Pattern: Vogue 8728

Fabric: Poly charmeuse from Joann’s (in their current special collections) 2 yards

Notions: invisible zipper, solvy stabilizer

Sacrificed: one Black & Decker digital advantage

As you may have gathered, my iron died as I finished this dress.  The temperature went crazy and melted a tiny bit of the hem, and now it refuses to heat at all.  So I need a new iron.  Do you like yours?  Recommend it to me!  I’d like something I don’t have to order (I have all the usual chain stores here.)  I like a lot of steam, and the ability to steam at lower temperatures.  Heavier is better.  I don’t care if it has auto shutoff or not, so long as it doesn’t shut off after a really short time.

Moving on…

Thank you for your votes – I decided to make the Vogue vintage dress first.  Many of you said you wanted a review of that pattern, since it is so new!  I expected it to take me through the weekend, but the pattern was much easier to put together than I anticipated.  Here is my pattern review: 

Pattern Description: MISSES’ DRESS AND BELT: Dress has shoulder pads and side snap or zipper closing.

Pattern Sizing: I cut between sizes: an 8 for the shoulders, 10 for the chest, and between a 10 and 12 for the waist and skirt.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?I’m actually surprised that it does, even though I don’t have 6 foot long legs the way the pattern illustration seems to!

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were great. I am never disappointed in these vintage patterns! It included several techniques that made the dress a little more special, such as lapped seams on all horizontal seams. It also included instructions for using tearaway stabilizer on the neck gathers, which I think is a great tip!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?I love the style. 1940s patterns really appeal to me, but I don’t like using the vintage unprinted ones, so I’m really glad for the reissue!

Fabric Used:Polyester charmeuse from Joanns. I expected it to be much worse than it was – all the stabilizing called for in the pattern really helped with the slippery fabric!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:I did not make the shoulder pads or belt. I did reduce the shoulder depth to make up for the lack of pads (I just cut one size down in length.) I could still put them in, but honestly I think it is fine without them.

I used an invisible zipper rather than snaps, and I did stabilize that area before sewing in the zipper.

I removed 5 inches from the length of the skirt, and used a baby hem.  I also baby hemmed the sleeves.  All seams were finished with serging.

The only real difficulty I had was with the bias neck binding. However, it may be due to the polyester – I never get a nice binding when I use a polyester, it always twists on me!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?Absolutely! I think it would look fabulous in a lightweight cotton for summer, or a silk jersey for a more dressy look.

Pattern: Simplicity 2219

Fabric: Rayon jersey from ebay, 3.5 yards

Notions: 1/4″ elastic.  I did not use any interfacing on this dress… though I did put twill tape in the shoulder seams to stabilize.

Notes:

I have an odd fondness for maxi dresses.  When I was in high school in the 90s, I had a whole wardrobe of them.  Until recently, I hadn’t worn one in ten years.  I’m so glad they are back in style again!  When I saw this pattern I knew it was perfect for this rayon jersey (one of my favorite ebay finds!)  I had 3.5 yards, which is actually more than the pattern calls for.  I managed to self-line the entire bodice and still have some left over!  I was attracted to this dress by the empire waist and the thick straps – it looked like you could wear a bra, unlike some maxis!

I cut a size 8, and I could have easily sized down to a six.  I considered leaving out the elastic on the empire line, but I really needed it to take in the extra fabric.  In a size 6 I think I could have left it out.  I’d recommend a little bit of negative ease for the bodice on this dress (ie, a bust size about 1″ smaller than your actual bust.)

The instructions were excellent – I don’t remember having any real issues.  This dress took 2 days to complete, which isn’t bad at all!  The neckline of the dress is low, but not really low enough to be worrisome (YMMV of course, as I don’t have any cleavage to speak of anyway.)  The finish of the lined bodice is very professional!  I am very happy with this dress, and I’m planning to make the shorter version (with the cape sleeves) as well.

