I am on a roll! I can’t believe how many things I’ve made this month already. This is the first of three new makes that I completed last week. I am on fire!
Vogue recently had a pattern sale so I took in my huge wishlist and found my favorites for $4.99 each. This dress grabbed my attention because it is a very simple design actually, but is such a wonderful use of stripes! My Grandma had about 500 yards of this navy striped fabric, so I gave it a try. It went together so quickly, even though it is fully lined and required matching stripes!
I adore the finished dress. I sewed a straight size 10 with absolutely no adjustments, and it fits perfectly in the bust, waist, and back neckline, where I usually have gaping.
(There was the perfect breeze for photos today!)
I love the box pleats along the waistline, because they give the dress flare but are sewn down enough to give the flattering appeal of a waistband. This equals a tiny-looking waist!
Mike let me wear my new mustard yellow heels (early birthday present) today so I could have this sunshiny look.
Nearly perfect stripe-matching along the invisible zipper.
Nearly perfect stripe-matching in the box pleats on the front!
I’m getting quite good at lining and zippers. The floral satiny lining fabric is also from my Grandma’s Stash. All I bought for this beauty was the zipper!
I’m learning the reason why Vogue patterns are so much more expensive than the other brands. Besides the impeccable tailoring, they include fully drafted lining pieces for most of the designs. This dress had a skirt lining pattern that was more fitted and had only two small darts front and back, so I didn’t have to cut two of each skirt piece and then figure out what to do with the unnecessary bulk.
I used my personal method of sewing the cap sleeves into the armholes, then sewing the lining to the main bodice along the armholes and neckline, before flipping it right side out and stitching the side seams in one continuous line. The pattern called for slip-stitching the lining to the armholes, which seemed like extra and unnecessary work. And I also realized too late why they had the lining switched inside-out for the skirt. I’ll do it next time.
I love it and can’t wait to wear it in spring with pink or green, in summer with white, red and yellow, and in fall with brown and burgundy!
Since I still have about 496 yards of this fabric, (not really but probably about 10!) I’m going to make either a shirt or a shirtdress like this with it sometime soon:
