Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Vogue 1352 - Turquoise floral knit maxi dress

It's been practically two months since my last post and I've made a whole bunch of wadders and this knit dress. (I even made wadder curtains, which I didn't know could even happen.) This pattern is a Vogue designer pattern by Rebecca Taylor. I looked it up on patternreview.com before cutting out the fabric and let's just say it didn't get glowing reviews. Normally I would steer clear of those types of patterns but I thought it would be an easy dress to nurse in and I have really missed wearing dresses lately. All the reviews said this pattern ran really big so I cut the smallest size available. I also added 2 inches to the waist because I am long waisted and it looked too short on the model.



Even with those changes it was absolutely humongous! The dress completely hung off me. The front overlay flapped open with every sway of my body. The armholes were so low my undergarments were exposed if I lifted my arms. Bother. I put it aside to work on another project, thinking I might be able to salvage those big skirt pieces for another garment. My subconscious went to work thinking of a solution and a month later I knew what to do to fix it.


I took off the neck binding, cut another binding 4 inches shorter, regathered the neckline and sewed the smaller binding to it. In the process of attaching the dress to the binding the first time, I trimmed the neckline down by 1/2" while grading the seams. When I sewed the binding on a second time, I took another 5/8" seam allowance, effectively pulling the dress up even more. The result is a comfortable and somewhat loose-fitting but still flattering dress.


The fabric is an ITY knit print that I bought online somewhere and have had in my stash forever. I only had two yards of it and had to turn the skirt pattern pieces in opposite directions to fit them both in. This dress was hemmed to wear with flats.


I may decide to wear a belt with it from time to time. After viewing these pictures I think it needs something to break up the print. Also the overlay get a little lost with the busyness of the fabric. A solid color would show that and the gathers off nicely.


I opted not to topstitch the neck binding per the instructions as I much prefer to sew invisibly by hand.

Dressform pictures:


One other deviation I took was in not lapping the sleeve underarm seam allowances as the instructions say to. This is hard to explain if you haven't attempted this dress or looked at the instructions. Most of the reviews fault Vogue for having terrible drafting but I wonder if the designer dress the pattern was made from had sleeves constructed in that wonky manner. Anyway, I lined up the squares and sewed the sleeves right sides together as is the usual method. Then I hemmed and attached to the dress. I sewed a line of stitches down the side seam about 1/4", catching the underarm seam to prevent it from flipping out and being visible from the outside.


Having small children forces me to give up wearing tighter styles for casual wear, but I still like to look put together. This dress is perfect for that. Plus I can nurse my baby without having to undress - win win. I've already cut this pattern out again for a knee length version, so look out for that in a few days.

53 comments:

  1. Very pretty dress and I like how you stayed with this project and now have a great garment. It must be the season for wadders, I have had so many.

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    1. Thanks Lori! Sorry to hear about your wadders! If only there was an actual season we could avoid haha.

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  2. Even with all the issues you had, it turned out great. It's casual & loose fitting, but still looks very nice.

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    1. Thanks Beverly! I always love to add casual stuff to my wardrobe as I seem to make a lot of dressy stuff normally.

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  3. Persistence has certainly paid off, it looks lovely on you. We all hate wadders, a waste of your precious time, fabric and you begin to think it is your sewing skills that have left you.

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    1. Thank you Gernella! The wasted time kills me, especially now when I don't have much of it to spare.

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  4. Amanda I don't know whether you know it or not but your eyes look fantastic in this colour. It suits you really well and the dress looks good in spite of your struggles with it.

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  5. You did a great job at redeeming this pattern! It looks comfortable but still fashionable. As always you usually figure it out!

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    1. Ha, well I don't always show the stuff that doesn't get figured out. But thanks!

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  6. I like the fabric and the style. It looks great on you. I'm still in my off/on wadder stage. Like everything else, good sewing is a process.

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    1. For sure. Now if I could just stop repeating the mistakes I've already made... Thanks Robin!

