Miss Bossy Weigels

Miss Bossy did decree that we dig out 3 patterns from our stash that we had not yet made and then the readers would vote on the one to be made. Sometimes it is great to handover the decision to someone else. The results came in for the vote and the clear winner was the Weigels 1696 pattern.

I found some fabric that would do this pattern with its classic lines justice – a blue cotton from the Starfish Workroom close down (a local fashion designer). It is very soft smooth and hangs beautifully. It had to be used for a very special dress. As I sat down to cut I discovered that a previous owner of this lovely vintage pattern had HACKED the kimono sleeves off. I thought I might be able to salvage it from the back pattern piece by tracing out – nope that one was gone too.

Then I thought they might have left the pieces in the envelope (I have found this before)…. but no 😦 . So after complaining on facebook to my sewing friends I went back to the pile of patterns I had gone through to make my selection and found another Weigels of a similar era and style and best of all – ALL it’s pattern pieces were there. This is a vintage pattern of the era of one size only and no printed markings on the pattern but do not let these put you off. Thankfully this one was Sandra size so no grading was required.

Once I started sewing this pattern it was very simple to do. Lovely little back darts at the waist and shoulders. Simple pleating on one side of the front that tucked into the large dart on the other side to form the cross over. Soft waist pleats gently draping across the front.

My favourite part of vintage patterns is that they put their instructions on one page. This means I am more likely to refer to them – and I did – especially when I went to attach the back skirt to the top and found it several inches larger. Oops there is a back pleat (to create the kick pleat at the bottom) that I had missed. I quickly rectified this and it fitted perfectly. I hand stitched the zip in but machined the hem.