What the hell happened? One minute it was late winter and most of my clothes still fit, the next minute it was 70° outside and my jeans were feeling rather….constraining. So I spent a good part of Saturday finishing this:
This is the vintage Vogue pattern I posted the other day (V7800). As predicted it was very easy to sew. I didn’t even make a muslin! Just lined it up with my dress sloper, saw that it was about the same width at the hips, and went ahead and cut. The only alteration I made was to widen the neckline a little (more flattering for me and now it slips over my head with no zipper). I also shortened it at the back yoke because the yoke line seemed to fall a little low.
I like that the dress has a bit of shape, which means I think it works even without the belt. Also it seems to have plenty of room for expansion:
The fabric was a little tricky to work with. It’s a synthetic blend from Gorgeous Fabrics and I think I’ve been spoiled by sewing with wool all winter. It’s very drapey and loosely-woven so it didn’t want to stay put, especially when sewing around curves or on the bias (like at the yokes and shoulder seams). Also the texture is just large enough to read as stripes or plaid and I didn’t pay that much attention when I was cutting it out. So some parts aren’t as horizontal as they might be. So it goes…
I think I’ll be making more of these dresses. Wouldn’t it be cute in a bold print? Maybe something like this:
(Image from lucy’s fabrics. No I haven’t bought this one yet.)
Or in this purple charmeuse:
(from FFC. This one I do have.)
What do you think? Too much?
Mikhaela Reid | 23-Mar-10 at 7:05 am | Permalink
The fabric SO is not too much–I say go for the purple print from FFC, it’s gorgeous! But speaking as a sewing pregnant lady (now entering the third trimester), I don’t know how far that particular style of dress is going to carry you in your pregnancy–it’s a beautiful dress, and yes, there is SOME room for expansion, but I don’t know about “PLENTY.” If you want to get maximum mileage out of this dress throughout your pregnancy, I’d suggest maybe adding more in front (the belt can be moved up to a more empire place to keep it looking fitted).
Last maternity dress I made (and it was a vintage maternity pattern), I actually had to add 22″ total to the belly area (that’s not a typo) for it to fit comfortably over the belly (it was a drapy/gathered silk dress, though–I’d probably just have added 6″-10″ for a stiffer fabric).
Then again, I’m carrying rather large and you might not!
lsaspacey | 23-Mar-10 at 9:49 am | Permalink
Ooh, cute, I like that a lot. I love easy dresses! I vote for the jungle fauna print.