Accidentally Vintage – Vogue 8784 Pattern Review

I like to call this the accidental vintage Vogue dress.  For this dress I used the pattern, Vogue 8784.  It is a wrap dress with bodice pleating and options for, a straight skirt (with pleating), a full skirt (without pleating), cap sleeves, and long sleeves.  It doesn’t look vintage on the package nor does my muslin.  The muslin was made with the straight skirt option and both sleeve styles in a mint green taffeta that will never see the light of day ;).  The taffeta version showed the pleating details well and gave the dress a very structured look.  The fabric I used is a super soft floral jacquard I found on the clearance table, which I purchased initially to be used as muslin fabric.  While it sat waiting to be used, the floral pattern grew on me and I decided to make the full skirted version of the dress.  Sometimes the pattern on a fabric makes all the difference in how something looks.  On my version the pleating detail work disappears into the pattern and the dress looks like all it needs is a petticoat or two (I may make one eventually, but I don’t like tulle) to be a vintage.

.  This pattern calls for a lining, but I omitted that and narrowed hemmed the edges. The interior is all french seamed, except the sleeves.  On the next one, I won’t french seam the skirt to the bodice, it’s a little too bulky for my liking.  For the sleeves, I used seam binding…..after I finished sewing them on three times.  Yes, three times.  The first time, there was too much extra fabric in the cap, making it puffy 80s style. The second time, I wasn’t satisfied with them being smooth enough, so I went in with my seam ripper for a third and final try.  Speaking of the sleeves, I chose that length because the cap sleeve was binding for my range of movement, and I didn’t want the dress to have long sleeves.  I will be making this pattern again in a fabric with more body and less of a pattern. 🙂

I Like Drapey Tops So I Made Another One – Simplicity 1588 Pattern Review

 

 

I’m going to preface this post by saying, I know patterns have recommended fabrics.  They are clearly printed on the back of the envelope. I do read them, however sometimes I ignore them :).  Sometimes this method works out quite well and sometimes this method creates garments either impossible, or darn difficult to get into and out of.  But….if I can get in and out of it, I consider it a success and carry on lol. For this one, I could get in and out of it so, Yay! 🙂  If you don’t want to be very careful when putting this on, don’t do what I did. 🙂

As for what I did, Simplicity 1588 has a wrap front top pattern sized for stretch knits only.  I ignored that instruction and made one out of a nonstretch chiffon left over from the Bernina 780 pattern wrap dress feature in my post here. I also did not use bias tape for the armholes.  I used the fabric selvage as the front edge (which you don’t see as it’s part of the drape), and  narrowed hemmed everything that wasn’t french seamed.  I wasn’t sure it would work out, but it did. This was the first iteration, and I didn’t make a muslin first, so I will probably lengthen the top the next go round.  I also didn’t feel like changing into a pink bra so I put on a tank top underneath for coverage.  Generally speaking, I prefer nonstretch fabrics to knits and will most likely make this again this way.

Drapey Tops Are In, Right? – McCalls 6841 Pattern Review

Whether they are or not, I made two! 🙂 McCalls 6841 is an easy drapey top pattern with two sleeveless variations and a long sleeve variation.  Considering I live in Louisiana and it’s still 90 degrees most days, I made the two sleeveless variations.  The version shown above is View B.  Let’s talk about that one first.  I actually used a recommended fabric and went with a sheer stretchy knit that I use to test patterns (meaning it normally doesn’t get seen).  i know the pattern on the fabric isn’t the greatest but technically this was a wearable muslin 🙂

Moving on to view A, this was actually the first one I made.  The night I picked up the pattern, I walked past this print on the clearance table, and knew it would be perfect for it. 🙂  I was tired and decided I wasn’t making a muslin to test, I was going for it with my new fabric and I wanted to finish it before I went to bed.  That didn’t happen, but all I had to do was hem the armholes when I woke up in the morning.  Then I wore it to work 🙂  I also wore it to Atlanta Swing Classic, (which had I taken pictures at would have been a separate blog post in itself, wonderful event) and received good feedback on it.  Without further ado, View A.

I know they look similar but they are different in the fit, neckline, and the back.  Both of the necklines go very low. I had 5 outfit changes today and it was hot so these photos are bra-only underneath, but when I wore these for the day, I had on either a coordinating tank or bandeau underneath.  The other difference is the coverage of the shoulders and back, pictured below.  Also a note, the tropical print is a woven and not a knit (as recommended on the pattern), but you know I do what I want :).

Two Wrap Dresses are Better Than One – Kwik-sew 3489 Pattern Review

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but it hasn’t been for lack of sewing. Since we all know it didn’t happen if there are no pics, I had to wait for weather, photographer, and time to align.  That happened today, so there will be 4 reviews on 5 garments posted shortly. 🙂 Told ya I’ve been working!  First off, Kwik-Sew 3489.  This is a simple wrap dress pattern that I decided would be a good one to have and possibly build on.  It may be, but I will have to make it again to say for sure.  Let me tell you why.

First let’s talk about the pattern.  The pattern is simple, and the instructions are easy to follow.  However, the pictures on this post are all of the second iteration of this dress.  Why? Let me tell you.  As usual, I originally made the smallest size. I sewed facings for the first time ever (and correctly lol,) and the dress came together quickly and great.  I excitedly tried it on and………..it was about two sizes too big!

I couldn’t take the dress in, there was way too much fabric.  So, I decided to use this situation as a lesson in redrafting patterns and cut the dress apart to resew.  This is where I came to the conclusion that the fabric I used was most likely the issue.  it’s a pretty, brown and gold knit that’s super stretchy, but doesn’t seem to recoil back to it’s original size once stretched.  When I compared the fabric pieces to the pattern they were all larger that what had initially been cut.  I trimmed them back down (and still took a little extra off of the bodice) and sewed everything back together. Sewing the same dress twice was frustrating but I did it in the name of learning :).

Now it fits as you see above and below, but until I make it again (out of a better quality knit) I can’t say for sure whether the pattern will work for me.  In the end, I do like the dress, just not the effort that had to be put into it.