thigh, I wouldn't rock that at work. So I settled on a knee-skimming length.




I wore it to work on Friday with a matching blue tank and jean jacket. Hooray!

Pattern Description: 1986 misses' 6-gore mid-calf length skirt with flat front or inverted pleat front and in-seam front pocket detail.

Pattern Sizing:  I found the thrifted pattern cut to size 14, graded it up to my (not 14) measurements and made some adjustments (see below).

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?  Hmm, kind of. The original pattern length did not work on my figure. (insert hyperlink with text "original pattern length")

Were the instructions easy to follow?  I only followed the pocket instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  I liked the shape of this skirt. I also really liked this pattern is reminiscent of the 1950s Advance 5403 pattern (but a lower price point – bonus!). And I like the pockets! It's been a long time since I've been able to keep my cell phone in a pocket!

I didn't like the original skirt length on me, but that's not the pattern's fault.

Fabric Used: Quilting cotton from Affordable Fabrics in Rocky Hill and striped cotton from my mom's stash.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:  The made a high buttocks contour adjustment and a large rump adjustment from Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing. I took the front seams in 1" from waist to hip (but it makes the pockets look funny). I also made my first measurements-only waistband as suggested in Power Sewing. I love that book!

The original skirt length did not work for me at all so I chopped 7 in. off the bottom. This length is better for me, but I will need to adjust the back hem allowance for relaxed posture "ride up".

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  This was a fit run of the pattern: I wanted to make a longer, inverted-pleat version in butterfly fabric. The butterfly fabric might be a bit too cute for me :-).

I would use this pattern again – it's a nice, slightly-fuller-than-A-line skirt; a good basic.

Conclusion:  I like this pattern – a vintage feel at a good price (hooray for thrifting). Once I get the fitting down, I'm good to go!

Craftsy & Me: 1 Year Later - A Review

Well, it's more like 1 year and 1 month later. I think a year is a good amount of time to evaluate the situation. Here's what I've learned.

THE COURSES
All told, I signed up for 7 Craftsy courses. Here they are in the order I signed up (annotated with my thoughts on the course):

1. Sew Retro - This was the course that introduced me to Craftsy. I first watched the lessons on my work pc with no problem at all.  I never worked with a downloadable pattern before; I don't think I like it so far.  I'm still working on getting the bodice to fit.

2. The Couture Dress- This course is excellent.  A Vogue pattern is included in the course (V8648).  Susan Khalje is very detailed in her presentation and provides step-by-step instruction on constructing the class dress in a couture manner.  I took a ton of notes on the lessons.  Susan was very responsive to the questions I posted.  I've completed 3 muslins on a modified version of the dress pattern and now well on my way to having a TNT sheath dress pattern.  I hope to have My 1 Dress in 2012 project complete in early fall!  Yay!

3. Jewelry Workshop with Max Goodman - I signed up for this course for The Little Miss.  Alas, it seems her jewelry-making fervor has subsided.  Watching the lessons was ok work diversion.  And I completed the headpin necklace using the instruction which is good.

4. Jean-ius - This is another excellent course.  Well worth every cent for the sign up.  I like Kenneth King's teaching approach most; he is funny, his advice is sound and practical for everyday sewing.  In my work diversion watching, I took a raft of notes on his course as well. I completed my draft pattern and am at the test garment stage.

5. Tunisian Crochet: Revolutions in Color and Style - I have one of Jennifer Hansen's crochet patterns from StitchDiva Studios so when I saw she had a Craftsy course, I signed up.  Until I watched the lessons, I forgot how much easier crochet can be than sewing!  I completed the spa cloth project and just need to figure out a color scheme for the multi-garment project.  When I get around to it... :)

6. Thread Art - I signed up for this course right away when I saw that Craftsy had it's first African American instructor.  Unfortunately, the platform problems described below impeded my progress in watching all of the complete lessons.  I think I've been able to get the gist of the lessons in the fits and starts viewing I've been able to do.  Lola Jenkins is funny and an engaging instructor from what I could view.

7. Torch-Fired Metal Clay - I have not accessed/been able to view this course at all due to Craftsy's platform problems.

THE PLATFORM & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
I got to watch the Tunisian crochet course all the way through with no problem on any of the machines/devices I use. It all started to go downhill around June 14. I don't know what the Craftsy folks did around that time, but none of the 5 courses I had purchased played properly anymore. I sent  help at craftsy(dot)com an email about my problem. They poo-pooed my concern and said I shouldn't have a problem if I was using a high-speed internet connection. Really, watching anything online with dial-up would be like pulling my eyelashes out one at a time.  Not a good look or something I care to do.

Then I bought Thread Art and the Torch-Fired Metal Clay courses ( metal clay was with a $25-if-you-order-another-course deal email). And the games were totally on. I couldn't watch a full lesson of Thread Art on ANY machine: not my smartphone, not the older work pc, and not my 3-month-old laptop. So I sent help at craftsy(dot)com a number of follow-up emails about my problem. It was on like Donkey Kong then! The woman who responded to most of my emails thought I was some kind of computer-illiterate; at one point she even sent me the same text from a previous email. How insulting!

I recorded my difficulties, did all of the computer tests they recommended (which no one bothered to look at or respond to).  Here are the videos I took:



 I was pretty bummed about the entire situation. And I didn't even get an apology or an explanation - until I asked for a refund for the class I hadn't accessed at all. (I had to come to my own conclusion --
Craftsy dramatically changed it's platform & didn't notify anyone.)

Here are some of the error messages I've received or found on the site in the last week or so. These error messages came through on my brand-new laptop vs. the videos above of my older work pc.

Honestly, how is that possible on a brand-new computer with a high-speed internet connection!!?

At least it's not just me having problems with Craftsy's new platform

BOTTOM LINE
The content of The Couture Dress, Jean-ius, and Tunisian Crochet were great. What I learned about fitting alone in Susan Khalje's and Kenneth King's courses were worth the price.   I learned a lot and took a bunch of notes. My limited access to Thread Art showed me a pretty neat class. Unless you are a  teeny-tiny thing don't bother with Sew Retro; there just isn't enough transferrable, useable info there.  Getting a taste of jewelry making at my own pace/reasonable price was good too.

Like anyone who's ever been in a relationship that we go into with high hopes that get dashed by the other party, I feel like I should have seen the signs. But I don't think there were any signs until June 2012. At this point, I almost feel foolish for being such a Craftsy cheerleader before. The platform changes/problems and disingenuous "technical assistance" provided did it for me. Unless Craftsy gets a functional Android app and makes their platform easily useable again, I will not be signing up for any more Craftsy courses. Youtube is free and plays on any machine I've ever used. The Netflix app works great on my phone as well ;).

I will try to get as much use out of the courses I've paid for and accessed as I can.  I am unsure if I will be able to download my video notes, which stinks. For sewing-related diversion at work, I think I will take Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic's suggestion in a post from February and sign up for some of Sandra Betzina's videos. I love her books.