A Summer Find

There are certain projects that get neglected for whatever reason, and this was one of them.

I know that I rushed to finish it for pattern testing, and I didn't actually hem the skirt for quite a while after the rest of the dress was complete.

It may be that the weather got away from me, and by the time I had stitched that hemline, the weather was too cold, or a pastel floral just didn't feel appropriate to wear.

But eventually, I got around to hemming the dress.  I actually love hand sewing, so I couldn't tell you exactly what my issue was.

And then it hung on the back of the sewing room door, for no obvious reason.  But at least the dress was completed.  That gives a sense of accomplishment, at the very least. 

Turns out, I love the print, and the dress isn't too shabby, either.

Now that I finally got around to wear the darn thing, I am quite happy to have another easy to wear wrap dress in my closet.

And I suppose that is the most important thing.

So perhaps I should get back to all of those other works-in-progress!

Dress:  Made by me, "Jade Wrap Dress"
Blouse:  Gap
Shoes:  Kate Spade
Earrings:  Etsy

Complementary Colors

Every once in a while, a fabric gets sidelined, not because I don't like it, but because I just don't have very much of it.

And while I don't have many patterns that require a small amount of yardage, I did have McCalls 7740 on hand.  What I didn't realize when I chose the pattern, though, was the fact that it is full lined, and therefore requires essentially twice the amount of yardage I was expecting.  (Why I didn't study the pattern envelope, or the pattern instruction more closely before committing is something I cannot explain.)

It also proved rather difficult to find a matching turquoise cotton for whatever reason.

I lost interest at some point and tucked the cut pieces of the fashion fabric away.  But that is dangerous because it always takes me quite a bit of time to figure out exactly where I left things, what the issues were, and I often find something new and shiny to distract me away from the unfinished project bags.

I was intrigued by the minimal yardage requirement of the garment, and figured it would be handy to have a pattern on hand that could potentially use up smaller pieces of fabric.  And so I continued making the dress.

Invisible zippers are not my favorite  choice, but the pattern does call for one, and I happened to have a very good color match stashed away.

And here is where the pattern started to give me a bit of a headache.

I was expecting to make the backless version with a single tie at the neckline.  But even shortening the back length and repeatedly  re-opening the waist seamline to pull more and more back bodice length out, the back continued to gape.

After admitting defeat, I decided the only thing to do was to add another set of ties to the lower portion of the back opening which would help to minimize the bodice pulling away from the body.

I was too lazy to reopen the finished edge, so I just finished both sides of the ties, and carefully hand stitched them onto the finished garment.

So this may not be the fabulous dress that I was hoping for, but I still managed to get a wearable garment out of the exercise, which is always nice.

I am just happy that this fun turquoise and red cotton was finally rescued from the stash.

But I still hate that lining color match (or lack thereof!).

The dress feels slightly out of my style comfort zone, but it's always nice to try something a little different.  

Especially when it doesn't take five plus yards of fabric!

I may have been tempted to leave it in the unfinished pile, but I am pleased to say that both the pattern and I persevered.  And that's the story of this dress.  

All Wrapped Up

I was a pattern tester for the Jade Wrap Dress back in 2022, and somehow, I never got around to posting the project on the blog.  So it is finally time to do something about that!

This pattern wraps at the back which means no gaping at the neckline, if that is an issue that makes you avoid a front wrap dress.

Because I was on a deadline, I didn't take too many photos of my process, and I was stuck using what I had on hand.

Thankfully, I had a fairly good match for the lined bodice once I decided on this lovely cotton print (a quilting cotton that I most likely found at JoAnns at some point).  

It's difficult for me to resist a botanical print!

The construction itself is very straight forward, and I think that someone with basic garment construction would have no problem putting this pattern together.

This brand is big on pockets and includes a pocket in each side seam.

For myself, inseam pockets rarely get much use.  Then again, there may come a time when I am pleased to have them in this dress.

The ties are long enough that they can be tied at the front or back.

I can't say for sure why this project was tucked away, but I am happy to have re-discovered the dress while the warm weather makes it perfect to wear.

Graphic Design Prints

While I knew that I would be making another version of Vogue 2000, I didn't imagine that it would be in a print like this!

But some things just come together for a reason.

And now that I have finished the dress and worn it, I can safely say that this fabric was meant to be a wrap dress.

