I have Been Sewing! Vogue 1240
Boy, do I have a lot of projects to report! It may seem like I have simply crawled into my bed and refused to come out, but NO, this is not the case. Although I would like a couple of days to simply stay in my bed and refuse to get out... just sayin'.
Anyway, one of my dear friends was married back in April and this was such a celebration that it demanded a new dress. And not only a new dress, but a fancy dress. I looked at many dress patterns, my own and those available to purchase. I settled on Vogue 1240. Wow! What a change from my usual dress style! My husband was skeptical, but I was certain. This fun special occasion dress was calling to me.
And not only was the dress calling me, but there was a fabric calling me as well! I managed to purchase the exact same polyester satin that Tanit-Isis used for a Ruby Slip! Let me tell you, this is a lovely fabric! It is not static-prone (compared to other polyesters I have used), and it holds a crease quite nicely.
Luckily, the day I purchased the pattern and fabric, Fabricland was having quite a sale, so I picked up some inexpensive teal/peacock georgette to make a muslin. I am glad I did! The dress goes together easily, though you do have to match a lot of dots to make all the odd little pleats and there is quite a bit of narrow hemming. I did check the pattern tissue against my body and thought it should fit just fine with a little added length (go back and look at how much thigh is showing on the model - seriously), but I forgot that in a fluid fabric, gravity can make a lot of difference in fit. Here are the pictures of the muslin (pardon the specks of yuck all over the mirror):
Now let me say that this is a fun dress to wear. It's a great dress to wear if you might have to be doing anything with your arms. You can reach and lift and carry and all manner of thing without ever having to readjust your dress. You can also eat happily, and still look svelte because of all those fluid layers.
It's not a great dress for sitting in, however! I should have tried sitting in the muslin. The lining and underlayer are tight and SHORT when sitting. I would have added width to the hips/thighs had I tested it out sitting. Luckily there are the outer layers that can be draped gracefully over my thighs, but I do have to think about it every.single.time. I sit down.
All in all a successful dress! Three Cheers!
Anyway, one of my dear friends was married back in April and this was such a celebration that it demanded a new dress. And not only a new dress, but a fancy dress. I looked at many dress patterns, my own and those available to purchase. I settled on Vogue 1240. Wow! What a change from my usual dress style! My husband was skeptical, but I was certain. This fun special occasion dress was calling to me.
And not only was the dress calling me, but there was a fabric calling me as well! I managed to purchase the exact same polyester satin that Tanit-Isis used for a Ruby Slip! Let me tell you, this is a lovely fabric! It is not static-prone (compared to other polyesters I have used), and it holds a crease quite nicely.
Luckily, the day I purchased the pattern and fabric, Fabricland was having quite a sale, so I picked up some inexpensive teal/peacock georgette to make a muslin. I am glad I did! The dress goes together easily, though you do have to match a lot of dots to make all the odd little pleats and there is quite a bit of narrow hemming. I did check the pattern tissue against my body and thought it should fit just fine with a little added length (go back and look at how much thigh is showing on the model - seriously), but I forgot that in a fluid fabric, gravity can make a lot of difference in fit. Here are the pictures of the muslin (pardon the specks of yuck all over the mirror):
This is where I wish the muslin had worked out. That colour looks nice on me. Even in bad lighting!
The back looks pretty good!
Hmmm. I can see a bit of my bra peeking out there.
Holy! That's way too low!
I think this side was worse due to the weight of the zipper. (And because the collar is only pinned shut, so it is gaping a bit at the bottom.) I also checked the bust darts on the underlayer. They were easily two inches lower than they should have been.
I decided to take an inch or so out of each pattern piece between the neck and the bust point. I also decided to make the armholes a bit higher, though that may have been overkill. I didn't have to worry about exposing my bra in the finished dress, but the alterations did significantly change the angle from the neck to the underarm, and my final fabric wasn't quite as fluid as the georgette, so gravity wasn't able to distort it as much.
What I forgot to do was add more length near the hem. **Note to self: when removing length in one area, consider adding back that length in another area.**
With those changes, I felt confident to go ahead and cut out my final fabric. I didn't have many photos taken of me the night of the wedding, but, as luck would have it, we attended another wedding just a couple of days ago and I wore the dress again!
This is the photo taken of David and I for the guest book. I do not even want to talk about the number of wrinkles around my eyes. Not at all.
The dress in all its glory! And Clara - yes, this is what she chose to wear to the wedding this past weekend. She wore a proper party dress to the previous wedding.
From the back...
And the side - can't see my bra now!
Detail shot of the zipper...
It's not a great dress for sitting in, however! I should have tried sitting in the muslin. The lining and underlayer are tight and SHORT when sitting. I would have added width to the hips/thighs had I tested it out sitting. Luckily there are the outer layers that can be draped gracefully over my thighs, but I do have to think about it every.single.time. I sit down.
All in all a successful dress! Three Cheers!
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