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  7. I really like the print and color of the fabric. It is amazing that you get it done. and you said another is coming in a few days?? O dear, I better get busy here with a skirt....
    Love, Wilma

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    1. It is a pretty simple design and goes together quickly, so once I got the fit down another is easy to whip up. Thanks Wilma!

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  8. Gorgeous print & color and fits you perfectly.

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  9. So good to see a post from you today. Sorry about your wadders. I know it can be discouraging as I've had my share of them this Spring. I used to keep them in the closet but found it's best for me to donate them rather quickly. That said, I'm glad you found a solution for this darling dress! Karen

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    1. Thanks Karen! For the most part I don't hang on to wadders. Too depressing and I don't have the room. It did work out this time though.

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  10. Yay, you're back! The dress looks great--that is an awesome fabric! You are soooo tiny!

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  11. Great save, this is fabulous.

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  12. I've never looked twice at this pattern but it looks like a good basic pattern. Beautiful fabric. You must be the most stylish mom in the whole town!

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  13. So very pretty. You look wonderful in this dress - the fabric, the changes you made. Really nice. I used this fabric for a maxi that I made for my daughter - it's a favorite with me.

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    1. Thank you Coco! I always love to see what others do with the same fabrics. Before the sewing community got so big you would almost never see that. Also great minds think alike in making maxi dresses!

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  14. So pretty! And what a clever solution.

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  15. You always persevere and end up in a very good place! With everything, even our not so good results, there is much to be learned from the experience, most of all, you did not quit! Great job, you look beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Loretta! I have learned over the years that even if I don't like a project half way through, often I love the end result. Perhaps it's the perfectionist in me.

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  16. Amanda I love this on you, somehow you have really sorted the problems and achieved a lovely fit. Love the fabric too.

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  17. The dress ended up looking great and sounds very practical, too. I love how you set it aside and let your subconscious work on it. That was exactly what I needed to hear this morning. Why force it? Put it aside and tackle something else!!

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    1. So glad you gleaned something useful from my jammering! Thanks Robin!

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  18. I don't understand how Vogue can get it so wrong with their ease sometimes. The fabric is really pretty and I'm glad you managed to save it without going crazy, the finished dress looks lovely.

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    1. I can't think of another Vogue pattern I've used that was drafted so humongous, but my brain doesn't always work efficiently. Ha! Sorry to hear that you have though. I'd usually catch that with a muslin, but I never muslin polyester knits. Thanks Allison!

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  19. This is really beautiful! I think there must be something in the air these days- seems like lots of people have been having wadders right and left lately! I had two awful projects in a row, and the next two projects I made massive cutting errors (was able to patch/work around, but still!). You can't tell that you struggled with it at all, and it really is a nice silhouette on you!

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    1. Thanks Sonja! My next project is somewhat complex, and those usually come together for some reason, so I'm still excited about sewing. As long as my mojo doesn't disappear, I'll be fine.

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  20. Great to see you back after the wadder struggles! This dress is so elegant and yeast I imagine very practical also. Lovely lines.
    Sarah

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  21. Yet! (Yeast?!?) another auto correct fail !

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  22. I love this color on you. It looks very bright and summery.
    I was thinking a macrame/beaded/fabric more of a sash than a belt would work with this dress and break up the pattern. At the very least, you small children would love playing with a beaded macrame fabric sash hanging from your waist.

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    1. Thank you Kathy! I like your belt idea. I tried it on with a thick black belt I already had and liked how it looked, so am planning to try wear that one with it.

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  23. Congrats on being a star blogger!

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    1. Thanks! I've got to get over to the store to buy the magazine!

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  24. Wow I looooove this fabric on the dress. Good job!

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    1. Thanks so much Kricko! I love it too, that is why I went to so much effort to save it!

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  25. Thank you so much for blogging about this pattern. I've had it cut out for awhile, but I think shortening the neck band is in order!

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    1. I hope yours turns out well with that alteration. Thanks Becky!

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