Vogue 1387 View A--Don't Waste Your Good Fabric On This

First off, thanks to all who left comments on the Vogue 1312 dress and the pose.

Gail left a comment letting me know that the famous pose was a throwback to the original pattern design, a modesty dress for childbirth. I love the dress, and now that I know the history of the design, I find it remarkable that I have a connection here, as I am the mother of five children. I love the wonderful world of sewing and sharing that we all share through our blogs. Thank you, Gail.

On to Vogue 1387 View A. I used a super soft ivory drapey something for my muslin. What a waste of fabric!  Here are some pictures of the front and back:

 

 

Notice how the front is tacked together. That's the only way you can wear this thing.

The model on the pattern envelope has it tacked together, the instructions tell you to tack it together, and Erica B (who inspired my make of this thing) had hers tacked together.

Can you see how much those two fronts overlap each other at the waist? That means this sucker opens WIDE at the neck. Throw in the fact that the front and back necklines are both cut on the bias and you get a neckline that is not going to stay closed.

 

The back is okay on its own, kind of nice actually, but combined with that front, nope. No modesty available at all.

 

Disappointing, huh? Here's a shot of the underarm gusset piece, which is actually quite nice:

 

 

The pattern as drafted has problems, too. The front bodice piece does not match the yoke. I had about an inch and a half of extra fabric on the yoke piece. To make sure I hadn't made an error, I took the front pattern piece, pleated it on the pleat lines, and aligned it with the corresponding yoke piece. They didn't match. I ended up aligning my pieces at the armhole edge and going whack, whack, whack with the Ginghers.

The instructions tell you to make the two buttonholes (for the front ties) through the right front only. This does NOT work! You have to overlap the right AND left front and then work the buttonholes. Otherwise you will end up cutting a hole in the top when you put in the casing. This is one of those times when I KNEW the instructions were wonky but followed blindly along.

The instructions for constructing the bias armband and gusset could be better. There is a much easier way to put it together than The Vogue Way.

I found the elastic guide for the waistline to be about 6 inches too long.

I made my standard lengthening adjustment above the waist, adding an inch and a half.

To me it would be cumbersome to try and layer something over this top due to the five layers of fabric at the underarm (I tried this already).

I'm one of those people who wants to be comfortable in her clothes. I don't want to worry about my girls popping out, my neckline crawling off my shoulder, or my bra strap showing. I don't want to have to constantly fiddle with my clothes, and this is one of the reasons I sew. So that my clothes will fit me, be comfortable, and hopefully be flattering as well. This top misses all around. And maybe it's just me, but I dislike the look of something being pinned together to stay together, especially when there are other wrap top patterns that don't require that much fuss.

Having said all of this, I will now suggest that if you don't already have this pattern, go buy it. That is because I am working on VIEW B--the real beauty in this pattern!

Something strange is going on with the fonts here. It's not me, honest.

 

More to come!