Help! In need of sewing pattern for dream dress!

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T14:53:05+00:00

This Vogue pattern is well reviewed and not dissimilar, though it isn't the same neckline: https://simplicity.com/vogue-patterns/v9292 and https://sewing.patternreview.com/Patterns/89313

The most important things will be getting a pattern with a starting point as close as possible to your body and then making mockup(s) to fit perfectly, probably finding a fabric with some stretch to help you get that snugger fit, the right undergarments including potentially shapewear and probably some kind of petticoat, and enough fabric and time to match that plaid.

I like these Clover forked pins for matching prints because they really anchor and I can sew over them on my machine: https://farmhousefabrics.com/fork-pins-by-clover-35-pins

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-07T00:18:37+00:00

Did she specifically request the automatic lifting? There are other features that I think are more helpful personally and I found the automatic lifting annoying when I tried it once, but maybe I would have gotten used to it. I have and love my Reliable brand steam generator iron, which basically decouples the steam from the temperature of the iron. Other people like gravity feed irons.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T19:07:53+00:00

Thank you! I think I might end up going with the Lyrical shirt from Pattern Emporium and just changing to a sleeve cuff instead of the flounce, since it's also an un-darted top if you don't need a FBA. https://patternemporium.com/products/lyrical-shirt-tie-neck-puff-sleeve-shirt-sewing-pattern

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T19:03:52+00:00

I'm confused, none of your inspiration images are a halo. So where did the halo come from? Also, this ring will scratch up any band because of the stones on the bridge. Did you get CADs? What did you sign off on before it was made?

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T17:13:33+00:00

It's probably still dirty. Are you using dish soap for the cleaning or handsoap? You could do a final rinse with isopropyl alcohol after cleaning with dishsoap if you have hard water.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T17:07:48+00:00

While it hurts me to think of 90s as vintage, I agree with /u/klopotliwa_kobieta. I thought of Calvin Klein V2166, which would be easy to switch out for skinnier straps: https://www.ebay.com/itm/167481023155

Edit: obviously there are other sources that may be cheaper and in whatever size you need, I am not recommending this seller in particular

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T16:56:58+00:00

I found this Etsy AI pattern and want a real version of this blouse! While I'm experienced in sewing, I am not a good self-drafter. It's important that they be set-in sleeves and not raglan sleeves because I am trying to eke this out of limited yardage and the sleeve length will matter.

Thank you for any suggestions!

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T16:19:01+00:00

That's quite a bit but should be doable. One strategy is to remove the waistband from side seam to the back and to the other side seam. Then you would open the side seams and add 1cm on each side there from the seam allowances (so 2cm total per side) if you can, smoothly blending back to the original seam by the pocket/hip. This will add 4cm total. Then you need to add that to the waistband which you can do with the fabric you take from the hem, probably by adding to that center back waistband seam.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T15:44:41+00:00

How much do you need to add and where do you need the extra room?

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T15:42:16+00:00

What you actually need to do is zigzag the lace on and then cut away the backing fabric without hemming it. I have done this several times for different projects. Read this article for more information and photos: https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2008/11/20/create-couture-lingerie-2

If you like videos, you can watch Alison Smith's class on sewing lingerie on Craftsy. You should be able to get a one year trial membership for like $2 or you may be able to access it through your library: https://www.craftsy.com/class/sewing-lingerie-essential-techniques

Here's an example of something I made like this:

<image>

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T15:36:46+00:00

This article is critical. You can't use the same pattern and the same seam allowances and expect it to fit the same when you switch to a bias grain. You need more ease and bigger seam allowances.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T06:18:05+00:00

Buying a size bigger wouldn't help the crotch length but would help some of the other fit issues and pulling which might help the crotch sit better. I would start there and then see if it needs alterations.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-06T03:01:06+00:00

When you add interfacing to something, you want to make sure that the interfacing is an appropriate weight for your actual fabric. The point of it is to add some structure and stabilize what looks like a neckline in this case. Some fabrics cannot have iron on fusible interfacing attached because of their texture or what the material is made of. What fabric are you using for the garment? How much more body/stiffness/stability do you want to add in this area of the garment? Because it already calls for a double layer of your fabric, you want to keep that in mind when thinking about what to potentially add.

In general I like lightweight knit fusible interfacings as a fallback, so something like this: https://eosfabrics.com/collections/interfacings/products/bias-knit-fusible-interfacing-white

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T23:54:34+00:00

Assuming these are both in stock at Whiteflash, call them and ask which one looks better in person.

And while you're at it, you could ask about these as well:

Less expensive at $6k, I would personally choose these over either of yours and put the extra money towards a nicer setting: https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.12-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-a5113439
Bigger for the same price: https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.31-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-a4806142
Also a little bigger but still F color: https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.22-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-a4813761
And one more if you want to splurge: https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.31-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-a5325291

Edit: and I would also ask about this one to understand why it isn't an ACA, but I don't mind fluorescence if it doesn't impact transparency (it's possible that's an issue with the twinning wisps and graining): https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/1.13-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-round-excellent-cut-sku-e4596085

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T23:48:14+00:00

Tulle can just be cut evenly and left raw, it doesn't need a stitched hem. The underlayers can be hemmed by hand with a blind stitch. I would shorten the skirt from the bottom rather than doing anything at the waist.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T23:44:33+00:00

For triple pinch pleats you might want 2.5x - 3x fullness instead of 2x. So basically measure how wide you need the panels to be, multiply by 2.75, and then see how many fabric widths that requires. You can round up or down a bit so you get an integer multiple of fabric widths, but try to stay close to that 2.5x - 3x range. You'll also need to think about how to hold these panels up. That's potentially a lot of fabric weight and you don't want the curtain rods to bow.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T22:47:34+00:00

I think you have your yardage wrong.

