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.