Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Vogue 8615 - Light green floral dress

I spotted this floral on Mood's website a few months back and thought it was really pretty. I'm gravitating towards large florals these days and I liked all the empty space around the flowers of this print. It's described as a silk and wool blend (silk mikado) which intrigued me. It's also an Oscar de la Renta fabric, so I knew it had to be luscious.


I chose Vogue 8615 for its simplicity and flared skirt. (Honestly, I wouldn't have looked twice at this pattern were it not for the beautiful black and white houndstooth example on the Vogue website.) I tweaked a few things on this pattern:

1. Added 1" to the sides of the neckline to enable me to wear a regular bra.
2. Added 3/4" to the length of the bodice to accommodate my long torso.  
3. Cut the bodice front on a fold.
4. Revamped the sleeves by allowing 1/2" more room at the upper arm and trimming some off the sleeve head.
5. Assembled the dress and lining separately, then attached at the neck. They have some other weird instructions for the sleeves that I chose to ignore.
6. Added a hem facing to avoid the 5/8" double fold hem the instructions include. I am not a fan of that type of hem unless I'm using a shear fabric.


I love these sleeves. They have little darts at the elbows and are the perfect length for a spring dress.


The back neckline has a little plunging V. My zipper went in without incidence, thank goodness. After my last skirt I did not need any more zipper drama.

I don't really get that excited about pockets in dresses like some people do but I thought I would put them in to see what all the hubbub was about. Maybe if I ever wear this dress to a wedding and don't want to carry a purse they might come in handy. Otherwise ???


I made a muslin of the bodice in order to perfect the fit. I started with a 10 at the shoulders and bustline and tapered to a 12 at the waist. It was still a little droopy under the bust so I pulled in a little more fabric there. In order to avoid pointy headlights I curved the darts slightly at the bust point. I was also careful to avoid any blooms at the bust apexes while cutting out the bodice front.


Dressform pictures:



I think this light green celadon color is so pretty and unique.

Here at the hemline you can see the facing I used in lieu of a 5/8" double folded hem. I stitched green lace hem tape to the top of the facing and slip stitched it to the dress.


The full lining is pale green Ambiance, also from Mood. I love the feel of the soft and smooth rayon lining but don't love to cut it out. Except! I have just discovered that it can be ripped from selvage to selvage to get an even grainline, which makes cutting it out soooo much easier. You might already know this but I was so excited to figure it out!

I did do the double folded hemline for the lining, which took a really long time. This is one full skirt!


This is actually my second go around with the fabric. The first time I ordered it I cut out a fitted sheath dress and spent forever laying it out so that the flowers didn't look too cut up. All was going smoothly until I tried it on halfway completed. It had shrunk along the seamlines where I used steam to press it and also grown in width. Fitted it wasn't. However, I loved the fabric so much that I re-ordered with a totally different dress in mind. Instead of princess seamed and straight I went with darted and full. In order to avoid any more fabric shrinkage on the new yardage, I put it in the dryer with a wet hand towel and dried it on high. What little bit it shrank from the steam in the dryer was totally unnoticeable. This will be my go-to method for pre-treating wools from now on.

82 comments:

  1. I like it so much :) It's very beautiful.

    smrdmr.blogspot.com

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  2. Very pretty! Love the full skirt and the colors.

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  3. You look amazing- pattern and fabric work out perfect together and it fits you so well, a wonderful dress!
    Best regards
    Claudia

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  4. So beautiful! This fabric really suits you, glad you gave it gave it a second chance.

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  5. Wow! That is stunning! Perfect marriage of pattern and fabric. And exceptional execution, as always.

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  6. very pretty, I love florals. Yes the dryer shrink treatment is invaluable.

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  7. What a beautiful dress! Love the print and the color too!

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  8. Beautiful dress. Love the print. Well worth buying a second time.

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  9. What a beautiful dress and fabric! You are a amazing sewer!

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  10. fabulous dress! love the large-scale floral print.

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  11. You never cease to amaze me with your beautiful clothes. I COVET that fabric!

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  12. The dress is SO lovely. You did such a wonderful job. I love the fabric you chose - very elegant.

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  13. Lovely, lovely job...as usual!! Love the print and the dress look great on you.

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  14. Gorgeous dress! The fabric is really pretty, and it looks like a great fit.

