That 70's Pattern

I remember watching re-runs of the popular 60's-early 70's popular tv show, "That Girl", series when I was in grade school. I thought Ann-Marie wore the coolest clothes!

One source mentions that "That Girl" was "the groundbreaking series to realistically portray the life of a single, independent young woman" which led me to think of classic tv shows such as Mary Tyler Moore, Julia (Diahann Carroll), Alice (Linda Lavin) Profiler (Ally Walker who played Dr. Sam Waters, the psychic detective), SATC (with Jessica Parker). I cannot think of current tv shows that portray a strong woman with positive qualities. Maybe you can. TV is inundated with many 'reality' shows without substance. Do we need to see more of Tori Spelling or the Kardashian sisters, to name a few?


This 1975 pattern is the Marlo's Corner series for McCall's.

Here's some optional background music to get you into the mid-70's mood while you continue reading. One of my all-time favorites!. Check out E.J.'s lapels and sleeve caps!



Pattern Description
Set of knit coordinates: tops, skirt, and pants.

Before Lauren Hutton, Christie Brinkley, Shari Belafonte, Marie Osmond, and Brooke Shields, Marlo came out with her collection of patterns. Do you know if if there are other celebrities, if any, who preceded Marlo?

Although I am aware that not everybody sews with vintage patterns, it's fun to compare vintage and current patterns and see that most if not all current styles contain design elements from the past. The layout and presentation of the methods have changed, but the methods of constructions have not so much. Often, in working with vintage patterns, I like to adhere to the methods described. However in some instances, I prefer to use current sources to facilitate the construction.



Fabric
Poly knit from Gorgeous Fabrics. It was very nice to sew with!

Features
* Very easy to sew
* For the knit top, there were only 5 pieces to work with: front, back, sleeve, front facing, and back facing.
* Top is close fitting.
* High armscye
* There is quite a bit of ease at the sleeve caps. They seemed to drafted that way.
* Neckline is self-faced. It would be simpler to bind the neckline using a bias facing made from the same fabric or stabilize the neckline with serged finish or invisible elastic.


Directions





Directions in an easy-to-read and compact format. I like the fact that all views are easily accessible, without having to flip through several pages.



Modifications
*Omitted the back zipper. Was it possible that it was needed for the less stretchy type of knits that was used back then?

*My usual, decreasing the length from the bust to waist by 3/4". I used the printed alteration line and folded in that amount.

*Added 1" to the length, added 1/4" to the side seams.

*I sewed the sleeves flat, instead of setting them in as directed.

*I cut and sewed my own tie belt, without using the given pattern piece due to fabric constraints.


Results
I really like the pattern for the top! I like the flattering fit and plan to make more by varying the shape, width, and depth of the neckline.


I recently wore this top at work.



1975 time capsule

Now I am in the mood to sew a 70's plaid jacket!