November 11, 2012

An Autumn Plaid Dress: Vogue 8701

Vogue 8701
I saw this pattern last summer and absolutely fell in love with the pretty plaid dress! I don't usually try to make outfits look like the pattern cover but this one was so pretty I just had to. I found a similar plaid in a nice autumn colorway at Hancock's--40% off--and got the pattern during one of Vogue's $4 pattern sales.

Looks easy, right? Wrong!

It has two-piece raglan sleeves, a darted bodice and a nice 4 panel swirly skirt. There's a zip and a slightly low V neck in back. Deceptively simple. ;)


Hem bound with bias tape & handstitched down.

The pattern impressed me with the finishing techniques: a bound hem and fully lined dress! I was quite attracted to that aspect as I was aiming for this dress to be a quality garment in my closet that would last a long time.

I lined the sleeves with an old paisley cotton dress.
Disappointingly, I actually could not manage to line anything other than the sleeves. I had a lot of trouble fitting the bodice neckline and raglan sleeves (note to self: avoid all future raglan-sleeved patterns!).

The zip didn't go in as nicely as I'd hoped either. :(
This pattern seems to have a great deal of unnecessary ease built in, plus I prefer my dresses to be a bit more fitted in the bodice, so I ended up taking out a lot of extra fabric. (I should note here that I successfully made a toile, with very few alterations, before making the actual dress--which made the fitting problems all the more irritating. Maybe the fashion fabric stretched?) And after having a rather frustrating time refitting the sleeves after the lining had been put in, I finally said "skip it" to the bodice lining and just stuck the whole thing in a drawer for about two months.

Model wearing the dress from the pattern cover..
Thus, it wasn't really finished until last week, and without lining anything other than the sleeves...and since it's now November I kind of can't wear it that much. Heh heh. I have to say though, I was quite pleased with the finished product even though it took a bit of frustration to get there.

...and me in my version. :)
 I definitely adore the twirly skirt and might use that part of the pattern to make myself some pretty skirts. (Or I could put the skirt onto different dress bodices!) And I actually had a belt similar to the one in the pattern photo, so that worked out nicely. I might even make another version of this dress...someday. I just wish it was as fun to make as it is to wear the finished product. ;)

Marie Antoinette modeling without the belt.



4 comments:

  1. OOOO! :) Where is my love button?! :) You look so pretty and the dress really compliments your complection well my dear. Love you and I can't wait to see you hopefully this weekend!

    Becca

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  2. Your dress is fabulous, you look so good in it! I LOVE raglan sleeves and the general femininity of this pattern, I may be tempted to try it :)

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  3. Thank you ladies! Your comments put a big smile on my face. :) I can't wait to see you soon too Becca!


    I adore the femininity of it too, the swirly skirt is fun! Definitely recommend the pattern if you don't mind sewing up raglan sleeves.

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  4. Very nice! Looks like your plaids match up pretty neatly, and I love the paisley lining (even if it is only in the sleeves). I'm always drawn towards plaid this time of year, and now you have me thinking!

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