Toga Party

And here we are again with Vogue 9253, otherwise known as Vogue 1735.  This was such a popular pattern that they rebranded it a few years after its first release.

As discussed in a previous post, I finally got around to making this extremely popular pattern.  And I can confirm that there is a reason for all of the hype.  This is a great pattern!

It feels a little bit like cheating because I made it out of a set of sheets . . . which means that I have actually wrapped myself in sheets.  A caftan pattern wasn't quite comfy enough for me, so I took it to the next level by making one out of cotton sheeting.  

Don't feel like getting out of bed in the morning?  No problem!  Just wear your sheets.  And as I have had quite a few questions about where I found such a lovely sheet set, I will say that I just got lucky at an estate sale a few years ago, finding this Pottery Barn set along with a second floral sheet set, both of which were hardly used, if the state of the cotton is to be believed.

This takes me back to living on a college campus with fraternity and sorority houses and those silly toga parties (which I never actually attended).  While this dress was more work than wrapping a newly purchased sheet from the local department store around one's body because of a "Greek" themed keg party, I suspect it is just as comfortable.  Maybe even more so, since this dress isn't going to come unwrapped!

Almost as soon as I completed this version last year, I planned to make another.  Alas, time did not stand still, and the weather became uncooperative.

But I have a dusty lilac colored tencel that I think would work quite well with this pattern, perhaps slightly shorter and more tea length than this version.

I keep meaning to make that my next project, but inevitably, I get distracted by something else in the sewing room.

One thing that many people have mentioned is the deep plunge of the front bodice.

This version is as drafted, but since wearing this a couple of times, I have fell stitched that seamline closed by approximately one and a half inches to make it slightly easier/more appropriate to wear.

For that short tecel version that I keep meaning to get to, I may draft a slightly overlapping bodice piece as a few others have done.  I am not afraid of a deep v-neck, but this particular pattern is rather extreme, so it's something to keep in mind.  But is this pattern worth the hype, low neckline included?  Absolutely!

Dress:  Made by me, Vogue 9253
Necklace:  Vintage, from Mom
Earrings:  Etsy
Shoes:  Born

A Bevy of Birds

Ah, yes . . . Vogue 9253, otherwise know as Vogue 1735 - which is perhaps one of the most popular patterns that Vogue has produced in the last decade.  It feels as though just about everyone has made this pattern at this point.  Well, I finally joined the club.  

I missed out on the pattern the first time around, but I kept seeing fabulous versions pop up online.  Eventually, I picked up a copy of the re-released Vogue 1735.  I even left the pattern out on my sewing table as a constant reminder to try this pattern in a timely fashion.

And then we come to the unfortunate part of this pattern . . . the necessary yardage.  Because it requires a massive amount of fabric!  And that goes double for the full length version, which is, of course, the one that I wanted to make.  I tend to choose yardage heavy designs (hello, circle skirts) but this dress needs over 6 yards of 45" wide fabric.  That's a whole lot of fabric for a non-historical style dress.

But then I remembered a set of cotton sheets that I picked up at an estate sale.  A queen set of sheets contains a whole lot of fabric because of all of that extra width.  And I just love the ornithological print!

These particular sheets are a very tightly woven poplin like weave.  It's lovely and crisp, but a bear to hand stitch.  This pattern suggests topstitching, and normally I would hand stitch instead, but this was essentially a wearable muslin, and I didn't want to fight through that tight weave.  Pinning through it was difficult enough!

There isn't a whole lot more to say.  It's a great pattern, as so many before me have proven.

I do wish that I could have done a bit more pattern matching.  But even with massively wide pieces of fabric to work with, the oversized print repeat did not make that possible.

But other than that, which the tie belt actually manages to disguise slightly, I am very pleased with this project.

And yes, the pattern is a keeper!  (But I suspect everyone in the sewing community already knows that.)  But for anyone who might need a reminder that this pattern exists, here it is.  I think a tea length version would also be fabulous, and save a bit on those pesky fabric requirements.  And yes, if the right fabric comes along, I would absolutely make this again.