I've had such a slow sewing week, in fact it's taken me since last Sunday to finally finish this post and publish it. Toby has been quite unsettled this week and of course it's only mum that he wants when he's crying his little eyes out! It's nice to be wanted, but for crying out loud why did I have to get two children lousy at sleeping?
But I did manage to finish this dress before our Pattern Review high tea last Saturday afternoon - nothing like a deadline to get me motivated. I started sewing it on Friday night and finished it on Saturday morning about an hour before I had to leave. Luckily the day turned out to be very hot and sunny because I made a very summery dress:
I love the seam lines in this dress, it's what makes it a bit more special than your ordinary fit'n'flare dress. I made some piping from navy blue lining fabric since there seems to be a city wide shortage of ready made piping at the moment, which was fiddly and time consuming but very much worth it because it really shows off those lines:
The back has matching princess seam lines and shoulder panel too:
I didn't leave myself time to make a muslin, which actually since I'm a bit lazy when it comes to muslins I probably wouldn't have made one anyway but I did check the reviews on Pattern Review. All of which said that the dress runs large and all the reviewers made at least a size smaller. After checking the flat pattern measurements I made a size 6 at the bust grading out to a size 8 at the waist and hips, even though according to their body measurements I needed a size 12/14/16 sized pattern.
But this pattern still turned out absolutely huge! I ended up taking in another 5cm on each side down the side seams just to get it to fit across the bust and waist, and it's not skin tight. If I had more time I would have pulled it apart and distributed that evenly along all the seams but it seems to be ok just narrowing the side seam. I can't understand why Vogue would draft a princess seam dress, which needs to be fitted to have a nice shape, with 10cm of ease at the bustline and 15cm of ease at the waistline!
The skirt is rather full even with taking it in down the side seams:
although the fullness hangs rather awkwardly because the piped seam makes it kink out a bit and the hem looks rather crooked even though I think it's pretty straight:
The another annoying thing about this pattern is that it is unlined but there are no facings drafted - the pattern requires self fabric binding strips to be sewn around the neck and sleeve openings. Which given it has piping around the neckline it seemed to be unnecessary to me so I just overlocked the edge of the bias piping strip I made with the edge of the fabric, and stitched in the ditch to keep the binding from flipping it out. To make sure I did a few handstitches at each seam line to keep the binding on the inside which seemed to work pretty well:
I suppose you've noticed I left off the hem band too? Well it turns out this dress is really long as well as really big! I did a tissue pin fit and took out 6cm in length from the body of the dress but even that wasn't anywhere near enough because my finished dress has a 5cm hem even without sewing on that band. The pattern is described as mid knee length, and I know that I'm nowhere near model height, but this pattern as drafted would be more like mid calf length on me. Instead of hacking off a huge amount off the bottom of the dress to sew the band on I just chose to leave it off.
I also chose not to make the fabric belt as shown in the pattern because it doesn't look too flattering on those models - it's too loose and droopy I think. I think the dress looks fine without a belt though.
As for the high tea it was delightful. Thanks to the lovely Velosewer for organising it in a chocolate shop, we all got to eat yummy food and a wide variety of teas finished up with a smash cake filled with delicious chocolates. It was great to meet a few new faces in real life and spend a few hours chit chatting about sewing. Of course I forgot to even get my camera out, but Maria has some great shots on her blog of all of us in our self made outfits.
cette robe est magnifique,le tissu, lepasse-poil,la forme du patron.félicitations pour votre couture.
ReplyDeleteSadly I don't speak French (?), but I think you said something something magnificent something something.... So thank you!
DeleteI absolutely love your dress! The fabric is so beautiful! And the piping adds a special touch to the design, I've never worked with piping and I think I must try it one day because it can really make a dress interesting. It's a shame there are such problems with pattern sizing though... It may discourage some people from trying this nice pattern
ReplyDeletePiping is fiddly and annoying but so worth it. You're right about the sizing being a discouragement - if you made this according to the pattern you would be so disappointed
DeleteIt's a beautiful dress and I'm glad you had a great time!
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't too hard to have a good time let me tell you!
DeleteKristy, as our seasons are inverted...can I volunteer to have it for my summer wardrobe??? It's so cute! Love the design. And the piping adds just that nice touch. I hate it that Vogue has such poor pattern sizing...such a large amount of ease is totally misleading for such a dress. It's a sign of something wrong if you have to go 3/4 sizes down compared to what they suggest should be the good size. And I did notice those matching shoes ;o)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad someone noticed my shoes - they are a perfect match and totally justifies my purchase of a pair of pink suede pumps!
DeleteLovely dress! I like the way you positioned the print.
ReplyDeleteAh actually I didn't position the print at all because it was a bit of a squeeze to get pattern cut out from the amount of fabric I had, but I'm glad you like the way it turned out!
Deletevery pretty, I have had this pattern for ages but never made it. thanks for showing it. Maybe next summer I will give it a try, and watch for the sizing. good info.
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely dress so I can recommend it, possibly make a muslin? (Of course I should take my own advice!)
Deletewow, i think it's just beautiful, i never would have noticed the hem!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, maybe I shouldn't have pointed it out!
