Sunday, July 3, 2011

Hot weather sewing

I was making great progress with Vogue 8718 until I realized that our newly-installed central AC was not functioning as planned, and it is a hot weekend.  Erg.

The jacket needed a lot of steam.  So I switched gears.  Today, I made Vogue 1250 - the DKNY cowl neck dress everyone has been raving about.  There are already 17 reviews on PR and it has only been in the book for a month or so.  I can see why it's popular.  Three pattern pieces, and one of them is a little strip to finish the back neck.  This is, as I proved today, a dress that you can make in an afternoon.

However, its design makes it a bit tricky for someone, like The Sewing Lawyer, whose top and bottom are not the same size.  (FYI, the top is a pretty straight size 10 and the bottom is just a titch under size 16.)

This dress is snug at the hip, designed with about 3cm ease, just over 1".  And the skirt is a single piece with only one seam at CB.  Darts extend to hip level from the bodice side seam to provide shaping.  To the right is the schematic drawing of the pattern pieces.  I puzzled over how to add width  at the hip without completely changing the design (i.e. by adding a side seam).  My solution was to slice the pattern vertically through the hip dart, adding a 2cm wide strip.  This worked very well, I'm happy to report. Except that I don't actually think I have as much as 3cm ease.  Hmmm.  

My fabric is a mystery content, striped slinky-like fabric I picked up at Vogue Fabrics in Chicago (I do love the way that sounds :D).  I had purchased a generous amount for a top, which turned out to be the right amount for this dress, 1.2 metres.  It only needs one length, at least in my size range.

To ensure the stripes would match, I cut one side of the front, single layer, pinned through the CF line, then folded to match the stripes before cutting the second side.  At the point of cutting, I wasn't certain I would need all the 4cm I had added so had not yet cut out the hip dart.  I did need it.  All of it.

I sewed the dress using a tiny zig zag on my regular sewing machine (1.5 x 1.5 mm) which is narrow enough to press open, strong and stretchy.



So here's the finished dress.  It looks pretty drab, but has some nice blues and cream colours in the stripes.

I was worried that the knit might stretch and the dress grow, but it seems firmer once made than I expected.

The cowl is low, but not indecent.

The back.  Kind of plain.

Where's my spanx?

23 comments:

  1. Great dress and love the cowl and stripe matching.

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  2. "Where's my Spanx?"

    Wait, you're not wearing Spanx? Dang - the dress looks fantastic, IMO.

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  3. I think it's really cute! not drab at all! It looks great on you! =]

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  4. Another great version of this dress. Love that you did this in a stripe!

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  5. I love it on you! Great job. I own the pattern but was in no hurray to make it up - but four hours - that is an inducement!

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  6. Another gorgeous dress on you. You don't need spanx at all! Thanks for the tip on slash and spread, I will need to do that on mine too.

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  7. I love this pattern and can't wait for our Spring/Summer to sew one up myself.

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  8. dang, that is fantastic on you!

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  9. Your version of this dress is lovely. Thanks for tips on modifying the pattern for wider hips.

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  10. It's a great fit on you and very flattering! thanks for sharing the adjustment tip - I too have a sizable differnece between top and bottom too so this was very helpful

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  11. The dress is fantastic!! I might have to get in on this pattern!!

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  12. Fits your beautifully. Great stripe matching too.

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  13. Honey, you don't need any Spanx, you look fantastic. And thanks for the idea about slicing the pattern at the dart line. I am about to embark on this one. I hope mine turns out as well as yours did.

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  14. I think the stripes make your version very interesting and the fit looks fabulous. What should I say if you need A spanx.

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  15. Nice job, Kay. You look wonderful in it.

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  16. This dress looks stunning on you! I love the striped fabric as well.

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  17. Looks wonderful! The striped fabric really works well. Guess I should pull my pattern out of its envelope and tackle this one.

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  18. Beautiful Kay! You look beautiful in it, and the stripe is fabulous.

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  19. I am tickled to see another review on this dress. I have fabric for two actually off this pattern. I got the fabric so inexpensive and I figured if I messed up the first one I still had fabric for another one. They are different fabrics so if both turn out well super I have two! They are stretchy type velours on is charcoal grey :O). If mine turns out as nice as yours I have it made!

    Yours fits lovely and looks very nice on you!

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  20. Every time I see a version of this dress I am impressed, and your dress is no exception.

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  21. Nice job on the stripe matching! I have stayed away from this pattern, fearing it would be unkind to my pear figure, but it looks great on you.

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  22. Elle n'est pas "drab" ta robe. Elle est classique coté tissu et le résultat te va à ravir. J'aime bien. J'ai ce patron et je me demandais si je devais le faire. Il semble si simple, je pense faire l'essai bientôt.

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  23. You don't NEED spanx! Good heavens, you rock this dress!

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