Category Archives: Vogue
Vogue 9379
I had started making this dress before ‘the event’ I’d changed my mind about which dress I was going to make for the 1st august wedding, I’d run out of time for the pattern I felt that there could be some fitting issues so I decided to go with this dress instead.
It was all cut out and I’d even put a test muslin together checking the install of the under arm gussset and whether or not I would need to do a Small Bust Adjustment, which I did need to do, the underarm gusset went in faultlessly, which either means that it goes in a lot easier if the fabric is quite stiff, or I didn’t put the marks in the correct position after doing the SBA.
I had put the two back and two front skirt peices together and started attaching the pockets, it was while attaching the third pocket piece that I had realised something was wrong.
Now out of the hospital I have attempted to complete the dress, here is the front the shoulder seams are pinned the under arm gusset is installed.
You can see the slight pucker in the corner that means it won’t lay properly
The side seam point has gone in perfectly
This is the basting of the pleat over the zip
zip installed wth basteing
With the gathers on the skirt. Because I need to unpick at least half of the gusset I’m going to put this dress to one side now until I feel better able to manipulate the fabric into the correct position, as you can see from the photos above the gusset went in perfectly on the muslin.
I am going to look for something easier to do as my first make after coming out of hospital.
Vogue 7966
I promised you more stitching and here it is, well sort of, I have cut out a new dress, the fabric is a nice cotton, purple with white polka dots, bought from Kayes Textiles here in sunny Southend (technically it might be Westcliff but wet Westcliff doesn’t sound as good a Sunny Southend)
I haven’t made this pattern before, I got it as part of a job lot on ebay, it is a bit weird though, I am missing a pattern piece (the gusset) but I have a left front pattern piece extra. of course it wasn’t until I cut out the skirt pieces that I realise that there was a bit missing, when I looked at the bits I checked for the skirt pieces, the bodice and the facings, check, check and check. it wasn’t until I was cutting out the bodice that I realised there was an ominous slit under the arm.
I’m going to try the print enlarging technique from last year, failing that as long as I can work out how long the under sleeve part is hopefully I can work my way back to getting a shape, I think if it had been a long sleeved dress it would have been easier, because you have all the variables, but with a pentagon you are a little bit stuffed.
This Pattern is actually a size too small for me a 32 rather that 34 which I usually use, but as I am small busted I can sometime get away with it, to combat the missing 2 inches I’ve added roughly 2/8 inch on the sides of the patterns and will hope for the best.
I actually wrote this post last week, since then I have recreated the gusset peice and attempted to fit it, needless to say, it didn’t go well, what hasn’t helped is that while putting it on my dress makers dummy, I have realised that my fabric choice is so wrong so very, very wrong. I’m not sure that the dress will actually be wearable even if I manage to fit the gusset.
What? I hear you say is wrong with the fabric choice, you can’t go wrong with polka dots, you can if the pattern is quite boxey to start off with and then you have the dots going straight across, making it look even squarer, if I had put them on the slant it might have been alright but I’m not convinced.
A polka dot skirt might be nice and I can use the top half for perfecting the insertion of the gusset.
New Blouse Patterns
Recently I decided I need some more blouses to go with my skirts, so I have bought a couple more new patterns
Butterick 6045
I’ve already tried this one out and I’m not impressed
Butterick 6223
Style 349
I do like Pintucks but I’m not sure about the tiny pointy collar on A, but the ‘Rosebud Transfer’ is still in the packet
and Vogue 8329
so watch this space for more sewing
Bound Button holes: friend or foe?
Bound Button Holes: Friend or Foe ?
I have rather a Love hate relationship with Bound Button Holes, I love the look of them but I hate the execution of them.
Lets face it they are pretty, but does the amount of aggravation and extra time spent on them really justify putting them in over normal button holes, in the main they are going to be hidden by the button anyway.
I can understand putting them in when you are going to have to spend hours putting other types of button hole by hand but in the age of the machine button hole which takes seconds, meh.
I’m going to use a particular dress as an example, it has been sitting on my Dress Making Dummy for about two months (bad me) the skirt is together and the top is together the only thing standing between me and New Dress Heaven is bound button holes (that and the fact I’ve lost the two small facings for the skirt piece). On the dress top I have carefully stitched on both pieces of right hand facing the squares of fabric to create my button hole I’ve even cut the slot to push the pieces through to the back, but have I hand stitched them in place have I heck as like.
Saturday evening Simon was Gigging in Colchester, I thought lets sort these button holes out sitting in front of the TV watching Haven. It took me four hours to create five button holes, I did try and cut a couple of corners and do the first one in one go instead of making the ‘lips’ on the front first and then slip stitching the back facing piece to it. That didn’t go down too well so I abandoned this and did the last four properly. But Four Hours and I still have another three to do which are on the skirt piece, may be another two hours button hole work. Seven hours to make nine button holes when I could have them all done in less than twenty minutes.
I’m sure there are the purists out there who would say ‘hell yes, you must put in those Bound Button Holes and while you are about it make your other button holes by hand as well, that is why they give us the instructions for how to do it.’
At the end of the day a button hole is just something to stuff a button through to stop your clothes falling off.
The other thing you could say is that the more you do the quicker you become and next time it won’t take seven hours to create nine button holes. But do the button holes on this dress
look fours hours worth better than the button holes on this dress?
I don’t think so.
vogue 8782
this is a vogue dress, I made it in a size smaller than usual, partly because the pattern I bought was a size smaller, but mostly because I have been finding that a lot of these dresses have been large around the bust area and it is easy enough to add two inches at the waist rather than do a small bust adjustment.
the sizing has come out quite well, apart from being a bit tight around the front of the arms, on the bright side it might just make me stand up straight and stop slouching.
as you can see it has a pleat at the back and three at the front.
as you can see in the top photo it has some fancy detail instead of the normal darts, you stitch in the diamond shape first the fold it over to create the cut out.
purchases this week
I have bought some fabric this week, I had an email from Kaye’s Textiles this week saying that they had some new cotton fabric and it will be on sale for a week.
The fabric i bought in the end was not on sale and i had already see it but here it is
i also have a few new patterns
i’m not sure which one i’m going to make first but it will probably be the last one, Vogue 8781, as you can see I am on a bit of a Vogue kick at the moment but I am trying to cut down on my spending but it doesn’t appear to be happening.
I’m hoping this week to have my rose border print dress finished and the dress with the shoulder pleats so watch this space.
Musings of a Craft Enthusiast 