Wednesday 18 April 2007

Vogue v2903


Vintage Vogue


V2903

I have been wanting to make this for ages, but have been a little apprehensive because I need to do a full bust adjustment. The problem is, it has princess seams and I still am not quite happy with my previous attempts. I have been searching the net to see if anyone else has made it and if so how it looked, but I have had no luck. Therefore I bought 10 metres of green 1/4" poly cotton and decided to give it a go.

First was to trace the pattern and start the full bust adjustment. All went OK until I realised that the method I was using altered the waist as well??? I was using the very well respected and highly recommended "Fit for Real People" by Palmer & Alto. I have reread and reread the method and no matter which way I look at it the method definitely increases the waist as well as the bust! So I came up with my own modification and graded the waist back in.

I tried it on for the first real fitting. One of the biggest problems was the shoulders seemed to be very wide, but after a closer look it really was that I have a reasonably narrow back and by taking it in quite a lot in the centre of the back the shoulders fit much better.


I also repositioned the zip to the side seam for the mock up as I felt it was easier to place and adjust.

This is the first try on after the facings were attached. The fit was looking OK so I decided to continue. When I make it again I will try to increase the width of the front panel across the bust as I think the princess seams are not quite in the right place.

This is the front after the sleeves had been attached. It was a very unusual design as the sleeves are attached to the shoulder of the under yoke and stitched to the body of the dress under the arm, quite an unusual design.

A close up of the upper back the pins are holding the yoke to the dress. I still have to attach it to the facing to anchor it.

The sleeves will need to be adjusted slightly as they are a little tight around my biceps and it makes it almost impossible to take off at the moment.

I am still undecided whether to fix the sleeves and level and hem the skirt so it is wearable or not. Is it a little too 50's house wife crossed with country hick?

I am going to work on a more suitable crinoline to give the skirt a bit more volume.

Then I need to decide if the design is suitable to be made into a dress to wear to a black tie wedding and if so what fabric should I use? This dress is quite a bit shorter than the actual pattern which is more like a lower calf length.

Suggestions are welcome.

Thanks
Cat

4 comments:

Jenn said...

I like the look of it without the sleeves. And I do no think its to 50ish style. If done in a really lovely solid shade I think will make the perfect black tie dress.. :)

Unknown said...

I love this dress, and I agree that it is much more appealing without the sleeeves. I love, love, love the dress, I say wear it with pride!

Jen said...

I think it looks cute with and without the sleeves...you could always sew a band of satin around the sleeve ends and about an inch or so above the hem to give them more polish, but sleeveless is more versatile, IMHO (after all, it's easy to throw on or take off a sweater as opposed to being in sleeves all throughout a humid day). The style is very sweet and fun, not too 50s...of course, I love the 50s, but that's jut me.

Shazzx9 said...

Really glad I found your blog Cat. I have also brought this pattern and being quite new to sewing was anxious about whether it might be too difficult for me. I am going to give it a go though using poly cotton first, as you have, to work out what looks best. Wish me luck...