Strawberries & Cream

I have had Vogue 2785 in my pattern stash for YEARS.  The copyright is 2004, and I would guess that I purchased it in 2004 or 2005, so it's been neglected for about 20 years.

Now, back when I initially got my hands on it, I was slightly intimidated by the pattern.  The pattern envelope rates the design "Average" as far as difficulty goes, but all of those seamlines and top-stitching had me thinking that it was out of my league.

Now that I've worked through the entire pattern, I would agree with the Average rating.  That being said, if you choose to work with a satin or a slippy fabric, some of those godet pieces might get aggravating since the edges are essentially cut on the bias.

Which brings me to the massive amount of top-stitching that is included on this dress.  I generally avoid top-stitching like the plague, but in the last couple of years I have been attempting to get over my phobia with visible machine stitches, and I think that this project proves that I am making some progress!  Almost every seamline is top-stitched twice, and there are a lot of panels in that skirt.

I did fall back on a bit of hand stitching, though.  Most of the bodice edges are finished with bias binding and then top-stitched.  Instead of relying on pins to keep those bias pieces in place as they were wrapped around the edges, I folded the bias piece in half and then hand stitched it from the inside edge before top-stitching according to the instructions. 

My main issue with the drafting of this project came from the bodice pieces.  I knew that I wanted to increase the size of the bust slightly, and I did that with the slash and spread method.  My modification may have aggravated the issue slightly, but that upper edge of the bodice was not laying flat and was standing away from the dress form/my body.  And with a design such as this, that's just not a good look.  I ended up re-cutting the bodice pieces and pulling that upper edge in with the help of a length of seam binding and a line of gathering stitches.

That made  world of difference.  And while I am loath to re-do a part of a sewing project that I have already completed, I am so glad that I took the extra time to fix the issue.

Having now finished the dress, I do think that there is something lacking in the pattern draft itself.  Those bodice pieces just don't lay quite right, especially at the upper and lower edges without some extra help.

And since there is really no way to tell how the fit is going to turn out until the entire thing is constructed (along with a whole lot of top-stitching), that can be really frustrating.

While I was working on that portion of the dress, I decided that adding bust pads would be a good idea, since that wide neckline would make finding a suitable bra a bit of a challenge.  I didn't manage to get a still photo, but I talk about the process of adding some bust support to the dress over on Instagram.

And after that was complete, there was more top-stitching.

This project took a bit of time to complete, and when I was tired of all that top-stitching and setting in skirt godets, I worked on the skirt facing pieces.  The instructions suggest adding interfacing to the dress itself, and then stitching the facing in place.  I modified the process so that the facing pieces were interfaced instead of the dress.

And when it came to the zipper, I once again deviated from the instructions.  I was not about to trust an invisible zipper to this design, especially since there are so many top-stitched seams.  Why not add center back to the list of top-stitched bits with a regular zipper?  

Did I mention there was a lot of top-stitching on this dress?  Each time I thought I was done with it, I found another seamline needing another two lines of visible top-stitching.

There also seems to be an issue with the drafting of the skirt facing pieces.  

There was about 12" extra length on the facing.  It was an easy fix to create one more seamline and discard the extra length, but I have no idea why it was so far off.

I hand basted the facing into place before, you guessed it, adding a few more lines of top-stitching.

I even found a use for a quilting guide since the facing is a bit wider than any of the marked measurements on my machine's needle plate.

At this point, it was looking pretty cute, a lot of which had to do with the strawberry printed cotton.

The sleeves were easy to put together, with some added top-stitching, of course!

It's not really clear from the photos, but the head of the sleeve is shaped with four darts.  This is a very 1940s technique that I wish was used more often in contemporary designs as it gives a very nice shape through the shoulders.

While I am still not completely sold on the fit of the bodice, the dress does fit my body better than the dress form (which is always a good thing).  And honestly, the busy print takes care of disguising any issues.

Overall, I am proud of myself for working through the bodice problems and recognizing that it was better to recut and restitch those pieces instead of moving forward with a neckline fit that would have made me grumpy every time I looked at it.  

And I am happy to have finally stitched this design together.  The Donna Karan Vogue designs are always fun, even if this one gave me a bit of grief along the way.  And overall, she looks great!

Jewel-Toned Florals

This is a reminder to myself and everyone else that once you find a pattern that you enjoy making and, perhaps more importantly, enjoy wearing, you might as well make yourself more than one!

I made the first version of this dress back in 2013 with an extremely limited amount of fabric.

When I finally got my hands on this floral wool, I realized that I would have to find the right pattern since I didn't have that much to play with, and I didn't want to make a blouse . . . the fabric needed to be a dress.

