Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Vogue 1425 - Pamella Roland white & black lace dress

I got started on my Easter dress early this year so I wouldn’t run out of time like I usually do.


I fell in love with this Pamella Roland designer Vogue pattern the minute I laid eyes on it. I had to have THE EXACT SAME DRESS as the example on the envelope. But, you know, I have a lot of projects swimming around in my head at any given time, and I was willing to wait for just the right fabric to come along. When Mood Fabrics posted this Theory black cotton guipure lace a while back, I shouted “perfection!” at my computer monitor and snapped up 3 yards. Sadly it sold out while I was swatching the other fabrics I used for this project and there’s nothing else comparable listed at the moment. They do post them from time to time, so keep your eyes peeled if you are interested in making this pattern.


The body is made from Mood’s Jason Wu whisper white blended double faced crepe, of which only the blue colorway is currently available. (It must have sold out yesterday because I just checked on it on Friday in preparation for this post. This just proves yet again that if you like something on Mood’s website you’d better buy it quickly. It won’t be there for long!) Crepe remains one of my favorite fabrics to work with and wear. This one is made from a blend of viscose, cotton and nylon and is really beefy but drapes beautifully too. Because of that thickness I was able to leave off all the interfacing, underlining and horsehair braid the pattern calls for.


This pattern is fairly straightforward. I muslined the top and had only a few slight tweaks to get a perfect fit. I added 5/8″ to the bottom of the bodice for a long torso adjustment but probably could have done without the extra length. This dress is heavy, and the weight is pulling the bodice down slightly. I also took about 10 inches out of the width of the skirt due to fabric limitations from a cutting error. I sewed the top of the lace invisibly by hand to the bodice, a necessary step that is not addressed in the directions.


Vogue’s example dress has lace that is twinning on the back bodice which makes my eyes twitch, so I was careful to match mine up so that at least the top edge of the lace is uninterrupted from one side of the zipper to the other. My eyes also twitched from the lace that is swinging about below the hem of the dress, but after making this garment I can tell you that it is somewhat unavoidable. The lace is simply too heavy. I cut mine to so that the longest edges would be 1 inch above the hemline, but you can see it dipping down to the bottom edge in the first picture.


I love the pockets on this dress. I’ve not always seen the point of them but I’m coming around to the pockets-in-dress loving side.


The trickiest part of making this dress was attaching the skirt to the bodice. There is so much fabric to wrangle and it is a super thick seam. I had to aggressively grade the fabric so that it would lay as flat as possible against my waist. You can kind of see the various layers on the inside through the lining, which was made from Mood’s antique white silk habotai.


I opted to hem the lining and outer skirt separate from each other. There are certain times when it makes sense to hem the skirt to the skirt lining, but for the most part it is a recipe for disaster. Different fabrics drape differently, and unless you get it just perfect the hem will look bubbled and home-made. For this dress I whip-stitched the skirt invisibly by hand and machine stitched the lining. Oh, I forgot to mention that I took a 2″ hem without adding anything to the hemline. Per the pattern directions it is only suppose to be a 5/8″ hem, so my dress is 1 3/8″ shorter then drafted.


Dressform pictures:

 

Whew! That was a ton of work! I wish I had sewn some sort of waist stay during construction to help with the weight. I might still do it if I can figure out how to add one without creating more bulk in the waist area. However I am really pleased with how this dress turned out. It feels expensive and is well fitting. Black and white is timeless, and I plan to be wearing it for years to come.

Note: All fabrics were purchased with my Mood Fabrics monthly allowance, as part of my participation in the Mood Sewing Network.

57 comments:

  1. beautiful and perfect use of that lace. love the contrast with the white. Those Vogue designer patterns are so tempting - frequently I want to recreate them. I think you will wear this dress for years to come.

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    1. It's fun to have your own piece of the runway. I copied one of her other dresses exactly a few years back. Thanks Beth!

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  2. That is a great dress. Thanks for posting, I'll keep it in mind for an idea for something I might like to do.

    Beth

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  3. Hi Amanda,

    Exquisite tailoring as usual, your careful techniques inspire me.

    I love guipure, I sewed my Christmas dress from a mix of satin, mesh and black guipure lace.

    You look lovely, well done.

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    1. Your Christmas dress sounds pretty! I need to see more for special occasions. It's fun as long as you start early enough lol. Thanks Nedoux!

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  4. That is SO beautiful--well done. The black lace on the white looks incredibly elegant.

    I am just working on my daughter's Easter dress now, but I wish I had planned ahead a little more. (OK, I *did* plan ahead, but then let the fabric & pattern sit on a shelf for two weeks.) And then my dress. Mine will be much simpler--just a quick Inari tee dress in a beautiful graphically interesting fabric...that I have yet to find. (I foresee Saturday night sewing!)

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    1. Haha, you sound like my mom. She was always sewing last minute. It stresses me out too much. I hope you find the perfect fabric. Cute name!

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  5. Your dress looks amazing! I actually like yours better than the package even though it's technically the same. Your fit is much nicer IMO. Great job and Happy Easter!

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  6. Wow, absolutely gorgeous! You look amazing in it.