I am 5’8″ tall, and I ended up taking a 2 inch hem, rather than the 1.25″ hem called for in the pattern.  My knit is quite heavy, so that might have something to do with it.  I only plan to wear this dress with flat shoes.  Here is the view from above, which I find amusing for some reason… I can just barely see the fronts of my feet, which is the length I prefer for a dress like this.  Too short is unflattering, and too long is a safety hazard!

 

The weather actually decided to warm up, so I was able to get modeled photos of the Butterick vintage pattern.  I find that a few days distance does wonders for my opinion of a pattern, and this is no different.  I was a little lukewarm at first, but now I love it!  Even the shoulder ties look nice to me now.  Of course, it helps that I bought shoes to go with the dress (shoes are my lone shopping indulgence!)  These are called Kendale, and they are from Jessica Simpson.  Are they comfortable?  Not exactly, but they aren’t uncomfortable either!  They are a bit stiff, but I expect they will break in nicely.

The low back is really nice.  What I really love is that you can wear a normal bra with this dress, but it gives the illusion of being bare.

Without a crinoline is still hangs nicely, as you can see above.  The linen is very cool to wear, and with the addition of cotton in the blend it doesn’t wrinkle much at all.  I think I could have actually made the waist an inch smaller, but I’m happy with it – I don’t like a tight waist!  Once again, this pattern is highly recommended – it’s really easy for a vintage pattern, and the directions are excellent!

Pattern: Butterick 5603, view B

Fabric: 2.5 yards linen/cotton blend from Joann, cotton batiste for bodice lining

Notes: The first dress of my sewcation!  Actually, the maxi dress is also finished, but I am not really photo ready today, and it’s much too long for the dress form.  This dress is pretty much the same color as the wall I usually take photos in front of, so until it warms up enough to wear it outside I’m going with dress form photos.

I’m fairly happy with this dress – the fabric is so pretty, and it’s nice and light.  The only thing I’m not happy with is the number of pattern alterations I had to do in order to fit myself.  I did not make a muslin – with a simple dress like this I’ve gotten pretty adept at fitting as I go.  In this case, I had a few more issues than I expected!  My pattern review is below:

Pattern Description: Fitted dresses A, B, C with flared skirt, below mid-knee, have lined bodice, princess seams and side zipper. A: bateau neckline with band and bow at upper and lower bodice edges. B: tie wrapped around each shoulder and knotted forms bow. C: bodice crosses at front and back. Purchased petticoat.  I made view B.

Pattern Sizing: Based on the measurements printed on the tissue, I cut a size 10 in the shoulders and chest, blending to somewhere in between a ten and twelve in the waist.  This is not the size I ended up with after alterations though!

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, after my alterations.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were excellent.  They were totally clear, even for the lining.  Each bodice variation has its own set of instructions, and all three share the skirt.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I thought the tie shoulders were cute, and I always love a vintage reprint.  I was looking to make a nice summer dress.  My favorite thing, as it turns out, is the v in the back.

The back v is the perfect depth, now that I’ve removed the extra shoulder length.  It doesn’t show my bra.  The front v I don’t like as much – to be honest, it’s a bit high for my taste, but again that may be due to my alterations.

Fabric Used: Cotton/linen blend from Joann’s.  I did not attempt to match the pattern at all – the repeat is large, and to be honest I’m not sure you can tell that much anyway.  I lined the bodice with a white cotton batiste.  I love to use batiste to line summer dresses – it’s so lightweight and cool!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I originally sewed the pattern as drafted, with the only alteration being my two blended sizes.  The bust should have come out at around 35″, which is my normal size for this sort of dress.  It came out a bit large (which may be partly sewing/cutting error,) but the big issue for me was the shoulders.  As drafted, the shoulders are really long.  I don’t have a lot of depth there, and so I had to fix that.  I was sad to have to rip open my pretty lining finish, but it had to be done – I removed 2″ total from each shoulder.  Then I slip stitched the lining where I had opened it to make my adjustment.  I was sad, but as it turns out that seam is covered with the ties, so you can’t see it!