And then I remembered Simplicity 2126.  Of course, it took a while to find the darn thing - they are always in the last place you look.  I was a little concerned that I had given it away at a pattern swap, but I finally pulled down a box that I haven't looked in for many, many years, and there it was.

It's a very classic 1940s silhouette.  And really, the most interesting thing about the pattern is the neckline.  But somehow, the combination of the pattern paired with the right fabric makes a great dress.

I should probably take a deep dive into the boxes of patterns that I haven't rummaged around in for a few years, because there are probably more neglected patterns that I have completely forgotten.

In this case, the fabric came first, which led to the rediscovery of a pattern.  But starting with the pattern in hand and searching for an appropriate fabric can also be fun.

I have been meaning to make myself another denim skirt, so perhaps I can limit the search to skirt patterns to keep from getting completely distracted by all of the pretty designs and dreaming up another ten or twenty projects to add to the queue.

I also feel as though the pattern stash is getting a bit out of hand and perhaps I could multi-task and gather a bunch of patterns for the next pattern swap that comes along.  Because at this point, I am never going to be able to make up half of the patterns that are living in the sewing room.

Dress & Belt:  Made by me, Simplicity 2126
Shoes:  Sam Edelman "Arlene"

Contrasting Florals

This dress was meant to be made a couple of years ago in the Fall season, but time got away from me and the project was put on a back burner.  I never put the fabric away because I knew that I wanted to do something with it sooner rather than later, and here we are.

One reason I chose this particular vintage pattern is because it doesn't require that much yardage, and I was working with a very limited amount of wool.  The drape and the weight of the fabric also lent itself to a 1940s style dress, so that was stuck in my mind.

I previously used the pattern to make this dress, and I do get quite a bit of wear out of the dress in the Fall months, so I thought that it was worth making another version in a very different color palette.

The pattern itself is more fragile than most of my vintage patterns, and I suspect that someone at some point left it out in the sun for a little too long as some areas are very crispy along the folded edges.  That being said, the pattern is absolutely still usable.

It is actually incredible how sturdy pattern tissue is considering its age.  This particular pattern is approximately eighty years old, and both the tissue and the newsprint instructions are still going strong except for a couple of areas.

In most of the patterns I have come across, the instructions generally see more aging than the pattern tissue itself.

This fabric was lovely to work with aside from the fact that it did like to fray quite a bit.

It's a very lightweight wool and not itchy on my skin, so it will work for a variety of seasons and temperatures.

I even found a suitable vintage zipper in my stash, which seemed fitting, so I went ahead and used that one.  It's often the zipper that gives away whether or not a garment is truly vintage, and I like to think that some of my creations could pass for vintage construction, even to a trained eye, except for those pesky ykk zips.

There really were not any surprises with this dress because I made the pattern up before.

It's a classic 1940s silhouette that is easy to wear and will definitely come in handy in my wardrobe.

And I love the colors in this print!  I did have to use a multi-directional layout to make everything fit on my yardage, but because of the multi-gored skirt I don't think it's noticeable.  All in all, I'm very pleased with how this project turned out.

Never Enough Polka Dots

I have added another Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress to my collection, and I am not sorry about it!

And while I am not a huge fan of working with rayon/lycra knit fabrics, now that I have finished sewing the dress, I can enjoy wearing it, and forget about the aggravation as it slithers across the sewing table.

I know that it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I will probably wear the dress with the v-neck facing the back most of the time.  It seems like most people prefer the standard v-neck worn in the front, but I have a lot of v-neck dresses, so this makes for a nice change.

And the nice thing about a reversible dress is that I can always change my mind later on!

It has also become quite clear to me that I am a massive fan of the polka dot.  Dress, blouse, shoes, purse - give me all of the polka dots!

And wrap dresses just might come in a close second.

The shorter length works great with the dotted fabric, but I do love a full length wrap dress.  The only downside is the amount of yardage required.

I would also love to be able to find a cotton print jersey fabric or a rayon/cotton blend in a slightly heavier weight.

The original textiles that were used for these dresses are some of the most flattering and comfortable fabrics that I have ever come across.  Why did they start adding spandex and lycra to everything?!

But even with all of my griping, this is a wonderful pattern.

It really doesn't get much easier than throwing on a wrap dress to look completely put together in no time at all.  And no zipper or buttonholes to contend with is just the icing on the cake!

Dress:  Made by me, Vogue 2060
Shoes:  Miss L Fire
Earrings:  Etsy
Bag:  Harvey's Seatbelt Bag