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  15. That's so pretty, like a beautiful watercolour painting. Thank you so much for the making details.

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  16. I love that dress!!!!

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  17. What a beautiful dress. I think the pattern you have chosen compliments the fabric well.

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  18. An absolute winner in terms of style colour and fit. You look beautiful in it.

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  19. So pretty! I love florals <3
    The lace on the inside of the hem, oh wow!

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    1. Thanks Neeno! I love that little pop of lace too!

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  20. Very pretty, very spring indeed:)

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  21. A beautiful dress!

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  22. Lovely print on the material looks beautiful.

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  23. Very pretty dress. The skirt lays so nicely!

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    1. Thanks Amy! It helps that the fabric is kind of heavy so the skirt doesn't float up too much.

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  24. Silk mikado? - the fabric name alone sounds divine! Unsurprisingly the mix of that designer fabric and your impeccable attention to detail = a dress that looks straight from a couture collection.

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    1. Thanks Allison! You always think of the nicest comments!

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  25. Gorgeous dress! You picked the perfect pattern to highlight the lovely fabric. I have had similar shrinkage problems with wool silk blend fabrics.

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    1. Thanks Audrey! I hope I have learned my lesson on that one!

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  26. A gorgeous dress - so beautifully made and that fabric is to die for.

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  27. Beautiful dress! The guipure-style necklace is lovely too.

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    1. Thanks Eleanna! That necklace is from Target!

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  28. This is stunning! I am so excited to run across your blog (especially since I am in SA too!)! Really lovely sewing here. Your fabric selection is so perfect for this pattern.

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  29. Simply gorgeous! Amazing job +lovely fabric.

    ~The Veiled Purl @ www.veiledpurl.blogspot.com

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  30. This dress is simply gorgeous! I love the fabric, and the cut and style of the dress are a bit retro, which is so flattering. You look fantastic!

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  31. Just gorgeous, Amanda. Love the pockets! You wear it well.

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  32. This is so incredibly beautiful! I had been eyeing that fabric on Mood too, and it's so nice to see it made up into something this lovely. Wonderful fabric + pattern pairing!

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  33. I'd love a little more info about your hem facing technique. I'm making a bridesmaid's dress and want a really clean hem. I've used the lace edging before and was planning to again, but is there more to it than that? Thanks so much!

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    1. Hi Homeon129acres! It's an actual facing for your hem. Think neck facing but put on the hem instead. I sew the lace to the facing, then slipstitch in place by hand. Next time I do this I will prepare a tutorial as it's a little difficult to explain. Good luck on your dress!

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  34. Hey Amanda, I don't know if you have seen this already, but I found this listing on etsy (http://www.etsy.com/listing/129547846/dress-custom-tailored-wool-lace-brocade) which uses two of the pictures from this post. The listing description says the clothing are made in the Ukraine so I thought it was unlikely to be a listing you made, and figured I should bring it to your attention :)

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    1. WOW!!! Thanks Irene! This is the first time that's happened to me. I sent an email to etsy and to the owner of the shop.

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  35. This is soooo gorgeous on you! Perfection. It says spring is here.

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  36. It is beautiful! Can you refashion the other fabric for the fitted sheath into something else? A clutch perhaps?

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    1. Oh, no, it was a princess seamed dress and the fabric was all cut up. I do have some rather large remnants that I'm saving. Maybe someday Rachel will want something out of them.

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  37. Lovely frock Amanda, that fabric is stunning. Interestingly you made the exact same pattern adjustments that I did, which makes me wonder about the drafting, seeing I thought that it was just me. My sleeves are still quite, er, fitted. So fitted in fact that I cannot lift my arms above my head when wearing it! But that is OK as it is a "going out for a lunch frock" rather than a dancing frock. After much fiddling around trying to fix some gaping/pulling neckline situation, I found that the front and back necklines sat much better with a facing which I put straight over the lining. Can't quite explain why. But it is a definite "make again", after I have made all the other frocks on my list...

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    1. I always read the reviews available on patternreview before making anything, and the tight sleeves and tall sleeveheads were something several other people experienced. Not that I can dance around in this with my arms in the air, but it doesn't make me feel like I can't move.

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  38. It's really an awesome dress matched with great pair of casual footwear. Looking fabbulous! :)

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