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  7. Exquisite! This dress is so beautiful and you look gorgeous in it. Your workmanship is just unbelievable.

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  8. Your Easter dress looks wonderful!!

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  9. Such a beautiful knock-off! This dress suits you perfectly.

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    1. Thanks Katherine! It pretty much had my name written on the pattern envelope. 😉

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  10. Amanda, your dress is absolutely stunning. And your work is, as always, impeccable and impressive. You'll be lovely in your dress on Sunday!

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    1. Oh thank you Coco! I'm hoping the weather cooperates!

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  11. Beautiful, Amanda! I remember loving this pattern when it came out. i don't think I picked it up, though. :-(

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    1. No sad face needed, it's still in print! Thanks Jenny!

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  12. Your lace dress is so beautiful, so well thought out!

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  13. Stunning! I have always loved this pattern as well! You did a beautiful job.

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    1. Thank you Margo! I can see you swanning around in this as well.

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  14. Amazing Amanda it's gorgeous!

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  15. This is such a beautiful dress. Beautiful to look at but also because it is so exquisitely made. It is inspiring to see such skill bringing something truly lovely to life. I hope you get many years of treasured wear out of it and future generations too. I'm so inspired by this! Your version is a perfect rendition of the original but improved (my eye twitched at the lace on the back bodice of the original also).

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  16. Adorable dress, so exquisite! I'm terrified of working with lace, so for me your creation is still more fascinating than usual. Great work!

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    1. Really?! You seem pretty fearless to me sewing swimwear and what not. This is cotton lace so it's very stable. You should try it out! Thanks Merche.

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  17. Whow, what kind of work. A gorgeous noble garment.My compliment!

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  18. Absolutely gorgeous!!! I always look forward to your post.

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  19. Your dress is absolutely beautiful and so flattering to you. Just a thought, but have you considered a waist stay to help support the weight of the skirt? That would eliminate much of the pulling of the bodice length and make the dress feel more secure and now is the time to put one in anyway. All you need is some petersham or grosgrain ribbon and two hook-and-eye sets.

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    1. Oh yes! I researched them after I typed up this post and saw the pictures and how much the dress was pulling down. Initially I thought it might be something that had to be added during construction but now I know it's a pretty easy thing to add on after a garment is sewn. I have a perfect ivory ribbon in my stash. Thanks Patsijean!

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  20. HI Amanda! I am a regular reader of your wonderful blog and just had to comment. What a beautiful dress. You have a great eye for selecting lace and other special occasion fabrics and pairing them with the right patterns. I have long been inspired by your lace pencil skirts and have had it in the queue to copy. Now I want to copy this as well! Wish Mood would get more of that guipure...

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    1. They had a pink one for awhile that I was thinking about getting but it just sold out. There's a sage green one that was just added today, but it's more geometric instead of floral. Thanks for your terrific compliments!

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  21. Such an elegant dress and beautifully made and fitted as always. It's a great feeling when you find the perfect fabric for a pattern.

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    1. Sourcing materials is great fun to me. Thanks Allison!

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  22. I am a huge fan of dresses with pockets, I just like somewhere to put my hands. Now to see such an elegant looking dress with pockets I know it can be done. It looks great!

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    1. The runways are filled with fancy dresses with pockets. I don't like to put them in knit dresses though. Pockets should not flop around IMO. Thanks Jennifer!

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  23. What a beautiful dress! I am always inspired by your creations!

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  24. Fantastic Job! That is a timeless dress and I'm sure you will get lots of wear from it. I was asked to take in and shorten a black lace dress for my friends honeymoon in Vegas and I thought how beautiful that was. I have to say your dress has outdone that gown, stunning. xx

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    1. I doubt this dress could be stuffed into a suitcase, so that one probably wins for travel-ability. What a sweet friend you are to alter for a friend! Thanks Sewing Green Lady!

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  25. Lovely dress Amanda, you look lovely in it. I'm a bit puzzled though as in the UK version of this dress Vogue 1425 is from Donna Karan. I wonder why this is?

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    1. Huh. I have no idea. I tried to look it up on Vogue's website but it's currently down. Weird.

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  26. Dear Amanda

    A few weeks ago I’ve decided (after two years „consuming“ your blog and taking profit of your experiences and knowledge) to leave a comment on your sewing blog – and finally I found the time to sit down and write.
    I’m Enri, a 44 year-old mother of two wonderful boys, happily married and I’m sewing-addicted. I started sewing two years ago and meanwile I can’t imagine life without fabric, without patterns and sewing machine! I live in Switzerland, source of beautiful lace fabric ☺, near the Lake of Constance – and I simply wanted to say THANK YOU to you.
    Thank you for sharing with the sewing community your beautiful projects.
    Thank you for your meticulous way of working. I like this exact way of working, no matter wether it takes me a month (or more!) to finish a garment.
    Thank you for keeping me motivated. To reconcile family life, professional life (I’m a teacher) with my sewing tasks isn’t always easy, but so rewarding!

    Simply thank you.

    Greeting from Switzerland
    Enri

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    1. Hi Enri! Thank you so much for your kind words!

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