My only gripe with this design is that the sleeve cuffs make it difficult to get in and out of a coat.  So what could be the perfect early Spring or late Fall garment becomes slightly less useful with changing weather patterns that require an extra layer.

Of course, I could eliminate the cuffs entirely, but they really do give that 1970s vibe, and I think they really add to the look (especially in a print like this!).

But, of course, I am sure that I will be making myself another version, probably close to full length if I ever find the right fabric.  So I could always try the look without cuffs down the line.

My other gripe would be that this is a cotton/poly blend.

I am extremely distrustful of polyester and would like to purge the textile from my closet and everyone else's, quite frankly.  This particular fabric was found at a fabric swap, and while I can feel that there is definitely some poly content in there, I would guess that it contains a fair amount of cotton.  Here's hoping that it doesn't start to pill anytime soon.

To think that I was skeptical of this print!  Turns out, my thought that it would make a perfect DVF wrap dress was right on the money!  And you can never have too many wrap dresses.

Dress: Made by me, Vogue 2000
Necklace:  Gift
Earrings:  Banana Republic
Shoes:  Kate Spade

The Classic Wrap Dress

I have been wanting to make another version of Vogue 2000 ever since I made one in a Halloween themed print in 2024.

The only thing stopping me was finding the right fabric.

I am convinced that the right knit fabric will make or break this design.  As was used for the true vintage versions from the 1970s, a non-spandex textile is really best for this style, and will give the most flattering result.

The pattern is also a bit of fabric hog, so not only did I have to find fabric that I liked, but hopefully something that wouldn't break the bank.  Turns out, someone at the most recent fabric swap that I attended left this fabric behind.  It was out on a table at the end of the swap, at which point we were free to take anything that looked interesting.  I had spotted the print earlier that day, but dismissed it as a bit too much for my taste.  But the more that I looked at it, the more the graphic print looked like the perfect choice for a seventies style wrap dress . . . and so the fabric came home with me.

There were only 3 yards to work with, and the shortened version of the pattern requires almost 4.  But this fabric was 64" wide, and I knew that I would want to shorten the skirt slightly so that it hit more below the knee than mid calf.  It was also possible to cut this in a multi-directional layout because the print doesn't seem to have any specific top or bottom that I could find.

The serger hasn't had much use lately, but it is certainly nice to have around for knit projects to keep those edges from curling.

My one complaint with the instructions is the way that the side opening is handled.  I thought that I would try something a little different for this dress.  I did test it out on a scrap of fabric first, though.

Instead of just leaving a section of the side seam unstitched, I created a mini-facing for the opening.  This fabric is perhaps just a tiny bit thick for this sort of thing, but in the end I am pleased with the results.  And the ties themselves completely cover the area, so while my top-stitching isn't quite perfect, no one but me will ever see it.

Per the instructions, the front neckline is stabilized with seam binding.  And I just love any excuse to pull out the rayon seam binding!

I did have a small kerfuffle with the sleeve cuffs.  From working with the pattern previously, I knew that I wanted to narrow the sleeves considerably . . . which means that the cuffs also need to be narrowed.  No problem.  Or at least, it shouldn't have been a problem.  

Even though I removed what I thought was the same amount of fabric from the sleeve hem and the cuff, the cuffs somehow turned out at least an inch too narrow.

Lucky for me, those pieces are not that large, and I was able to cut out another pair.  I am still baffled by how or why they turned out a different circumference than the sleeves.

Facings were interfaced and finished with a serged edge.

And the front neckline was top-stitched as suggested by the pattern instructions.

Coincidently, I can confirm that this top-stitching mirrors the top-stitching on a true vintage version of the design.

And here is where the dress begins to really take shape.

I do love a classic wrap dress!

I do not, however, love how my serger reacts to a single layer of knit fabric.  But I do have a roll of fusible something or other that is cut on the bias and is about 1" wide.  My solution is to cut that product in half and apply it to the hem edge.

This gives a nice finish and a bit more oomph to the bottom edge of the skirt.

And even though there is a fair amount of visible top-stitching, I do prefer the look of a hand stitched hem.

The final touch is to add buttons to the cuffs to simulate the look of a cuff link.  While I have boxes of buttons, I someone only had two possible options that worked.

In the end, the two-toned buttons were my favorite.

And that's a wrap!