New Vogue Patterns

The McCall pattern company has updated their websites for Butterick, Vogue, and McCall.  I got the word from KID MD.  :)  I was just on the McCall's website yesterday, too... I guess it happened overnight. 

Well, they've added a couple of new designers to the Vogue patterns... Rebecca Taylor and Rachel Comey.  I'm soooo excited about Rebecca Taylor because I LOVE her designs!  Best of all, they have a pattern for a suit that I've been waiting to make!!!  I even bought fabric for it last year and was trying to figure out which patterns would come close, but now I don't have to worry.  It's V1169.

From the Vogue pattern website

Here's the suit for sale from Nordstrom for $365.00 last year.  (The picture was saved from the Nordstrom website.)  I just love it!

I didn't get to browse too much on the websites, but so far I like the changes.  It looks fancier.  :)  Until next time... happy creating!

2009 FO: Vogue 2980 Top

I finished this top sometime in December.  I used Sandra Betzina's Vogue 2980, which is the popular faux bolero top.  I love this top!  I was a little worried about the sizing on this pattern since it's mentioned several times in the reviews.  I went with my bust measurement, which gave me more leeway in the waist.  This leeway was definitely needed!

The only changed I made was not hemming the bottom of the shirt.  I used fusible tape, but I may need to go ahead and hem it since it's not staying very well.  We'll see how it is through the wash.  There are a couple more things that were finished before the end of 2009, but they'll have to wait since they're going through the wash.

Sewing machine update:  It's not fixed.  I'm borrowing my FIL's at the moment.

Vogue 8413 Dress

I was flying out of town for my cousin's wedding Thursday morning so naturally I had to start and make a dress Wednesday night!  :)  I already had the pattern and fabric planned out.  The fabric was already pre-washed, but all the cutting and sewing happened Wednesday night after dinner.  I used Vogue 8413 view C.  The fabric was a berry ponte double knit from fabric.com.  This dress was less than $20 to make!  This dress was also part of my fall wardrobe (but not my PR wardrobe).

Pattern modifications:
1.  Removed the pleats from the front of the skirts
2.  Didn't use interfacing on facings
3.  Used an invisible zipper

I love this pattern and style!  It definitely needed a belt and I don't own very many.  I ended up going to Target the day before the wedding to buy a belt and a clutch.  They were perfect!  I think it was a good buy.  :)



Because I was making it in a haste, I didn't finish my edges or hem the bottom of the dress.  I will need to go back clean those up, but other than that I love my new dress!  I received many compliments on this dress at the wedding despite my hap-hazardly construction.  See my side seams don't even match... I need to fix that, too.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures up later of the clutch and back of the dress, but I don't have any right now.

Vogue 1027 Dress

I made the Vogue 1027 dress.  It had many good reviews on PatternReview.  The fabric is a poly/lycra matte jersey from Joann.  I love the large geometric print and the jewel tones in it.

Here are a couple of changes  I made to the pattern based on others' reviews.
1.  Eliminated the elastic in the waist.
2.  Eliminated the sleeve facings (I serged the edges and did a narrow hem).
3.  Cut out extra pieces of the tie ends so the wrong sides won't show.

I ran into a few snags while working on this dress.  I didn't have a large enough area to cut out the pattern pieces, which made it a little tricky.  I also found it difficult to lay the matte jersey  flat, which is mostly like due to the size of surface area.  I normally make the pattern size that is one size down from what it should be based on measurements.  However, I didn't have the smaller size and made the size I "should've been" based on the pattern size chart.  The dress was rather large.  I took in at least 1.5 inches at the sides around the waist.  I also sewed the pockets in wrong.  I didn't think through the process and made the pockets go towards the back of the dress instead of the front.  I'm not sure how to fix this since I serged it to the bodice (oh well...).

I didn't like the dress at first.  It seemed too bulky around my waist, but it's grown on me and now I like it.  I just haven't decided on the length... I like it, but I wonder if I'd like it more if it was shorter.  I don't own any dresses that are this length so maybe it's something I just need to get used to.  Overall, I'm happy with my dress.  :)

Front:


Back:


I really like the pleats on the bodice. Bodice & tie detail: (Please excuse the awkward shot.)


Review.

Vogue 7848 Strapless Dress

I finished this dress before the cruise but in between finding pictures and taking another week off and work, it's been pretty hectic.

This is the first item in my summer mini-SWAP. Overall, it was pretty simple to make and very flattering. Based on everyone's review, I went down a size from my pattern measurements (which I normally do anyway for the "Big 4") and it fit almost perfectly.

I had some problems with the invisible zipper... the first zipper was just a bad zipper, but I didn't figure it out until I had already ripped and resewn it about 3 times. Once I realized it, I had to run to Hancock and buy another one... UGH! I was so annoyed. Bad, zipper, very bad...

One of my goals this year was to have neater finishes on the inside... I wasn't sure how to apply that to this dress... here were the problems I was running into:

1. There were a lot of curves due to the princess seams so french seams didn't seam right.
2. Seam binding was a little too bulky for such a fitted dress.

In the end, I only applied seam binding to the seam with the zipper and then to the bodice lining. The rest I just zigzag stitched. Oh well... this should get me by for now.

The only thing I didn't like was that you could see the bottom edge of the facing when it was on. It's such a fitted dress that any bulk on the inside shows. I may take off the seam binding and just do a zig zag stitch to reduce the bulk.

This is my first time "posing" for a picture for something I made... it was a little awkward. It was also a random staircase on the cruise that everyone was using.



This is a better view of the front... my hubby and I and our waiters. Our waiters were super nice! ^_^



Full review