#marfy patterns

Improving the Sheath, Marfy 6182

The modern sleeveless, sheath dress is pretty boring, a far cry from the detailed sophistication which it first came in during the 1950s when you still got sleeves, and collars, and other deatils. So I welcome this version which adds neck draping and an attached scarf which would be perfect for a summer cocktail party or a summer wedding. Obviously, this is for a woman who will enjoy the romantic flow of the scarf and not be bothered by it. You want to choose a lightweight silk fabric, a georgette, a crepe de chine, something that will allow the scarf to swing freely. Then you can line or underline the dress. You want to harmonize the jewel at the shoulder with the fabric, and you might even begin with a beautiful brooch you own and then choose a fashion fabric accordingly. Check your jewel box and see if you find some inspiration.

Marfy is an Italian line of patterns which is offered in the United States only by McCall Pattern Company. Each pattern comes in a single size, without seam allowances, and without direction for sewing or for the layout of the pattern pieces on the fabric. So they are not for the beginner, and are a bit of trouble. In compensation, they offer dome intriguing designs.

One More Coat: Marfy F6107

Already hints of the spring patterns are coming out, but since it is currently snowing by me, I thought I would share a coat that could be for worn as we move towards early spring. The baby blue version especially seems perfect for spring. This is a Marfy pattern, an Italian line, which is carried by Vogue Patterns in the US. This slim coat has a large pointed shawl collar that can be worn open or closed, princess lines, and on-seam pockets in the front. The sleeves are set-in and I suspect they are two pieces which means they are shaped to the slight bend of the arm.

They suggest velour for fabric, by which I think they mean wool velour, or boiled wool, but I could see this in all kinds of medium-weight coatings and in even lighter weights if you live where it doesn’t get that cold. With all the seams, you want a solid or a very small woven pattern.

Remember, Marfy patterns proclaim they are for the “expert.” You get the pattern pieces and even those don’t have seam allowances or hem allowances, but that’s about it. No diagrams for cutting layouts on the fabric are offers and no instructions for assembly. So, unless you are confident in your ability to work out the construction, a muslin would be in order to test not only the fit, but the construction.

Evening Glamour and the Flowing Panel, Marfy 6314

Panels that move with the body are up their with draped design for their sensuous glamour. This pattern from Marfy, sold by Vogue Patterns, has a slightly draped front neckline, but its glamour lies in the panel which wraps from side front, around the back, and back to the other side front. The idea is to make the most of a fabric’s transparency. The dress itself should be lined while the panel is unlined and the light and the eye can see through it. So the two best choices of those suggested by the designer are georgette, which is sheer all over, and devore velvet which is sheer in places within the pattern. The third choice, silk jacquard, misses the point of the panel, and would be best for the non-panel version, which is a sheath, nice, but not all that different from the sheaths which inundate our closets. I say, better to make the effort of adding the panel and create something memorable and graceful. If the bows are too cute for your taste, find some matching jeweled buckles and use them instead at the shoulders and skip the bow in the back, or make it enormously long and dramatic. In short, enjoy yourself. 

Panels of Chiffon from Marfy, F6152

Marfy Patterns offers up another dress best made of chiffon for this season, perfect for a summer wedding or party. This one has is a sleeveless sheath with a wide neckline, and gathers at the center bodice-- a perfect place of a jeweled brooch. The sheath is then softened with floating panels that are then pleated in the back. This will look so graceful in motion and in repose. They suggest crêpe-satin or chiffon, but I am thinking the sheath in satin, the panels in chiffon is a possibility for the right combination of fabrics, or all chiffon with dress itself underlined. There are a lot of romantic or dramatic possibilities with this design depending on the fabric used.

Marfy is an Italian company and Vogue Patterns warns that “expert-level sewers” are the proper makers of its patterns. Unlike American patterns, Marfy patterns to not have sewing instructions, nor fabric layouts, nor seam allowances, nor hem allowances. So test the pattern first on a cheaper fabric and figure out the best way to put it together and the best fabric layout, etc. 

A Faux Fur Look: Marfy F6027

Marfy is the Italian collection sold in the US by McCalls Pattern company designated for dressmakers with advanced skills. They come without directions, without cutting layouts for the pattern pieces, and without seam allowances. So, if I haven’t scared you off, here is a new winter coat F6017, a single-breasted redingote (which is how the French pronounced “riding coat”) with princess seams, a hood and welt pockets. They recommend “vicuna, velour, eco-fur,” and I am thinking a faux shearling with a sueded fabric on one side backed with the furry side is your best bet. That would allow you to turn out out the furry side along the hem, and allow it to peek out along the seams. This is a look that must date back far in time when people used fur to survive the cold winters.

Faux fur coats take more effort as you have to think through the details of fit and technique, but the two fur-lined coats I made were well worth the effort and make cold winter days far more pleasant.

You can see the pattern here and read more about the Marfy line.

The Draped Scarf and the Chiffon Dress: Marfy F6182

More than once I have sighed at a dress in the movies that has a draped scarf feature. So romantic, so graceful.... sigh. This one is from Marfy, an Italian pattern company, whose patterns you can buy through the Vogue Pattern website. It looks perfect for a summer wedding or party.  Notice they show it with picture hats.

Here we have a fitted sheath dress which has a sleeved option too, and both styles have you use a clasp at the shoulder to catch an extension that creates a scarf that drapes down the back of the dress past the waist. The clasp should be a jeweled one. They recommend crepe de chine or chiffon and I suspect silk chiffon would the be most effective. Chiffon is transparent, so it will need underlining for the body of the dress. Although chiffon takes care and effort to hem it well, the ethereal effect of the scarf will be lovely. Sometimes the things that are the most challenging turn out the most satisfying.

But Marfy patterns are not like American patterns. They come in the one size you order and offer no sewing instructions, no cutting layouts, and have neither seam allowances nor hem allowances. So, you are on your own. Vogue Patterns defines these patterns for “expert” dressmakers only, but I figure if you have already put together a few dresses with zippers, you should be able to figure this all out. Ralize that many people like to alter the seam allowances when they are given in the first place--narrower ones for curved seams to facilitate easing, wider ones for side seams, etc-- and very often you will a different hem allowance than the pattern suggests, so not having those should not defeat you. Definitely make a test muslin of this pattern since you want to make sure that you can figure out how to put it together when it comes to cutting a fine silk.

A Marfy Blouse, Trapeze Neckline

You can find the Italian pattern line called Marfy at Vogue Patterns, and this blouse numbered F5071 is one of the new spring patterns. I like it as one of the rare trapeze necklines available today. Think the trapeze bar at the bottom, if you don’t understand the name  /_\  In this instance we also have soft pleats.

The last century way of doing a trapeze neckline, and almost any neckline, would eliminate the front buttoned opening in favor of a hidden side opening with snaps under the left arm and possible a short opening at the top of the back neck to allow the head through. Using lace or some other sheer at the bottom or all around a trapeze neckline would further soften the look.

Marfy patterns only come in one size, without seam or hem allowances and without instructions, so they are not for beginners. If you have been sewing for a time, construction is almost intuitive, and you may like to vary your seam allowances. Still, a test of the pattern in cotton muslin would be in order to make sure you like the fit.

You can find it here (and nope, they don’t go on sale from what I can tell).