Vogue 9293 Dresses

This pattern is from the Vogue Easy Options range and has a number of different skirt and sleeve options to create different looks.  I used the pattern to make not one, but two cocktail dresses for two events I went to recently!

https://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v9293

The first was a formal black tie dinner and I didn't want to wear the full length ballgown I made last year (see post here). I did however have a lot of that same brocade fabric left.  Originally I was thinking of making a full skirted ballgown, plus there was a separate piece on the bolt they gave me - I probably still have enough for a jacket or pencil skirt, but I'm kind of done with this fabric for now!

Brocade is not one of the recommended fabrics (seersucker, linen, challis, broadcloth) for this dress, but I thought it would work and chose view A, the short sleeved, full skirted version.

I left off the pockets and also lowered the neckline a bit.  I just did this by folding the edge over on my dressform and ended up creating a small v at the back neckline too, just to get it to sit nicely.  The original neckline is finished with bias tape, but I decided to create a facing piece to match my new neckline which I then interfaced to give it a bit more structure in my brocade fabric.

I sewed the side seams last as is my preference so I can fine tune the fit in the bodice.  The hems were all finished invisibly by hand which was faster than I expected as the texture of the brocade hides everything.

Despite the small risk taken with completely ignoring the fabric recommendations, I'm really happy with my cocktail dress.  It was comfortable to wear and great for dancing - sorry no photographic evidence!

Just a week later I had another, smaller dinner to go to which was Oscars themed and I decided it was time for a new LBD cocktail dress in my wardrobe.  We had visitors that week too so with limited time I just pulled out this pattern again and made View D, the short sleeved, pencil skirted version.

I used a black silk dupion which I underlined with black silk organza and basically made in the exact same way as the first version.  I always use this underlining method when sewing with dupion, it gives it a bit more body and means that no stitching is visible on the outside as all the hems can be hand stitched to the underlining.

Surely now I have a dress for just about any formal occasion!?  I love both of these dresses and I think this is a great pattern, although you may want to check if the neckline is also too high for you.

Maybe one of these days I will get around to making a version in one of the recommended fabrics!

Vogue 1395 Rebecca Taylor Dress

Firstly thank you for the comments on my shirt making post, it's helpful to know it's not just me that finds shirts difficult, but also to get some recommendations for improving my skills.  I will definitely look into the famous David Page Coffin book and Pam Howard's Craftsy class.  Also I really should mention it more often, but since I live in Hong Kong practically all my fabric comes from local stores and markets here or in China which I know is of no help to anyone hoping to source the same fabric, sorry!

Back on more familiar territory now - dresses!  This is Vogue 1395 by Rebecca Taylor in a polka dot linen.

I cut this out and started it in a print fabric ages ago before I realised that you need a fabric that looks at least similar on both sides otherwise the tie looks a mess so I abandoned it.  This is clearly stated on the pattern envelope so I only have myself to blame.  I guess you could self line the tie portion of the overlay if you're really set on a certain fabric?  My penchant for buying crazy print fabric has meant it has taken me a while to get around to attempting this dress again.

I had already cut in a size 10, I would usually start with a 12 now, but fortunately this pattern is pretty forgiving in fit.  I lengthened the skirt by around 5cm as it looked pretty short and also raised the neckline a bit.

It's quite easy to put together, there is a lot of narrow hemming to do around all the overlay edges which is a bit time consuming.  Once the bodice was put together I just breezed on ahead without looking at the instructions and so forgot to catch the centre back portion of the overlay in the waist seam.  When the overlay is tied in place I decided it wouldn't make much difference so I have left it loose.



While I did find a fabric that met the two sides look the same criteria, this linen was a bit stiff for the design, particularly in the sleeve/shoulder area and my sleeves stick out a bit.  I absolutely hate altering anything so I am hoping that the fabric will soften with wear and washing, but if not I will have to make the shoulders narrower.

So to summarise, this is a lovely easy to wear dress pattern, but fabric selection is really important!

Vogue 1191 Michael Kors Dress (OOP)

I've made this dress twice before on this blog back in 2010 (print here and solid here) and it is unfortunately now out of print so I won't blather on too much about it.  It's designed for 2 way knits and is one of those twisty patterns I still love to make where the pattern pieces bear zero resemblance to the shape they end up in.  

The instructions are a bit confusing in places and the pattern is rated as advanced, but as long as you carefully mark everything, preferably in different colours for different types of markings, and keep the pattern pieces to hand for reference eventually it does look like a dress!

The only change I made was to raise the centre front neckline which although looks very elegant on the model is too low for anyone with any kind of bust or who plans on moving around in the dress.  I showed the pattern adjustment for this in an old post here.  Oh, I also omitted the zipper again, the neckline is plenty wide enough that it is completely unnecessary unless you don't like pulling dresses on over your head.

My fabric is a grey and purple jersey, hard to see the purple in these photos though.  I really like this dress and recommend it if you can find it on sale and like this kind of challenging puzzle.

This is the time of year lots of bloggers reflect on their past year of sewing and make resolutions for the coming year.  My sewing output definitely went downhill in 2015 - partly because I thought my beloved BurdaStyle magazine was awful until August (though I think this is just how I personally felt about fashion in general this year) and also I just felt that I had enough clothes and no burning desire to make more for the sake of it.  Again reflective of my views on current fashions I think.   BurdaStyle has definitely picked up in the last few months though so lets see how 2016 goes.  I still love sewing and goodness knows I love fabric shopping!

