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Wednesday 20 June 2012

Vogue 1221 DKNY dress

I generally enjoy making DKNY patterns that typically have unusually shaped pattern pieces and are fun to put together but this one annoyed me no end and it took an age to get the motivation to finish it.



Things that annoyed me making this;

  • Until the front seam is sewn there is a lot of fabric in the front pieces with bits sticking out which seemed to get twisted up just by looking at them.
  • The back has a full facing but the front just has an armscye facing which has a tendency to flip out.
  • As is typical with these designs you can't really get a sense of how it is going to fit until late in the process.  Of course that is what muslins are for so I shouldn't complain.
  • I really wish Vogue instructions would tell you when to finish a seam, it's hard to work out the order myself in unique patterns like this.  As it is I have 2 small seams on the inside of the front bodice which I've had to leave unfinished.  I don't think the fabric will fray and I suppose I could go back and cover them with ribbon or something, but it's still annoying.
  • Getting the front drape and skirt pleats to sit nicely takes a bit of fiddling around - I don't know yet how the dress will fare in a real life outing that lasts longer than 5 minutes and involves moving around.  I think I will roadtest it this weekend.
  • Hand hemming stretch cotton is no fun!
Anyway enough complaining,  here is the dress, it was impossible to get it to look right on my dressform which leads me to conclude that you need hips to wear this dress.  No shortage of those on me!


Other than my gripes above the dress was actually quite straightforward to make.  I made my usual size 12, 14 at the hips.  I needed to raise the neckline about an inch.  I didn't alter the length at all but clearly my legs are considerably shorter than those of the model.








(And for Daudau, there is no email in your profile to contact you directly, but yes I do live in HK, the pics from my birthday were taken at Pacific Place).

41 comments:

  1. Allison, vas guapisima con el vestido. Yo lo veo muy dificil de hacer.

    Te ha quedado muy bonito y el color te queda muy bien.
    Besitos

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  2. Great dress. Looks much better on you than on the tailor's dummy. You must let us know how you get on wearing it.

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  3. Looks very complicated. Lovely outcome.

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  4. I like your version better than the Vogue version. That colour is so gorgeous. Hopefully it will be a great dress to wear and all those gripes will fade from your memory.

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  5. Your dress is lovely. I love the colour you've chosen. The purple really sets off the style. Hopefully the gripes are but a memory and you can now enjoy your stunning dress.

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  6. hahaha ah pattern companies and their awesome instructions (by which I mean lack thereof). BTW it looks awesome on you. For some reason the last pics reminded me of this ad where the sexy scientist lets down her hair, throws off her glasses and lab coat and is ready for a night out XD

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  7. Your dress turned out beautifully and you look super wearing it. I recently ordered this pattern - my first DKNY. Thanks for the warnings; I believe a muslin is definitely in order for this one!

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  8. It turned out well, and looks very attractive on you. I understand you frustration with strange pattern pieces that mean you can't see where things are headed until it's too late. Of course you are right about muslins, but I have no intention of muslining everything that I sew.

    I do it in a minority of situations, but otherwise, I just go for it!

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  9. I've always wondered why patterns don't tell you when you 'can' finish a seam. I've got several patterns I've made with notes along the way so I know when to finish then appropriately. I have this pattern too and am happy to know it'll take hips to pull if off :)

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  10. Your dress looks marvelous. I am with Karin, seldom to I make a muslin, just tend to run with it.

    You are right about the seam finishes and pattern company leaving out valuable information sometimes.

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  11. Your dress looks beautiful. I hope it passes the wearability test and you get to enjoy it now that the frustration is behind you.

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  12. Very pretty dress on you and much more flattering then I thought that pattern would be. Lovely color too.

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  13. Very nice! Re: finishing, I tend to just serge around the tricky edges of every pattern piece (i.e. fly section of jeans/pants) before I make any seams. That way I never have to worry about it.

    And thanks for the heads up on needing hips. This pattern probably won't work for me then. I have booty, not hips. ;-)

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  14. In spite of all the annoyances, it really looks great on you. I love the color and the style.

    Be sure to let us know how it is to wear it.

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  15. It looks great! Thanks for the tips on the pattern.

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  16. Oh Allison, darn you, now you have made me want to make this pattern, whether I need another sleeveless dress or not! great look on you.

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  17. Very pretty! Love the color. It looks really great on you, totally worth the headaches over the instructions.

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  18. It turned out GREAT in the end. Sorry for the headaches :)

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  19. Your dress looks wonderful!

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  20. VALEU A PENA. FICOU LINDO. BJ

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  21. It is really pretty. Those styles always look great on you!

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  22. You certainly overcame the sewing issues here to produce a fabulous dress. It's very flattering.

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  23. I give you such credit for tackling these tough patterns. You always have such great outcomes, this one included. Well done.

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  24. Gorgeous dress - what skill level would you grade it at? I'd love to make one but I have fairly basic sewing skills.

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  25. You are such a frock queen! Love this one. I have this pattern in my 'for summer' stash, so I think our tastes are similar.

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  26. Hi Allison
    Sorry I forgot to leave my email address : here it is
    Daudauhui@hotmail.com
    Blogging is very new to me, I enjoy reading your blog, and I adore your sewing style. I am a weekend sewer, and I hardly have anything done.

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  27. Lovely dress, It looks great on you and I imagine, very confortable to wear being a stretch woven. I agree, from my own experiences, that stretch wovens can be a challenge to sew sometimes.

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  28. Allison when I first saw it on your dressform, I thought "oh my" and as I scrolled down it changed to WOW! This is a great dress and love the look on you, color, pattern and all!

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  29. Allison - this is another stunning dress! The color is beautiful and all your hard work really paid off.

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  30. Love this dress. I would be interested to see how the dress wears for a whole day. Is it fiddly?

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  31. That is really gorgeous on you! I think you've convinced me not to make it, though. I was thinking it would be really cute in seersucker, what with the stripes going every which way. But I have little patience for non-intuitive origami patterns. They defeat me.

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  32. You look wonderfull in it!

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  33. Just beautiful dress that looks great on you.

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  34. Your dress looks gorgeous on you!

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  35. Beautiful dress and your hard work shows!

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