Vogue 1312 The Famous Picture!

Well, here it is, folks, the one we've all been waiting for.....

All I can say about this is that I love it. And yes, I am squatting. And yes, I am very tall.

I ended up with a sleeveless version even though I really wanted sleeves, but when you don't have enough fabric, you just go with what you have. This is ponte knit from JoAnn's and I love the fabric. Sews well, good weight, launders well, topstitches well, good price. I just need to buy more.

One more picture...

Due to the lighting you can see the seaming detail in this photo. I look a little chunky in this photo--well, I was wearing a pair of pants up under the dress. It's cold here!

Thanks for stopping by. Next post I will have finish photos of Vogue 1387 View A. Stay tuned!

Vogue 1312--The Bodice Dart

Now that I have a bodice pattern for a woven fabric to use with Vogue 1312, I went back to the original bodice pattern and cut a bodice using my knit lining fabric that I plan to use for the navy ponte version of the dress.

After constructing the bodice and trying it on, I had a gaping armhole pointing down towards the bust. This told me I would still need a dart and FBA for a knit bodice. I pinned out and marked the gaping dart in the armhole onto my pattern piece, like so:

 

 I drew a line perpendicular to my bust point across to the side seam.

I slashed through the drawn line and I also slashed up towards the closed dart at the armhole, spreading the pattern until it laid flat:

I then added more tracing paper and drew in the new dart at the side seam.

This maneuver simply transferred the gape at the armhole (the dart) to the side seam where I wanted it to be. Slashing and spreading to flatten the pattern piece gave me the FBA I needed.

And since it is always fun to compare the Before and After photos of patterns, here are the original and modified pattern pieces.

 

And here, at long last, is my completed and lined bodice!

Vogue 1312--Unsewing Ready to Wear

I'm still scratching my head a bit over the final front bodice fitting on Vogue 1312 and currently have the bodice lining in the washer. I'm ready to cut my final garment but I want to make sure I have the fit correct before I use the good fabric. I'm being cautious here because I don't want to rush into this project and get the cart in front of the horse. In my experience, that usually results in a wrecked cart.

So while the knit lining is in the washer, I continued working on my closet clean out, adding unworn items to the donate pile. Once again, I pulled this blouse off the hanger, pondered it a bit, then put it back in the closet.

 



 

Blouse with side and waistline bust darts, decorative bands, inset yoke, short sleeves, standing collar band, button front.

 

This is a 10 to 15 year old cotton blouse I purchased at Cato's Dress Shop eons ago, in a size 14-16 Womens . It is missing a button and I have worn it to death. The original fabric was very soft, almost as soft as Liberty lawn. I don't wear it anymore, as it is almost tissue thin. But I cannot bear to part with it. It has escaped the donation pile many, many times.

 

But this time, it was different. This time as I sorted things to donate, I had Vogue 1312 on my mind. As I put this blouse back on the hanger, I asked myself WHY don't I get rid of this blouse? And the answer came back to me in a flash.

 

Because it is Comfortable. Because it Fits. It Fits in the Shoulders. It Fits in the Bust. It Fits in the Waist. The Darts are in the Right Place. I can Move my arms freely. The Sleeve is Perfect.It is Flattering. It makes me feel Feminine when I wear it.

 

Those are pretty darn good reasons to hang on to it.

 

Those are even better reasons to take it apart!

 

 

The back has a yoke, and the lower back has a few gathers at the center.

 

I am working on taking this apart and hopefully creating my own personal woven bodice block from it. I am anxious to compare the bodice to my current bodice for Vogue 1312.

 

Before I started taking it apart, I used a permanent marker and marked across the darts, collar placement, shoulder lines, yoke lines, etc. I will use these later to create a pattern.

 

 More later. Thanks for stopping by!



Creating Joy--Vogue 1312

 

A few weeks ago my oldest son sent me a text message. The conversation went something like this:

 

 

Him:  What do you want for Christmas?

 

Me:  Joy.

 

Him: Who's she?

 



Since then, that tiny little snippet of conversation has stayed in my mind. Not only because Number One Son has such a quick wit, but because it resonated with me that joy is really and truly what I want more of in my life.

 

I started really paying attention to the things I do or see or hear everyday that bring me Joy.

 

Family, of course, is first on the list. Spending time with them is only part of the equation--it includes many of the mundane things I do (and redo, like laundry and dishes) that makes the family work as a unit so well. Things like meal planning, cooking, trying out new recipes, keeping the kitchen clean and the dishwasher loaded, clean towels in the linen closet, and other things that I don't really consider to be "chores" so much as I consider them to be part of what makes us a family.

 

Working outside brings me Joy, too, but there is little to be had of that particular variety in the wintertime.

 

Reading brings me Joy, but I tend to read more sewing blogs that I do books (unless they are sewing and quilting books).

 

Creating Joy is what I have been missing for quite some time. Creating with needle and thread, whether it be a quilt top or a little girl's dress or a needlework sampler or smocking or Fill In The Blank.....I have not been Creating Joy.

 

This is a long version of what this post is really about, which is Vogue 1312:

 

 

 

Today I am Creating Joy, with a muslin version of Vogue 1312. I've had this pattern for quite some time and recently bought about 5 yards of navy ponte knit from JoAnn's to make myself this dress. I was surprised to read on the pattern envelope that it is recommended for woven fabrics. Living in the Deep South where it is hot as Hades in the summertime (which lasts about seven months), I can see myself sitting on the back porch Joyfully sipping sweet tea while wearing a linen version of this dress.

 

So with that picture in my mind, I have traced off the front and back bodice pattern pieces and am busy making a FBA in a pattern with NO bust darts that is designed for a woven fabric. I don't know what Vogue was thinking, but I know good and well that this will look like a sack in linen fabric without some bodice shaping to accommodate the bust.

 

And now that I have started working on it, I am beginning to feel that old Joy I used to know.

 

It's nice to be back. I hope my followers are still there.