Coming Soon!

Yes, it's been quite a long time, but life happens and it doesn't always happen the way we hope it does. At any rate, I've missed this place but I haven't missed reading a single post the rest of you have put up. I follow about 400 creative sewing folks, so I haven't missed anything except time for sewing.

I have retired and need completely different clothes than before. My next post will start there.

If you're still here, thank you.

Up Next Vogue 1294 The Blouse

While I wait for a delicious fabric to appear for Vogue 1387, I've decided on my next project--the blouse from Vogue 1294:

This one has princess seaming in front and back, a separate snap band for a front closure, bias band trim inserts along the princess seams, and Oh! That Collar!

I've dug deep and found a black printed charmeuse  that I'm willing to sacrifice as a muslin. I've started making my usual pattern adjustments and hope to begin cutting out this evening.

More later, and thanks for stopping by!

Vogue 1387 View B Love, Pure Love

View B of Vogue 1387 is the reason to buy the pattern.

This blouse has some of the most beautiful detailing of any Big Four patterns I have seen in quite a while, but the real treat comes when you are wearing it. This is a very feminine style and the pattern is superbly crafted for a wonderful fit in the shoulder and neck area. Love it!

The front and back:

 

A side view, showing the different hemline cuts of the front and back:

 

 Pleated sleeves with placket and cuff:

Detail shot of the lovely shaped front band, rounded collar band (one is squarish and one is rounded--Love!). Note the inset bias strip above the pleated bodice. The bias strip is inset between the yoke and the bodice and fits perfectly between the two pieces and molds the bodice to your upper chest to eliminate gaping. This neckline lies perfectly against the upper chest!

After the disappointment with the other pattern in this envelope, I just used some soft 100% cotton to make up this down and dirty muslin. Oh how I wish I had used the good stuff on this one! All this one needs is snaps on the front band and cuffs and I could wear it around the house, but I essentially just wanted to check the fit so I didn't really wear out my sewing skills putting this together (ignore those sleeve cap puckers, please!).

Things I Love About This Pattern:

• The fit of the neckline
• The collar stand
• The curved front yoke that is perfectly drafted
• The inset bias strip
• The lovely bodice pleats
• The front bands
• It makes me feel like a GIRL

The pattern pieces all fit together properly and the instructions were very good. This one restored my faith in Vogue.

I did make a few alterations, my typical upper back adjustment and bodice length adjustments, and also I also shortened the shoulder seam about half an inch.

For the real one that is coming right up as soon as I purchase fabric I will make a slight FBA and add a tad onto the side seams for fitting purposes.

The length of this is perfect with leggings and would be nice in handkerchief linen, silk types, and lightweight knits like ponte or jersey. A version with elbow length sleeves barely pleated into a skinny bias band cuff would be nice, as would using pretty buttons instead of snaps on the front band.

Lengthening this would give you one absolute killer shirtdress!

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!

 

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 Done! And Now It's Time for Vogue 1387

I finished the navy ponte Vogue 1312 and it is exactly what I envisioned it to be--fun to construct, fun to wear, and yet still a basic for my wardrobe. If we weren't in the middle of an ice storm here in the Deep South, you'd be looking at a photo. That will have to wait a few days, I'm afraid. More on that later.

On the cutting table is this beauty, Vogue 1387:

 

I am making View A, the wrap front version, out of a soft white cotton batiste from the Fabric Pile. I saw Erica B's version and immediately knew I needed one of these for my closet, too.

 

More later. Thanks for stopping by.

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!