Break for Vogues

So packing is ... hectic. And I'm tired of boxes and loads of laundry (thanks to water damage and mold we have to wash EVERYTHING - fortunately the apartment's paying for it but I'm still the one doing it) so I'm taking a dinner break to focus on something rather unexpectedly happy - the Fall Vogues!

1120

I love the belt on this - the way it's sewn in on the back avoids the bubble butt that volume + belt can give.  And while it's still more volume than I can wear without feeling silly or overly fussy it's at least a good take on the volume of the past few years.

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What a gorgeous and smart dress for fall.  I love all the seams and the square neckline.  So beautiful.

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This is such a fabulous day-to-night outfit.  You can't see it in the picture because they picked black (why, when it photographs so badly) but there's a gorgeous bit of seaming details going on between the waist and hips.  A great way to use some nice wool.  

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More fabulous details - the skirt has a neat gather in the front (here obscured by the jacket) and a nice diagonal asymetrical seam in the back.  Very nice, great way to make an extra-special little black skirt.  Like the jacket as well but it's really the skirt that wins it for me.  I would, however, put in a kick pleat rather than that slit... that always looks like something cheap brands do to save money and time.  Not so fab.

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Pleats at the neck, gorgeous.  Not sure if I can pull off a fitted knit dress (though it does call for fairly firm knit) as those react badly with my "athletic" thighs.  But still, very gorgeous dress.

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Another fabulous little dress.  That waist panel looks so flattering and there's lots of seams to let you get the fit just perfect.  

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Ok, impractical and totally not me, but I love the high waisted skirt and little capelet jacket.  It's such an Adelle Dewit outfit (from Dollhouse - I have a rather pitifully desperate crush on her wardrobe) and I so want to be the sort of person who can pull off such a style.

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Ok, not feeling the jacket but the rest of the wardrobe is lovely.  I especially like the dress/faux top and skirt.  Very slick and chic.  And in a solid color the jacket isn't too bad.  Ok, it's kinda nice, with the slim pieces underneath.  I could grow to like it.  But the skirt and dress are really my favorites.  And the skirt and pants both have darts under the waistband which are a big plus for me - so many patterns with waistbands forget that some of us have curvy bums and need all the shaping we can get.  I'll probably still have to add to the dart but at least it's there to start with and doesn't have to be drafted in entirely.  

Ok, that was a nice break.  :)  Back to the laundry and boxes and off to pick up box tape!

SWAP Item 1 - DONE!

(me at 12:30 at night after camera difficulties. Really need better pic)

And there was much rejoicing.

So my first SWAP item, a t-shirt, wasn't exactly in my original plan. But as the idea is to sew for a week in your life and I've discovered I love a nice, fitted, tee, it made sense to incorporate one in. Then, on Sunday, I gave blood and as a thanks I got a small bottle of gatorade and a one-size-fits-none XXL t-shirt ... well, it seemed like a good time to pull Vogue 2925 out of storage and finally test out that nice shirt pattern. After all, the donor shirt was actually quite nice, black with a surprisingly non-ugly logo on it, and since it was free it made for a good test.

And it worked!

The pattern is absolutely fab, insanely quick to put together and seriously flattering. It's two pieces with four lines of gathering and I kinda cheated and put in just one line of gathering stitches at each. The less than perfect gathering really seems to fit with the slightly-off-kilter logo printed on the front. I basted the side seams together to make the next step easier, then serged those same seams. My two machines are right next to each other and already kitted in black thread so the extra step took hardly any time at all. I then fitted my sewing machine with the double needle and an extra spool of black thread and used that for the neckline, armcycs, and hem. They totally look like coverstitch hems for the price of a double needle. Heart! The armcyc was a bit hard to do this way, especially with the underarm seam. It's a lot higher and tighter than expected, probably because I couldn't do the however-big hem they wanted on it. Note for next time: cut out 1/2" deeper armcyc. Fortunately fabric rubbing off my deoderant doesn't bother me all that much but I know many people absolutely hate it so FYI.

Oh, I cut a size 10 whilst being a 14 in Vogue sizing. I like things more fitted and, since I bought the 6-8-10 sized pattern, it was the largest option I had. It's exactly as fitted as I wanted it to be (what're the chances? No complaint, though), just about form fitting but not at all binding. Just like you want an all-purpose t to be. Or I like an all-purpose t to be ... I guess I'm not all people. But there it is, a new life for a huge t-shirt! And a new shirt for me! Today, after some work, I want to get my denim skirt cut out to go with this shirt. We'll see how that goes, for now I'm just very happy to have gotten the first of the 12 items done!

Vogue 7748, part 2

DONE!

Ok, half done...

The inside still needs a good amount of work. And I'd like to line it with a nice red. And add a hook and eye to keep that front neck detail closed. And make the belt. And add a button and loop to replace the safety pins at the sides.

But besides that it's done. :) It hit the point where either the inside or the outside was going to be presentable so I chose the outside. It seemed to make the most sense.

I edged it with some red piping I had in my stash. Good to know - it takes EXACTLY one package of piping to do this. To the millimeter. Talk about cutting it close. Um, literally.

And you'll notice the collar looks a bit different than the pattern picture. Not my fault, that's totally the pattern right there. It's working on this dress but if I make it again (and the linen-look fabic at Joann's is calling to me) then I'll reduce the collar by a good inch. Maybe more. I don't particualarly like my clothing assulting my neck. But, like I said, it seems to work on this dress.

It was fun to make something like this - something a little wild and not something I can wear everyday. Or most days. Next on the list is some more practical sewing which is always easier after some impractical sewing. Today I'm rummaging through my stash to get together an entry for the mini wardrobe contest - stay tuned for that!

