Vogue 1287 DKNY dress

This was one of my favourite patterns in the last lot of Vogue patterns, but there have been hardly any reviews of it which always makes me nervous!  One of the criticisms at the time was that the dress on the pattern photo was made in such a busy print that it was impossible to see the details and I'm afraid I have done the same thing with my version.

I wanted to get some of my older Vogue patterns made up before the new ones arrive so I just worked with the fabrics I had in my stash.  This needs a fabric with stretch and as my stretch fabric stash is quite precious to me I used a very loud, some would rightly say gaudy, jersey that I bought because I loved the colours but then didn't know what on earth to do with.  It has brown, teal, tan, coral, marbling and animal print on it and if that sounds like too much that is because it probably is!

I always enjoy making Donna Karan designs, the pattern pieces are generally unusually shaped and the details are always interesting - this was no exception although it wasn't particularly difficult.  I was a bit confused by the pocket facings and had to do quite a bit of pinning together before I understood the instructions, but it worked in the end.

I made a few small changes;

• I put elastic in the whole of the waistband instead of just the back.  In my jersey fabric, which I didn't interface anywhere, this helped give the waistband a bit more support and keep it in place.
• I didn't make the slip to go underneath the dress, but I did add a few invisible stitches just to keep the front wrap in place.
• I was short on fabric so I couldn't do a faced hem, I just did a narrow hem instead.

Back view

I'm still on the fence with how I feel about this dress, like the Vena Cava dress I made last year, the pleats and pockets draw attention to the hips so it is a little challenging to wear, but I think I like it enough to try it in a plain solid fabric rather than a crazy print.  At least this stuff is out of my stash now, I'll give it a test outing and see if people cross the street and run away shielding their eyes.

Vogue 8379 Wrap Dress

I finally got around to making a successful version of this very popular wrap dress pattern - Vogue 8379.    My previous attempt was a bad mix of pattern and fabric placement although I did salvage a skirt out of it which I still have and wear regularly.  

I used a black, white and red zig zag printed ITY printed jersey, again from Fabric.com.  

I only had 2 yards of fabric and the long sleeved version required 2 3/4 yards and while I find I can usually use less fabric than the pattern envelope says, this was a big difference and some miracle working was needed.  As it turned out, on me, I prefer this dress with the changes I made.  I also think it looks more like the current Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dress shape.

Here is a summary of the changes I made;

• Folded a large triangle out of the skirt pieces to make it less full at the hem but keeping the waist the same
• Cut the skirt on the cross grain - I didn't need the stretch there and it actually looks better with the zig zags running vertically
• I pieced the underlayer of the skirt front, the seam is hidden under the wrap
• Eliminated the bodice facings like most people who have made this dress, I just turned and stitched
• Shortened the skirt by around 4 inches and did a very small hem
• Finished the skirt front edges with facing strips from the scraps
• Left off the collar and cuffs
• Not a fabric shortage issue but I took out some of the sleeve cap ease

This is an easy dress to make up, even I managed to finish it in an afternoon and I am really pleased with the end result.  The pattern is drafted with good wrap coverage both in the bodice and the skirt so is very wearable for a wrap dress.  Now for the photos!

Vogue 8408 Dress

I really meant to get this posted up before I went back to the UK for 2 family parties, but time ran away from me.  I am now back and had a great time, but still suffering a bit from jetlag, it seems to get harder as I get older (like many things!).

I decided to make a new dress that would work for both parties, one was a casual afternoon affair and one a more formal all day marquee extravaganza.  This seemed like a good time to opt for the reliable LBD option, using the now out of print Vogue 8408.

I've had this pattern in my stash for ages and although the long sleeved version would have been more practical for the UK I also wanted to use a piece of black wool blend from my stash and only just managed to get the sleeveless version out of it.  In the end it worked out well, we had glorious weather while I was there, a bit fresh, but with beautiful clear skies.

This pattern is one of the Very Easy Vogue patterns and although it is easy to sew I think the collar could be drafted better, perhaps with more of a curve and an undercollar / facing sort of thing.  Of course then it wouldn't be "very easy" which is often the problem with these patterns.  As it is the neckline is quite bulky and sits a bit weirdly - I was not feeling the love for this dress until I hunted around a few reviews and found Trena's where she added a brooch at the collar intersection, albeit for different reasons.  Eureka!  I hopped off to H&M and bought two black fabric flower pins that could be worn either as a hairclip or a brooch and the dress was transformed!

For the more casual party I left off the extra hair decoration but wore it for the second party, my hair looked somewhat neater at the beginning of the party but of course I don't have any photos from then!

In addition I collected my giveaway book from Pin Queen and was really surprised to find she had also included 2 patterns (which miraculously I don't already own) and a cute packet of needles.  So lovely - thank you!

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:

Vogue 1120 DKNY Dress, version 2

The dress is finished, it should have been done days ago but it was left hanging on my dressform waiting to be hemmed. I always seem to run out of steam at the end of projects and the hem in this slippery silk was fiddly so I kept putting it off. Of course it actually only took about 20 minutes to do once I got around to it, I will learn one day....

I only had 2.5 yards of 45" fabric and the pattern called for 3.25, but I was determined that I wanted to make this dress in this fabric so I had to do a bit of jiggery pokery (technical term) to do to make this work as follows;

• left off the pockets
• made the ties narrower and pieced them
• left off the hem facings
• left sleeves unlined

I don't recommend always buying less fabric but it is interesting how much you can save with a few changes that don't compromise the overall design.

