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Thursday 18 August 2011

Vogue 1258 Vena Cava Dress

Thank you everyone for the comments on my Burda dress, I'm still waiting for their phone call, must be problems with the time difference or something....

Having had success with 2 pleats and pockets I have gone the whole hog and made a dress with lots of pleats and pockets, this Vena Cava dress from Vogue's recent releases.



Erica B recently made this and wisely said;

"I like that the skirt tapers off to the hem. This creates a VERY body-conscious silhouette. And the pockets and pleating draws the eyes straight to the hips. So if you're not good with your hips, thighs and butt, walk away from this pattern"


She was not kidding!  My first thoughts when I cut the pattern tissue out were "how on earth are these pieces going to fit on 2 yards of fabric" (they do) closely followed by "how on earth is this back piece going to cover my backside" (only just) and "is it even possible to walk in this" (yes).  The stretch takes care of the walking, but my side seams are swinging to the back a bit, in retrospect one size up at the back would have been a good idea.  (This is a 12, no fitting adjustments).





Not very imaginatively I used a purple ITY jersey, you can see the true colour in these dressform photos below.  I didn't take a photo of the whole dress on the dressform because it looks ridiculous!




I made a couple of minor changes:
  • I raised the neckline by about an inch, this is easy to do, just sew up the centre front seam a bit higher
  • I left off the topstitching on the sleeve bands.  My thread is not a great colour match, I was impressed with my edgestitching on the bands and thought topstitching was pushing my luck frankly!
  • I shortened the ties significantly, they come down to the hem of the dress which looked a bit odd on me.  Erica B tied hers at the back which is another way of dealing with them.

This is quite a different style for me having bypassed the whole tulip skirt trend and I am still getting used to the shape, but it is a really comfortable, yet dressy dress.  I'm a little self conscious about my hips and something about the pockets is not quite hanging right at the lower opening so I may go back and try and fix that.  Anyway enough chat, here are some more photos:







49 comments:

  1. Fantastic Alison, thanks for the review.

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  2. You look amazing in this dress. I wanted to run out and get the pattern as soon as I saw Erica's version. I love how it looks in both a patterned fabric and a solid!

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  3. Love it! You look amazing! Well done and thank you for the review.

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  4. Looks stunning, as usual :)

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  5. Beautiful dress, you look fantastic.

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  6. Fabulous as always. I'm curious, did you raise the neckline? I've ordered this pattern from the US and from the jacket the neckline looks very low. Yours does not.

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  7. I'd like to see the bottom back closer - did you make it with 2 parts? The dress and YOU in it look really nice!

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  8. Gail, yes I did raise the front neckline about 1 inch.

    MySummerTouch, I daren't post any closer photos of my backside online!! But yes there is a centre back seam and the back is cut not quite bias, but off grain.

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  9. Your dress is very flattering on you. This is a great dress for you.

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  10. I love that dress!! I always look forward to your creations and your shoes are great, too.

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  11. Well done, Allison. You are the Queen of Dresses in my book.

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  12. You look fantastic in this, what a great dress!

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  13. I agree with Lindsay, you are the Queen of Dresses, looks great. In fact I am just now making a Vogue Michael Kors because I saw your version :)

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  14. This dress is beautiful on you .

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  15. This dress looks great on you! I would probably shy away from this dress because of all the draping around the tummy/hips, but it suits you well.

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  16. Ooh I love this dress on you.

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  17. What a fabulous dress. I am running out to buy the pattern!
    I would like to see if I could put a sleeve into the design for winter.

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  18. Oh! This is really lovely on you!

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  19. You look fabulous in this dress! It really emphasizes your tiny waist.

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  20. You look amazing! Now I want to make it again in a solid!

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  21. Another amazing dress! It looks super-hot and you wear it very well indeed!

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  22. I envy your hour-glass figure! The back view really shows it off well. Another elegant dress as ever.

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  23. amazing - I wish I had the figure to wear that dress.

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  24. Fabulous, Allison! Somehow it's elegant, lady-like, sophisticated, sexy, and youthful all at the same time!

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  25. You look fabulous in this dress.

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  26. This looks amazing. For what it's worth, I don't think you need to size up -- this fit is great on you!

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  27. I love how this turned out! The Vogue model is too straight for this, looks much better with a few curves. I agree with Lindsay T that you are the queen of dresses!

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  28. Ooh, looks fabulous on you. Much nicer than the pattern envelope!

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  29. Wow, this dress really is great on you, you look amazing in it!!!

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  30. Fantastic dress and a great style on you. You look fabulous!

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  31. Beautiful dress, rich color, very flattering.

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  32. It looks so good on you, I'm going to make this too.

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  33. That is gorgeous! Very figure flattering. You're making me wonder if it would work for me...

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  34. Oh I love it! It looks stunning on you. Seeing your version I realise it is a much more interesting design than the pattern photo suggested - love how pleated it is and the pockets.

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  35. Delicious .. What a beautiful dress!

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  36. That actually really suits your body shape which is hour glass I am guessing . I really like it as I do the previous dress which has a similar sillouette. Well Done

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  37. This is a lovely dress on you. Every time I have seen it sewn up by you and others, the more it appeals to me.

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  38. It looks magnificent! I haven't stopped thinking about this dress since I saw it. Well done!

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  39. Looks great on you, lovely color and fit is awesome! i wish i could say that same for my try at this pattern, but yours is fantastic!

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  40. Dress looks fantastic on you!

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  41. Absolutely beautiful! You look phenomenal in this dress!!!

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  42. You have been on a roll lately. I love this dress.

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  43. I love this dress. You did a great job!

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  44. Beautiful dress, very flattering. I just seen this post. Tried to buy this pattern but it is not possible anymore. Maybe you would sell it to me?

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  45. Beautiful dress, I wonder if you still have the pattern, you would consider selling it to me please?

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  46. Beautiful dress, I wonder if you still have the pattern, you would consider selling it to me please?

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