DeleteI love how it turned out. I think it would be a nice touch to add pearls down the back and with the shorter hem. Love the fabric choice. I'm glad you took a risk on the fabric XD
ReplyDeleteInteresting suggestion, I'm so terrible at thinking about embellishments
DeleteYour dress is very pretty. I love the style. It is very elegant. I am loving all the floral dresses around at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThanks Andrea, it's definitely the season for floral dresses
DeleteOh Kristy, you always look so chic. Fantastic dress, as all have said already.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brittany, a simple dress makes it easy to look chic, especially on a really hot day
DeleteBeautiful dress! I love the print you used. Your version is even better than the envelope!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny - for so many years I was trying to find the right co,our solid to make this like the envelope but I like the floral version better too
DeleteGorgeous dress! I am coveting that fabric you used to make it. :]
ReplyDeleteThanks Rebecca, it's just from Spotlight bought on sale of course
DeleteOhh blogger is grumpy with me, it's eaten two of my comments on your blog today! Anyway...I love your dress and I like it better without the hem panel. It looks so pretty in the floral print (yay summer!) and the piping in fabulous! (I love your blue skirt too, especially with the belt, it's so cute)
ReplyDeleteThanks, now I think about it a horizontal hem band would probably look a bit off without a matching horizontal waistband too
DeleteReally lovely dress!
ReplyDeleteI was hoping Toby would be a sound sleeper after Anna, but it sounds like it's not the case? Is she sleeping better these days?
Thanks Kyle. Anna slumbers like sleeping beauty these days, but Tovy wakes frequently. Fingers crossed he eventually gets better like Anna did
DeleteI love the chicness of your dress and shoes. You looked very swish. I'm glad you enjoyed the afternoon. I did.
ReplyDeleteI never make the recommended size because I prefer much less ease than patterns usually allow for, but this one was crazy too big! Hope you can get yours down to a reasonable size
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks Maria,everyone looked very swish especially you in your lovely lace Beatrice dress
ReplyDeleteOh lovely. I loved seeing it in the flesh too. Beautiful fit and the piping is gorgeous. I have a 3 year old and a 7 year old who are only just NOW sleeping (mostly, kinda, sorta) through the night, so I hear your pain about the poor sleepers. Its agony but I console myself by saying I just get lots of extra cuddles. And in the blink of an eye they are grown ups!!
ReplyDeleteI just look at the sleeping issue as another parenting challenge we work through - one day they'll sleep and I'll get a good night sleep myself (hoping it's sooner rather than later though!)
DeleteOh my gosh, you got this done on deadline and with a young one in the house....it was already beautiful on you, now I think it's a miracle dress. bravo.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane, sometimes I can pull off a miracle (doesn't always work out though)
Deleteit looks great on you, though it wouldn't be for me as I'm completely the wrong shape for that style of dress. I wonder whether there is extra ease in the pattern because it is supposed to be fitted i.e. so the sewer has more flexibility to add or subtract at various places.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of that - I do have a small bust so I would need to take it in more than other ladies, so I guess the extra space in the pattern would suit a wide range of sizes.
DeleteGreat dress. The pattern is quite unusual as it combines a sheath style with A-line skirt. Very flattering and appropriate for work.
ReplyDeletethanks Gail - it is good that it's fitted where most flattering and flowing where I best can use it!
DeleteLove the piping on this to really bring out the interesting seam lines.
ReplyDeleteThanks Allison - I thought it was a waste not to make a feature of those seam lines
DeleteGreat dress choice for you and the fabric is perfect!
ReplyDeletethanks Sue
DeleteHi Kristy, my apologies for being so late to comment on this post - I have been away.
ReplyDeleteThe dress is very pretty - I like the mix of the floral with the piping and seaming - it stops the dress from looking too twee. I wonder why the pattern is so large. The dress photographs as looking quite slim on the model. I think that is why I now do muslins - I hate them too, but I had too many garments that the rubbish bin gratefully received.
The bias solution worked well - I sometimes do that too.
Thanks SarahLiz - doing muslins is definitely wiser than wasting fabric on hasty projects
DeleteBeautiful dress, Kristy, and it complemements both your figure and your coloring quite well. The navy piping really makes the dress! I love the lines. I'd say good choice leaving the bands off. Sounds like a wonderful get together!
ReplyDeletethanks Andrea, the high tea was wonderful and very deerving of a new dress
DeleteLovely dress! I'm so glad you went with the navy piping, it really sets of the seams. Beautiful!
ReplyDeletethanks Kelly
DeleteStunning!!!! The fabric and the piping are just perfection
ReplyDeletethanks Jennifer
DeleteThis is so pretty and that piping!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amanda
DeleteGorgeous dress. I would never have guessed it could look this good from the envelope picture. Good call on leaving off the droopy belt (I actually thought it was a low waist band on the envelope) and the hem band. Love the piping, it really gives the dress pizazz.
ReplyDeleteUgh, the ease these patterns have in them! Crazy, I tell you, crazy.
I think the excess ease is what sets apart home made and RTW clothes - no one would purchase a dress that was so baggy and saggy
DeleteLove this dress and so glad you made it work and it looked fantastic on you IRL.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharon. Oh and I'm glad you can comment again, hopefully Blogger behaves itself in future...
DeleteThis is completely gorgeous! I never have the patience for piping design lines, but it is so worth it. Love this dress so much.
ReplyDeleteThis dress is fantastic and looks fabulous on you. I love the fabric and how the piping acentuates the beautiful design lines.
ReplyDelete