Vogue 9251 – woven wrap dress in viscose crepe

Another blast from the post-injury ‘go slow’ phase. This is Vogue 9251, view A.

They say not to wear wrap dresses on windy days but I did. These were taken in my lunchbreak (my workplace is about 200m away from this spot) and it was ridicolously windy. So the dress in turn clings and blows out in these photos – sorry but at least they are ‘real life’ photos!

Vogue 9251 – taken on a windy day!

I’ve made this as a work dress but I do really love the style and considering a floral maxi as a casual dress.

I love wrap dresses in summer. Easy care and easy to wear.

Modifications

I made view A with the flutter sleeves and shortened it by 2 inches.

I used purchased bias tape on the neckline, to hem the sleeves and skirt. Depending on the fabric weight, I sometimes find this makes for a much neater and flatter finish.

I used my Prym Turning Set to turn the ties… these make turning your narrow fabric tubes SO much easier!

Dislikes

I love the sleeves but do dislike how you can see the wrong side of the fabric and the sleeve hems, likewise with the skirt… but the dress is lovely and I can live with that. My fault for not choosing a fabric with a less obvious right/wrong side.

In these photos there is a wrinkle at the shoulder – which is not there when I’m looking in the mirror… the risks of walking and moving your arms I guess!

Vogue 9251 – side view

Verdict

I think I need another of these… lovely pattern.

It is slightly big, despite making the smallest size available, I wish I could pull it in that little bit more. I might try raising the neckline a tiny bit.

The skirt is a generous wrap and reasonably ‘breeze friendly’.

Vogue 9251 – a generous wrap for windy days

Pattern: Vogue 9251, size 8
Fabric: woven Italian viscose crepe ‘Star Gazer’ from Ruche Fabric. Seriously lovely stuff, doesn’t crease badly and is lovely to wear. Purchased on holiday in January.
Also See: Emily Hallman Designs, Brittany J Jones, Sewing Pomona, Sewing Pattern Review

Me
I’m doing OK. Not much to say about anything as my lifestyle is fairly restricted – hopefully things change after my November review. I’m deliberately being conservative as I figure it’s more likely to heal with less drama. I’ve had enough of medical drama for this lifetime.
I miss running. However I volunteer every week at Parkrun and am treasurer of a local running club so I’m staying in the mix and praying for a return to the pavement sometime soon.

Aka – The ‘it’ dress

Yes, the dress that seems to be ‘everywhere’, Vogue 9253. I make no apologies for succumbing to the pattern ‘fad’, I loved it on its release and purchased it as soon as it was in-store in Australia… which seems to take much less time than it used to.

I got home from hospital and decided I needed something lovely in my life to focus on… so sewing it was. There is no time for self misery when you surround yourself with beautiful things and people. I pulled this fabric put of my stash and immediately pictured this dress.

Vogue 9253 – much more ladylike but alas a droopy hat.

I’ve struggled in 2017 with trying to sew sensible things, things for my lifestyle and whatnot… but in all honesty I enjoy sewing when inspiration takes me by surprise. Right now, I have the urge to sew all.the.pretty.dresses so I think I might just indulge myself. Welcome back mojo.

Modifications

I sewed up the front bodice pieces in the centre by 2 inches (10 centimetres) and turned narrow hems under along the raw edges. And then sewn these down to the bodice. The stitching lines continue down the skirt front and its front split opening.

Vogue 5253 – inner bodice finish. I sewed the front seam up 10cm.

I also only partially sewed the centre seam of the front skirt pieces. I find it easier to walk in maxi skirts that have a split, preferably in the front. This enables my legs to break free of the fabric, rather than the fabric wrapping around and slipping between my legs when I’m walking or there is a breeze to contend with. I finished the seams in the same manner as the bodice centre front seam.

I decided to not put in pockets as I felt the light fabric didn’t really suit pockets and they might interfere with the fluid drape of the skirt.

Vogue 9253

I french seamed the skirt side seams and narrow hemmed the skirt centre back seam edges for a neat finish.

I added strips of interfacing along the centre back seams to stabilise the fabric for the invisible zipper.

I shortened the skirt pieces by 3 inches. I’m 5 foot 4.

This fabric actually has a massive fabric repeat which I didn’t notice when I purchased it. It appealed to me due to the carefree large-scale print which seemed to have no rhyme or reason to it. I deliberately chose not to pattern match (shock, horror) as I prefer the carefree feel the fabric print, deliberately placing motifs just felt too structured for the relaxed feel I envisaged this dress/fabric match delivering.