One annoying thing about this design is that the front facing wants to flip out so I handstitched it to the front with invisible stitches underneath the pleats. If you are confident of doing a perfectly neat job, narrow binding might be a better option. That said, the pattern is now out of print, but there are plenty of patterns with similar necklines around and the rest is just a basic shift.


This dress is so comfortable to wear, here I have dressed it up with gold tone heels and clutch bag, but I will wear this a bit more simply for everyday wear (yes I do wear silk dresses quite often, they are perfect for our hot summers).

In sewing room news, I did do the promised tidy up and all I managed to find was that in addition to losing the Cynthia Steffe dress pattern I wanted to make next, I have also misplaced my February Burda and 2 yards of orange cotton fabric. They must all be together somewhere weird, I will probably find them in a kitchen cupboard or something in a few years time.

Vogue 1250 DKNY dress (times two)

I may be almost the last person in the universe to make this pattern and it seemed like the perfect project to get me back in the sewing room.

My knit stash is a bit limited and this is one fabric it seems hard to get out here for some reason, so I only had prints to choose from. After much procrastination, I picked a risky print, quite a large scale geometric border print, took a deep breath and ploughed in.

While I was making the dress I still had reservations but figured I could always turn it into a top, besides the dress is so quick to make I didn't have time to talk myself out of it. It's a very easy pattern but similar to other DKNY patterns has unusual shaped pieces that make it difficult to alter. I just used a straight size 12 which luckily worked out fine.


I took time to centre the print on the centre front of the pattern, completely forgetting about the centre back seam so I had to fudge it a bit there but it's OK. As soon as I tried the dress on I loved it and knew I had to have another one (at least!). I think the cowl drape has the perfect amount of drapiness and depth and the cut on sleeves are just right too.


Of course I had to then try and track down some solid jersey and went to Western Market in Hong Kong, a reliable but expensive place to shop. While there were plenty of lovely printed silk jerseys, cotton jerseys and very lightweight silk/cotton blends they weren't quite what I was looking for and in the end the best I found was a plain black blend. (Needless to say I couldn't stop at just one piece of fabric but thats a story for another day). Still, I am always saying "this would make a great LBD.." and never get around to it so for once I did. I know this will be a staple in my wardrobe and will probably get worn till it falls apart. As always it is difficult to take good photos of black dresses so I have tried lightening these.




If you haven't tried this pattern yet then I really recommend giving it a try. It only takes a few hours and 1.25- 2 yards of wide knit fabric. Are 2 versions of this enough for me, we will see........

For those of you interested in my trip, I'm working on putting some of the photos up online (I have hundreds as you might imagine) so in the meantime I'll just stick a few random ones on my sewing posts! Galapagos wildlife today!

Another week, another Donna Karan dress

This is the pattern I am currently working on - Vogue 1220, the Donna Karan shirtdress.

I am making it in a sort of cranberry cotton sateen. The pattern calls for stretch wovens, but of course I didn't read that before I bought my fabric and this is one of those patterns with strange seams that means you have to either make a muslin or take a flyer on the fit.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you which option I went for! I am happy to report that the pattern is sized consistently for Vogue and it does work in a non stretch fabric. However you might run into problems when you sit down in the dress as I think there may be some stress on the lower buttons, especially with the pegged shape of the skirt. The front facing is just folded back so I have tapered the fold line so the facing is narrower at the bottom to give me a bit more ease there, I'll let you know how it works out!

I just need to buy some buttons to get this finished up. The buttons are on a hidden fly so in theory it should be easy to find some suitable ones.

I'm enjoying making this one, the seaming is really interesting and it comes together pretty fast. I'll share more details when it's finished.

Vogue 1236 DKNY dress

Remember me?? Like the UK we have had a bumper crop of public holidays here in Hong Kong recently and we still have another one next Tuesday. You might think this would mean I get more sewing and blogging done but the opposite seems to be true, I get thrown out of my usual routine. Not that I'm complaining! Besides I can't sew all the time, not least because my closet is sadly too small.

I have made a dress - not the one I was planning to make of course, but another DKNY from the recent batch of Vogue patterns - V1236.

I almost didn't buy this because it is a pretty basic dress and I am sure I have something similar somewhere, but I'm glad I did. It is, like all DKNY patterns I have tried, cut really well and as a bonus it is incredibly easy to sew. I just made a straight size 12, no alterations based on the finished measurements printed on the pattern and this turned out fine.

I used a semi sheer dot large spotted cotton fabric - it's sheer between the spots so I interlined with a taupe/gold china silk. The effect is very subtle - I did experiment with brighter colours but it looked like cheap tacky lingerie!

The original pattern is unlined and has combined neck/sleeve facings so I changed the construction a bit due to my fabric. I attached the lining at the neck and sleeves and then made bias strips for these edges, turned to the inside and topstitched. I left off the beltloops and pockets as usual though I do think they are rather cute - maybe next time.

I've had to lighten these photos so you can see the fabric so ignore the fact I look like a blurry pale ghost.

Despite its simplicity I think this is a very versatile pattern, this version can work for day or night, but I can see some more summery ones in my (too small) closet in the future.