Vogue 8469

I think this dress is my favourite garment that I've made to date. I love the fabric, it came together really well and it's really comfortable. 

Pattern Used: Vogue 8469 (Very Easy Vogue line)

Pattern Details: Fitted bodice (with a modest neckline), and waist ties.

Fabric used: Soft cotton with broadcloth lining (I LOVE broadcloth as lining. Much better than polyester lining.)

View made: A

Did it look like the picture? Yes, as much as a real object can look like one of those line drawings.

What did you especially like about the pattern? I like the wearability of the finished product. It has a nice high neckline, so that your bosoms aren’t on display, and the soft cotton makes it very breathable.

What did you especially dislike about the pattern? Only a couple of small things. The skirt wasn't lined, and the zipper was a little hard to put in since your sewing machine has to go through about six layers of stuff (including zipper tape) around the waist area. It makes it hard to line up the waistband perfectly. Also, the elastic cap sleeves, while they are cute, can be a little irritating to your upper arm.

Did you change the pattern at all? I added lining to the skirt so that the finished product is wearable on its own. Next time, I would probably also add a little extra elastic to the sleeves so that they aren’t as tight.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Very. However, I didn't slip stitch the lining over the sleeves. I sewed both sides with my machine, sandwiching the sleeve on the shoulder between the neckline and the armhole, then turned it inside out. That worked out nicely.

Final thoughts: I really love this dress it fits perfectly and is really wearable.

Pictures:

Front

Cute bow at the waist

POCKETS!

Back view

Cap sleeeves

Simplicity 2886

This is the last of my Simplicity reviews for now. I've had this pattern for a while, so I've actually made three versions of this dress, in two different views. I'll start with the review of View C (which I've made two of), and then review View A later on in the post. 

Pattern used: Simplicity 2886

Pattern details: Fitted bodice, pleated skirt and pockets

Fabric used: Textured cotton with broadcloth lining 

View made: C

Did it look like the picture? Yes

What did you especially like about the pattern? I liked the hem-band. (Hemming is a least-favourite task). Plus, I loved the contrasts. It's one of the first dresses I've made that actually HAS contrasts.

What did you especially dislike about the pattern? There seems to  be a little bit of a drafting problem for the bodice. Both times I made this (I've made it twice to date) the front of the bodice sticks up past the zipper by about a half inch, even with the waist seam perfectly lined up and the zipper installed correctly. I would recommend to anyone making this pattern, sew the bodice front a little bit narrower between the waistband and bodice front band so that everything lines up correctly. This particular flaw frustrates me every time I sew this pattern. A smaller problem is the bulk of the ties getting in the way of putting in the zipper. It's a lot of layers to sew through. 

Did you change the pattern at all? I added skirt lining.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Mmm Hmm.

Final thoughts: It's a cute easy little summer dress with pockets.

Things this pattern taught me: I didn't encounter any new techniques on this project, so nothing...

Pictures:

A cute bow on the back

Front View

A closeup of the texture of the cotton

This picture's a little blurry, but I'm not so good at taking pictures with my phone.

This is made of different fabrics. It's got a knit fabric as the contrast, with the actual dress made of an organza-type fabric.

I made this at the request of a co-worker. I hope she likes it!

Other than the different cut of this view, all the same things apply from my review of View C. However, the zipper on this view is easy to put in because the side seam doesn't have the added bulk of the ties. 

View Made: A

Fabric Used: Embroidered, scalloped edge cotton.

Pictures:

Back view

Front View

                                   Close ups of embroidery

Simplicity 1802

All right, so here's my review of the  Simplicity pattern 1802. I feel like this pattern has tons of potential and lots of ways to modify and change it. 

On to the review!

Pattern Used: Simplicity 1802 (Cynthia Rowley line)

Pattern Details: Dress has fitted, lined bodice, godets and multiple sleeve options. 

Fabric Used: Satin

View Made: View B, minus the contrast fabrics.

Did it look like the picture? Yes

What did you especially like about the pattern? The piping through the chest area and the godets.

What did you especially dislike about this pattern? I made a size too small so it's pretty tight. It still fits (barely) but it's a little uncomfortable. Did I say a little uncomfortable? I mean VERY uncomfortable. :(. Also, this is more of a fabric dislike, but I ended up doing hong-kong finishing on all the seams around the zipper and the godets which was very time consuming. OH, and this pattern makes my bust curves COMPLETELY disappear because of the v-shaped details. AND having the piping on the waistline makes it hard to put the zipper in.

Did you change the pattern at all? Nope. For once.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yep.

Things this pattern taught me: Hong Kong seam finishing. It's a really good way to make sure that seams don't fray on fabrics that like to fray like satin. It looks neat and tidy, and ensures that you can get lots of wear out of garments made with more fragile fabrics.

Final thoughts: I feel like this pattern is a little fussy over all due to the piping and godets, but well worth it in the end.  I like the way this turned out, it's really pretty.

Pictures: (This dress wouldn't fit on my dress form, since it wouldn't fit over the shoulders.)

Front view

Back View