Vogue 7748, part 1

The cute guy and I are celebrating our one year anniversary this weekend and I figured I needed to take the excuse to make something for myself. So a couple nights ago we sat down with my boxes of patterns and he went through and picked his five favorites. I picked this one out of those five. Usually I pick out my own clothes but with 500+ patterns I was facing paralysis so we made it a joint activity. 'Sides, he's pretty good at picking out clothes for me. :) Yeah, he's a keeper.

This is actually a pattern I had tried to make years ago just before going on a cruise and I was so tired I cut out three left bodices. No right bodices, just left. I tried to salvage it but simply couldn't and had to repurpose the fabric as a skirt and part of a top. I'm fairly proud of what I did but still, it meant this pattern got stuffed back in the envelope for the time being.

So now that I returned to the pattern I had to find fabric worthy of it. The suggested fabrics were pretty limited: crepe and linen. Great if I had planned a few weeks ahead. Not so great when my fabric sources are limited to my stash and my Joann's. Now don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with our local Joann's, but largely because I keep my expectations low. Which means not expecting any decent crepe or linen. And I was right. They had "linen look" which is half linen, half poly and all rough and not the best dyes. It's fantastic for medieval clothing because it really captures the hand-woven, hand-dyed from plants look. But that wasn't what I was going for here. Crepe? A small selection of pure poly formalwear, some of which is crepe. Again, not the look I'm going for.

So I head over to the quilting cotton, a section that's getting more of my attention each time I go there. Look what I found!



It's an Alexander Henry print and so vibrant and asian. And just $8.99, making for a $26 dress! I don't sew JUST to save money, but I love it when it works out!

I did have a dilemma, though. Should I stick with the wide skirt or should I frankenpattern this with a narrow skirt? I went to PR for the answers. Posted, checked back to see the answer ... and I got a resounding chorus of "wrong fabric!!!" Ok, so maybe I did choose a DIFFERENT fabric from the original authorial intent ... but last I checked, it's not a fabric decision that will truly make it unwearable like, say, chiffon replaced for denim in jeans. And even so, I've seen a fantastic trench coat made out of georgette so really, it's less about the pattern's requirement than understanding why and how a different choice affects it. I guess I got a little hurt that there was less praise and outright admiration of the utter brilliance of my pattern and fabric and more realistic critiques. Maybe I need to get out more. :) I did have one person wisely note that it would probably work best to sew "as-is" and then pin up the sides to see if I like the narrower look better. After all, you can always subtract fabric.

I got it all cut out tonight (and cut it all correctly!) and started sewing it up. Forgot just how much I love sewing on my old Viking! I've been using my new Bernedette and it's just not the same. Lovely, but not the same. Anyway, the skirt is fully assembled and I've got it hanging on my dress form to get all it's stretch and warp issues out before hemming it. And you know what?

I LOVE it.

The skirt definitely has volume but it works. It really works. It makes this a statement dress like boring ol' linen wouldn't. Or maybe I'm just biased. :) But it is lovely and fun, perfect for the occasion. I'll take pics tomorrow and hopefully get one of me all dressed up in it for dinner out!

Vogue Summer 2008 - The Anime Collection

(this is totally cut-n-paste from my comments on PatternReview's message board so if it looks familiar it's not just you)

Is anyone else getting an anime vibe from this collection or was it just me? As I was looking the thought "if I ever get into cosplay I should stock up on some of these" kept going through my head.


These pants are so cute mechanic chick (helped greatly by the tank top) while the jacket with the collar up is ... someone else. Still trying to pin it down.


Sexy, but the odd (in a good way) front placket is right on the edge. Just what the mature love interest is likely to wear. Sexy but in control.


First off, love the neck treatment of the purple one. If I get into making tees I might have to pick it up just for that detail. The other two with the curves and zigzags have to be standard costume for at least a few anime characters.


Total anime or sci-fi villian. Or fan service, that works too. But you'd have to add a thigh-high slit. :)


That jacket so looks like a anime futuristic military uniform. I think it's the lapel in that color. I feel the need to add random pins and braid.


The vibe's not so strong with these but the over all asian feel still qualifies them as honorable mentions. And despite having none of the characteristics needed to pull off these pieces, I'm still tempted just because they're so totally unique.

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Ok, that was all the seriously anime stuff I found. Still, interesting. Beyond the desire to buy for any future costume needs that may come up, I really didn't fall for anything in this line. But, well, that's standard for vogue and me. That's fine, I love the more plebian other 3 so we're good. :) I did appreciate some stuff though. For example:

Hidden under those large (but strangely attractive) tailored shirts are hollywood pants in 8502.

The dress in 8491 is so Laura Bennet with the great squarish neckline in front and v in back. Also love the many darts which make fitting easier.

8494 is one of those dresses that manages to be totally current with the beaded neckline but will still be chic many years from now.

I kinda want the Ralph Rucci shirt dress just for the instruction sheet. The halter-ish style top is bad on me but it shouldn't be impossible to take it's better parts (like that braided trim, pockets, and construction) and morph them with a shirt dress better suited for my figure.

I LOVE the new Alice+Olivia pants though I'll need to do a review dive to see what body shape they normally draft for. I'm all curves which sounds great for a 50s bombshell, not so great for fitting pants. And speaking of 50s - I like the vintage patterns they released even if I'm just so no a fan of the Dior New Look. I'm a 40s girl at heart. Fortunately Vogue already has more 40s stuff out than I can keep up with so I'm not complaining. :)