Vogue 9253, back view

Dislikes

The tie droops at the front. I think I may hand stitch this to the bodice seam, at least in part.

Verdict

Even with my minor grumble, I have lots of love for this dress and pattern. I do think sewing up the front bodice a little makes it much more wearable for day-to-day use.

I sewed this very slowly. I’m learning to ‘slow down’. I was still very tired from my week in hospital so I sat at my kitchen table as I created this, hand basted my pleats and darts, hand basted hems in place before machining. Yes, probably more fastidious than required… but it is a nicely finished dress and I love it.

I’m tempted to sew all.the.caftans… and I do hear Charlie calling my name… can I resist? Do I really need another pattern?

Pattern: Vogue 9253, size XS
Fabric: Rayon from East Coast Fabrics, Brisbane. Purchased in 2016.
Also see: there are sooooo many out there… just google Vogue 9253 or look up the #V9253 hashtag on instagram – enjoy! There was also a recent competition run by McCalls Patterns for this pattern. See all the winning entries here.

Why I sew…

When I saw the #sewphotohop challenge today I felt inspired to write up this blog post.

This dress better than most answers that question… it’s the place where the worries of life slip away… a place of promise and potential… where problems can be solved and beautiful things await.

It’s the place I lose myself. It’s the place where I also find myself again.

Vogue 9253

I’ve had a few of these projects in the last 12 months, the things that just miss the mark. While I’m not ‘in love’ with this dress, I don’t dislike it terribly. It’s a fun design and I enjoyed making it.

OK but not quite right – fit or style wise

While I used to berate myself for wasting fabric, bad choices and so on… I don’t feel that way any more. Every garment or project contains a lesson in itself, whether it is better understanding fabric choices, personal style, new construction methods and so on.

I’ve been on the hunt for some ‘pretty’ dress patterns. For casual ‘weekend’ clothes I prefer loose t-shirts, simple dresses, jeans, maxi skirts and so on. However the rest of my wardrobe is work/event/going-out and is quite different and I’ve been looking for dress patterns to refresh that part of my wardrobe.

I started with Vogue 1499, an Anne Klein design. Like many sewers, I’ve drawn to sewing with stripes. The fun you have stripe matching and the way stripes can quite alter your silhouette is endlessly fun.

The dress is described by Vogue as: Lined dress (partially cut on crosswise grain) has fitted bodice, cap sleeves, side-front and side-back seams, pleated skirt, and invisible back zipper. Note: No provisions provided for above waist adjustment.

Vogue 1499, Anne Klein design. Image from Vogue Patterns

While this double ikat (I think that is what is called when the stripes run both directions) is quite lovely, I think like the Burda shirt, the colour & design is just all wrong for me.

The fabric has been sitting in my stash for a couple of years so I was happy to use it.

The dress bodice and it’s cap sleeves are lined with a cotton lawn and I used bemsilk for the skirt lining. The skirt has separate pattern pieces to the pleated outer skirt and is a loose a-line shape.

I did iron this – however it got slightly crushed in the car driving into town to take some rushed photos after work. Plus I think the seat belt put a huge crease in the front bodice (these are compulsory in Australia). We had to try a few spots in the CBD to escape the ever-present wind at the moment.

What’s not quite right for me

I also think that this design would have looked much better in a smaller stripe. I’ve taken a pattern and sewn it in a very casual fabric and not quite achieved my usual ‘casual’ style or a dressy dress. Such is life!

The fit seemed quite roomy and I ended up having to unpick the neckline, add two back neck darts. The front bodice is still a little large at the neckline.

I spent some time matching those stripes and was quite pleased with the result! It was a very windy afternoon unfortunately!

The sewn down pleats seem to length my already long torso and I am considering unpicking them.

The waistline, despite all those directional stripes, isn’t as flattering as I hoped. It seems to thicken my waist.

Maybe my shoulders are scrawny but the cap sleeves also seem a little too large.

My waist seems to go on forever! Not sure if unpicking the sewn-down pleats would help.

Conclusion

It is an easy sew and spending some time, hand sewing some elements results in a really nice finish.

Despite not being my ‘dream dress’, I think it’s a lovely pattern and would be delightful on others. The bodice lines and the nice little bust darts are really lovely.

I think using some solid colour blocking on the side panels, rather than using stripes, could potentially look fabulous combined with a print.

I’ve since made Vogue 8997 and LOVE it so that’s coming to the blog very soon.

Pattern: Vogue 1499
Fabric: Cotton Ikat from Spotlight Australia
Also see: Amanda’s Adventures in Sewing | Pattern Review