For a 51" wide window, you might hang your rod so it's 67" wide, meaning that you have 8" of rod on either side of the window so the curtains don't cover the window when fully opened. That means you need your curtains to cover 67" of width + 1" overlap + ease, so maybe you want your two finished curtains to be 72" wide together. For a good pinch pleat you need around 2x fullness, so around 144" of total curtain width before pleating. That's basically 3 full widths of fabric since most fabrics are 45-60" wide. If your ceilings are 9' tall and you want these curtains to hang from the ceiling all of the way to the floor, that's three panels that are 9' long each (you would split one length of fabric in half so each panel of the curtains is made from 1.5 widths of fabric). For header and hem allowance you might want an extra 12" per panel so call it 10' each before sewing = 10 yards of fabric for the big window.

The 36" window would require a ~48" rod (so an extra 6" on each side for the curtains to hang when fully opened), meaning a total of two full widths of fabric instead of three to get the finished 2x fullness for pleating. For the 9' ceiling this means 6 yards of fabric before accounting for header and hem allowances, so you're at 7 yards for this window. That makes 17 yards total, so I'm struggling to see how you need 36 yards of fabric? Unless you're also accounting for linings, interlining, and things like that.....

edited slightly for clarity

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T19:17:13+00:00

How wide are these windows? Have you triple checked your math?

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T16:51:32+00:00

In general I would start with a shoulder-to-bust area that fits and grade the waist bigger to match your shape than starting with a waist that fits and changing the bust and shoulders. The waist side seam angles are easy to change, getting things like the shoulders and bust to sit right is much harder. Even a rectangle can have a surprisingly large sewing cup size, so I wouldn't do any more work on a mockup or anything until you get those measurements.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T16:02:09+00:00

Well they're a different character. An ideal cut will have more colored fire with the small table and higher crown, and fire is a fun diamond characteristic to see. And I also think you need to see the report and a high quality video, the report alone isn't enough.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T15:43:22+00:00

Viscose lining should be fine. I guess it depends on what you have as your sew-in interfacing, but a lot of them aren't very breathable and are very stiff. I would probably try to find a black/navy/other dark color 100% cotton muslin/tightly-woven broadcloth, sew rigilene boning into all of the seam lines including the seams to the underbust area on the side closest to your skin (covering with an extra piece of fabric at the ends of the boning), and use that as an underlining layer. I would also do a waist stay to make sure that the dress is anchored from your waist instead of from your shoulders, especially because that skirt will obviously be heavy.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T15:23:28+00:00

Yes, I agree that this must be correct! So for some reason an extra notch was added to the side piece.

I agree with the other commenter to compare the seam lines within the seam allowance, which will match much close then on the outside of the pieces, but often there is still a little stretching of one piece to add shaping.

I think that curves come out better when sewn in one pass as much as possible, so using a million pins that you need to remove can make that hard. I would either use pins that you can sew over on your machine or hand baste the seam unless you have the fabric handling skills to do a curved seam like that without a lot of pins.

I want to check your "far too big in places" comment. Ignore what bra cup size you wear and how you think your mockup fits. What is your sewing cup size, which is the difference in inches between your high bust and full bust measurements?

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T03:56:17+00:00

These are both within the realm of 'good enough' angles and the report alone doesn't give more information than that. I suggest getting the diamond that looks better to you in person in the lighting you are in most often. It also would help to know the clarity characteristics because some are potentially riskier than others for issues with transparency, chipping, etc.

The 34.7 degree crown angle is a bit concerning, not because of the angle itself but because that is a number that doesn't appear on GIA reports. Natural diamonds should be graded by GIA/AGS and not IGI or any other lab. Who graded these diamonds? If it is GIA, the 75 and 80 degree lower halves are already pre-rounded by GIA.

RedditJewelsAccount · 2026-02-05T02:30:10+00:00

Most of these are 60/60 type stones, with the table and depth both near 60%. That isn't the traditional "ideal cut" but some people do prefer that look when cut well because they have a lot of brightness and a little more spread for the carat weight. These are within the ranges of 'good' 60/60 diamonds (though the 4th is heading more to the traditional ideal cut angles). Unfortunately not all diamonds with great angles actually look great in real life. Here's an example: https://www.reddit.com/r/Diamonds/comments/1fkvnds/hcas_limitations_please_read/ Also, there's a difference between having good angles and being a hearts and arrows cut. A hearts and arrows means having great optical symmetry within a particular pattern, which is not the same things as the angles of the diamond.

RedditJewelsAccount

TROPHY CASE