Blogging has been a bit slow too and a large part of this is that I find it difficult to take photos of myself and just put off doing it to the point where blogging something I made months before seems pointless.  Now that I have a decent dress form that is pretty identical to my measurements I hope you won't mind too much if I make use of the dress form in more of my posts in future.  

Vogue 1247 Rachel Comey skirt

I'm back from Austalia and pleased to report that we had lovely weather and I did get to wear my new dresses out to dinner - Sydney has some amazing restaurants, thank goodness for the elasticated waists!

While there I met up with Maria and Sharon , who both came to Hong Kong last year, and spent an afternoon of coffee, lunch, chatting and, oh maybe some fabric shopping.  They made me, I tell you!  We visited Pitt St Trading, a gorgeous store and a refreshing change for someone used to rummaging about in markets, The Remnant Warehouse, a great source for activewear and bra fixings, and NSW Leather, a must visit if you want leather with it's jaw dropping selection.  Having never sewn with leather I had no idea where to even begin there, but I will do some planning before my next visit.  Thank you ladies for a lovely afternoon!

Here's what I picked up, I can get a huge range of cheap fabric locally so I tried to focus on unique pieces that would be harder to track down here.

From Pitt St:
A digital print jersey, a burnt orange (despite what the photo says) doubleknit and a stretch cotton sateen remnant;

Matt black sequinned fabric;

Stretch burnout velvet in a dark purple with an ombre effect, also impossible to photograph, but it is stunning;

From The Remnant Warehouse:

Two lightweight silk cotton prints and two pieces of powermesh.

Previously Maria had gifted me some fabric so on the day we met I wore this new skirt that I made from it and utterly failed to take a single photo, you know how it is when you meet fellow sewists - time just flies.  This is the very popular Vogue 1247 Rachel Comey separates pattern.

I made a size 12 and lengthened it from a mini to just on the knee.  I was too lazy to bind all the seams, although it does make for a lovely finish, and instead just used my serger.  I get why this is such a popular pattern - it is a basic a-line shaped skirt, but the inseam pockets in the front seam are a great, fun little detail.

Funnily enough, Sharon was wearing her version of both the skirt and top, I really want to make the top too, but lots of people have reported sizing issues.  Sharon gave me some tips and references to look up so I'm going to try it soon.  By then I hope Spring will have arrived and I will be more inclined to model a summery outfit!

I've got a few tops to post next, plus a ton of workout gear, then I am diving into the new stuff!

Vogue 1369 - Alternative Back View

Interesting, it seems that the back view of the Kay Unger dress is a real turn off for lots of you.  Since it's Christmas here are some pictures of the back view for you, not very good ones admittedly - my poor old dressform needs some cosmetic surgery, but you can see it has a centre back seam and darts in each piece.

The shoulders are asymmetric due to the front design so there are separate pieces for the lining left and right.  If you use them for the main dress remember to flip them upside down and place on the right side of the fabric (since lining has the right side of the fabric facing into the body and outer dress fabric faces outwards).

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and in case I don't post before new year, a very Happy New Year too!

Vogue 1369 Kay Unger dress

Another doubleknit dress - this time a Vogue pattern by Kay Unger, one of the last batch of new patterns.  This has restored my faith in Vogue designer patterns - or at least in their sizing.  I made my usual size 12 graduating to a 14 at the hips and didn't need to make any alterations to the fit at all.  The suggested fabrics are crepe, crepe back satin and jersey, by which I think they mean something like a doubleknit that has a bit of weight to it.

Vogue 1369

Making it in a knit meant that I could eliminate the back zipper, but I swapped out the back pieces for the plain lining pieces because I wasn't sure that the ruching would work in my fabric.  I'm not even sure it works on the Vogue version either, I quite like the ruching at the back waist, but those folds going into the skirt look a bit strange.  I totally forgot to take photos of the back of my dress, but it has a centre seam and 2 darts to shape the back. 

I really liked the asymmetric detail on the front of the dress, the instructions were good and it was quite easy to make.  

I still don't have any lining suitable for a knit dress so once again I left the dress unlined.  I did however need to cut an undercollar piece in lining so I just used self fabric instead.  This was a mistake as it did mean I had a lot of layers of quite thick fabric in the collar area which would have looked too bulky if they were serged.  I couldn't bring myself to leave them unfinished even though the fabric won't fray - once I had trimmed and clipped the seams it just looked a bit messy.  So I used bias strips of silk and bound the raw edges at the neck and front band, partly by machine and partly by hand.  I also used the same treatment on the armscyes making sure no stitches show on the right side of the dress.  Honestly it would have been quicker to go out and buy some lining or to unpick the collar and redo the undercollar with silk lining - no stretch is needed in that area and it won't show - so don't do what I did!

Anyway I am pleased with how this turned out, I think it looks just like the envelope promises and having it in a doubleknit makes it a really comfortable cocktail dress.  I also plan to wear it with boots and a jacket for more casual (and colder!) occasions.  I haven't seen many reviews of this pattern, but I do recommend it, I can see myself making it again.