Vintage Vogue Diane von Furstenberg

I picked up this vintage (late 1970s) Diane von Furstenberg pattern from Lanetz Living last year, and I had a suitable length (2 metres) of printed rayon/lycra jersey in stash.  I bought it from Fabricland in 2008 or 2009.  Canada Day 2010, a holiday, the planets aligned, and I made this dress.  I wore it to work today, and I may want to keep it on for a good long time, it's so comfy and (I think) good looking.

There's not really much to say about it.  The extravagance of the collar is evident in the pattern envelope photo, and it does live up to that.  It's a one-piece "shirt-style" collar and I found that with the weight of the rayon jersey, a light and somewhat supple fusible interfacing gave it just the oomph required to stand up, or spread open (as I wish).

To the left, the collar is UP.

To the right, it's more OPEN.  Either way, is OK with me.

DvF wanted me to cut facings for the armscye but I ignored her and did the same kind of narrow binding that I did on my little tank-top earlier in the week.  The only difference is that I started by sewing the binding strip to the right side of the fabric, so that when it was folded over the seam allowance, it would be on the inside. I really like this technique!

A detail that gets lost in the pattern photo is the 3 buttons with loop closures.  These are working buttonholes, but unnecessary since the dress can easily be pulled over my head.

My friend Gail gave me the secret to sewing a narrow filled tube, for just this kind of application.  Here is a tutorial.

First, cut a strip (lengthwise grain of the jersey to control stretch) of suitable length.  My pattern had a piece for this but just calculate - # of loops required by (length of loop needed plus 2 seam allowances, one at each end of loop).

Cut a length of yarn that is about 2x the length of your fabric strip.  Place it so that half of it is on the fabric strip, as shown (half its length is to the left of the strip).

Fold the strip of fabric lengthwise, RS together, over the yarn.

Set your machine to sew a narrow zig-zag (I used 1.5 x 1.5 mm).  Start wide at one end, then angle your stitching to the desired width of the tube (here, about 5mm).

You are encasing one end of the yarn inside the sewn tube.  Be careful not to catch it with your stitching!

Then sew across the yarn at the wide end, making sure the yarn is good and caught at that point.

The yarn (to the right in this photo) is at least as long as the fabric strip.

Then trim the strip fairly close to the stitching - I trimmed at about 5mm.

The next step requires you to grasp the yarn tail (to the left in this photo) and the point where the yarn is caught (to the right in this photo).  Pull gently on the yarn until the caught end of it eases into the wide end of the tube, as shown here.

Keep pulling gently, easing the other end into the tube and preventing it from bunching.  Eventually the yarn will pull the tube right side out, as shown to the left.

Admire the finished tube.  Then cut it as needed and sew it in place.  For my dress, I made 3 button loops big enough to accommodate a 1/2" domed button.