I also took 1.25″ total out of the side seams to fine tune the fit.  Finally, I trimmed five inches off the length before doing a baby hem.  As drafted, the pattern is tea length (not a surprise in a vintage pattern, but I like my skirts shorter.  It falls right at the knee on me.)

Let’s talk about the ties.  To my surprise, the ties are merely decorative – rectangular pieces that are knotted over the shoulder seams.  I’m not sure if I like them – I feel like they look a bit messy, but that may be just me.  I might remake them a bit larger, so they don’t stick up so much.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I wouldn’t, because I only need one,  but I am going to recommend it.  It runs a bit large in the bust, typical for vintage patterns of this era (I can’t say if it’s been modernized, but I would suspect so – the waist measurements are too large for vintage.)  Watch the armhole depth.  Be aware that each bodice version has its own pattern, so this review really only applies to view b – views A and C are different.

Conclusion: As always, I’m glad to see these reissues.  I think all three versions in this envelope are lovely.  For me personally it’s not my absolute favorite style – I have a pretty high hip, so I like a skirt to flare out right away, rather than gradually the way this one does.  Even so, with cute red shoes and jewelry this will be great for warm weather.  As soon as the weather improves I will get some photos on me!

Pattern: Simplicity 2281, Cynthia Rowley design

Fabric: Rayon challis, bought off ebay, possibly vintage?

Notions: 22″ Invisible zipper

Notes: I have mixed feelings about Simplicity’s Cynthia Rowley line.  One one hand, it’s a lovely line with some fashion forward designs.  On the other hand, I’m pretty sure Ms. Rowley is designing for someone who does not have my body type.  Simplicity 2443, for instance, is one of my favorite patterns, but I had to alter the dress to get it to suit me.  Specifically, it seems as though most of the designs in the line are long waisted, with a gathered (but not flared) skirt.   I look best in dresses that are higher waisted, with flared skirts.  I don’t like too much blousiness in a bodice.

I was attracted to the neck/shoulder treatment on this dress.  And, indeed, it is lovely!  It’s certainly my favorite thing about the dress.  One bit of oddity – I thought the neckline would be a drawstring halter, because of the ties, but as it turns out the entire thing is sewn in place with binding.  It fits me fine, but I feel like it would be easier to fit the pattern with a drawstring.  The directions at that point were odd also – the illustrations showed the view without the open shoulders, forcing me to guess on exactly how to do the neckline.  At that point, I stopped using the directions entirely, and sewed the rest of the dress without.

The skirt is tulip shaped, which isn’t apparent from the envelope.  I do like a tulip shape, but I think I would like this dress more with a flared skirt.   I left off the pockets, because I didn’t want to add bulk to the skirt.  Be careful when choosing the skirt size to cut – the hip measurements are correct, but the hemline is much more narrow.  I can just fit mine over my hips.  The dress has to go over your head because of the neckline – no stepping in!

My fabric was printed a bit off grain, which isn’t too apparent, but it does bother me a little.  If I were to make this dress again, I would reduce the width of the midriff piece by half.  It’s true that I do have a long torso, but my actual waist is pretty high, and I prefer to emphasize that, to keep my legs from looking short.  I would also switch out the skirt.  I do like this dress – I think it’s very cute for spring, and I really like the blue polka dots!  And I really love the shoulders.

I’m off today to the Simplicity sale at Joann’s – I have a few new patterns to pick up. I will write about my next sewing plans later!  BTW, if anyone saw a weird post from me earlier… that was my husband’s attempt at an April Fool’s day joke.  We have had words about how utterly unfunny I find April Fool’s day, and I do not think he will be posting anymore old, unflattering photos of me.  Just in case you were wondering what was up with that!