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.
Green apples - Stitchywitch Creates 
This dress is great! I love the fabric.
organza presscloths are AWESOME for pressing finicky poly without trashing your iron. that said, i have a rowenta, and it’s pretty awesome.
and the dress is great- i think the neckline binding looks pretty good 🙂
I LOVE that dress!!! The fabric is just wonderful. Thank you so much for the review. I never thought about cutting down one size at the shoulder to avoid shoulder pads. I am definitely going to do that when I make this dress.
The Rowenta Costco is selling these days is awesome. Heavy, good steam to temperature range, self-cleaning, good handle. The downside is cost–it’s north of $50 south of $100.
Pretty! I can’t believe that you sewed this up so quickly. Looks great on you.
that looks fabulous!! nice work! you are the sewing queen….love it!
It’s fantastic! I just love it. The dress is so flattering, and your shoes are the perfect choice! I’m sorry to hear about your iron. I rarely use steam, so I can’t really make a recommendation.
Love it. Well impressed with that, hope you wear it lots 🙂
Love this dress, and I love your blog! My B&D iron melted itself last week, too! So I bit the bank .. ahem… I mean bullet .. and forked out for a Rowenta Steamium or DW9080. It’s my first Rowenta, and it’s a very pleasant surprise. Tremendous burst of steam when you want it, stable heat (haven’t had that in a loooooong time) and it’s a good weight. Cotton practically irons itself without added elbow grease.
It looks FABULOUS! I absolutely love the fabric and the 40’s style definitely suits you very well!
I love it! And the shoes! Best of all it looks great on you.
I have a Rowenta and LOVE it! I have burned through a few Black and Deckers (I do quilting so I iron and steam as hot as I can get it) I did kill one Rowenta already, but it sort of had a nasty fall or 2(ahem….) and was never the same…my 2nd one I’ve had for quite some time now, and am a bit more careful of it trying to jump off ledges and it’s been fine …
I third the Rowenta recommendation. I think a good iron is worth the money when you sew a lot, as you do!
I also have a Rowenta iron. If you choose to buy one, make sure you get one manufactured in Germany. The lower end ones are made in China and the quality just isn’t good. Also, avoid Shark irons. I had one and it caught on fire…
The dress looks awesome! I blinked and you finished it 🙂
Ooh, super cute! I love the nautical themed fabric and coordinating shoes. So glad this pattern worked for you! I think it’s such a great design. I’ve no iron recommendations – I have one with a huge reservoir for steam but am on my third because they keep breaking under warranty.
A job very well done!
I love that dress and the fabric together – it looks so pretty!
My iron is a Black and Decker and I like it a bunch. It stays hot and gets hot fast. I don’t know the model or anything, but Black and Decker is my fav.
Lovely dress! I’m sure you’ve already figured out that blue was your color!!! LOL! Great dress!
The dress turned out really nice! Such a fun, quirky fabric. 🙂
I have a lime green and white Sunbeam that came from Wal-Mart for about $30. It occasionally spits when it steams, but for the most part I’ve been pretty happy with it for the price. There’s also a re-release of the Black and Decker classic iron that you can get for about $30 at Target.
Oh, this is so cute! I’ve been waiting to buy this pattern until I read a few reviews, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist after seeing your version. I love how it fits you, the bodice especially.
Also, this fabric is so, so cute. It’s just the right all-American nautical vibe for the dress design. Love it!
The dress and fabric are lovely!
I had to laugh when I read that your iron died, b/c mine just did, too. Good luck finding one!
I’m so in love with my gravity fed steam iron, however my favorite besides that one is the Black and Decker Classic. Beauty dress BTW!
Cute fabric! I love the dress.
I love the dress! Thanks for showing it made up. I must go by the pattern.
What a lovely dress this is on you!
Gorgeous!
Fun dress! The bodice turned out much different than it looks in the drawing (this is good.)
I think it would also look stunning in a natural linen, so you could see the interesting lines, would be a blast to accessorize. Oh, you’ve already got it made up in the last 5 seconds…? 😉 I do wish I had your energy and work ethic! 🙂
I’m so glad you chose this pattern. It looks great on you, and the fabric and design work so well together.You are a great designer! I can’t wait to make it myself, though the stabilizer step scares me a bit. I don’t want to be the Rowenta iron naysayer, but I did buy one made in Germany, and the electrics simply stopped working – -it would not heat up at all (though it was great when it worked). Could not return it, &(had to get rid of it, could not be fixed)so I bought a t-fal — almost as expensive, but the steam is great.
Love the dress! You always do such nice work. Looking super cute and being slender helps highlight your work quite well. I learn on your site too and am now using two things I’ve learned from you (the narrow hem & sleeveless lined dress techniques.) I can’t believe how few years you’ve been sewing.
Irons… my new Rowenta Professional from Lowes works amazingly well. It was about $80 with my $10 off coupon there. Lots of stream and it glides over the fabric. I love that I can tip it upside down nearly on my ham and it doesn’t leak.
Lovely dress! I found your blog after one of your other projects was featured on Butterick’s Facebook profile. You’ve done such a great job with your projects!
I look forward to coming back to see more in the next week weeks. I’ve got lots of my own sewing planned for this year. 🙂
Love the dress! It really looks nice on you!
I used to sew, and was big on steam. Now I just iron EVERY day…I personally wouldn’t trade my Rowenta for anything! It has the best steam, the hottest temps, but also lots of play in the settings. I bought the top of the line Rowenta, and it was well worth it. Although I’m on my second one, they last a good long time, and since you sew, I think a Rowenta would be the best for you! Oh, and they clean up really well, too…
It’s totally darling Jessica! I love the fabric choice and the pattern has such a flattering cut on you! As far as irons go, I do love my Black and Decker Classic, but alas it does not have steam in the lower settings. Still the weight, the fact that it has an all metal plate and the steam in the higher settings really makes it a good option! They last a long time too – so long as your husband doesn’t knock it off the board and break it in two. Oh well!
xoxo,
Sunni
That was a quick dress! The style is very nice on you too. I think I’ll give it a go myself.
I just replaced my iron 2 weeks ago so can’t say if the new one has durability yet but it has a nice weight, steams, shuts off after 15 mins (which I really appreciate) and doesn’t spit/leak. Its a Hamilton Beach $40. I had originally picked out a Rowenta, made in Germany, but had to return it the next day. The unit was clearly a dud… leaked and had a short in the cord. After looking at the reviews online of it catching on fire and bad customer service, I decided not to take a chance. It cost $100 here. Too bad because I hear the good ones are awesome.
Happy Sewing.
Wendy
Your dress is lovely, nice work! In regards to the iron, if I were you, I would go with a gravity feed iron. I worked as a seamstress for years and chewed through many, many Rowenta irons. Most of them lasted a year at best. I finally switched to a professional, gravity feed iron and I would never go back. I’ve had an Ace Hi model that’s lasted me for over 14 years. Some info:
http://www.allbrands.com/products/abc0365.html
I hope you find an iron that you like, whichever style you choose.
Anne
I love the dress! I have been eyeing it and am so glad to see a great dress and a positive review for it. You look lovely in it!
Sorry to hear about your iron, but your dress is gorgeous. I love the print.
Love it!
Wow. It looks amazing on you! You are a much more adventurous sewer than me. I have yet to tackle a pattern as advanced as this.
Don;t know if you’re still reading comments on this since it’s an older post, but i saw your review on Pattern Review and decided to come see your blog. This dress turned out so nice. I love your choice of fabrics also. That print is perfect for a 1940’s post-war pattern. I could see a woman choosing that fabric back then. I love it!