Friday, April 15, 2011

Vogue 1228 - Vena Cava

I fell in love with this dress the minute I saw it. I'm a sucker for 1920's fashions and to me this has that vibe. However, that era was not designed for curvy girls. I still love it though.



I had planned on making it out of this yummy silk from FabricMart that I stashed away sometime last year.



However my concern was that despite the love I had for this design, it would be a travesty on my figure. So, I perused the Red Tag sale at Joann's which was 50% off this week and found this, surprisingly nice, floral rayon. I've been wanting to stretch myself in prints and florals definitely stretch me. Plus, they are "In" this season again. So I picked this up for a whopping $3 a yard and whipped it up. Seriously, this is a super quick, easy project.

There are only five pieces, two of which are the sleeve tabs and the neckline binding. I would say that a beginner could probably handle this dress. It teaches you how to do French Seams, which I had never done. It has some funky pleats in the front and back but they aren't hard. There is minimal marking for this. They want you to put in a zipper...puhlease...zipper??? Seriously??? Nothing cranks me more than erroneous zipper insertion. I'm super busty and did not in the least need a zipper to get this on.

I'm on the fence about whether I will make it in the silk or not. The silk wasn't very expensive, in fact, I don't think it was much more than my practice dress here. However, I do really like it and didn't want to waste it. I'll probably give this dress a run through and see how I like it after I wear it. That is one reason I don't do true muslins, I like to test it out. I'm not sure how to style this oh, and the neckline is VERY LOW!!! I read the one review and did remember to check it, but it is deceiving! I could easily take this up a full inch! There will definitely need to be a cami of some sort worn. I was considering some kind of a lace modesty panel...yeah, lace! Really, this is a stretch for me...I love my harder, biker chick look ;-)

All in all, I'm happily surprised by this dress. I really thought it was going to be a total downer. It has more shape than I thought and isn't a total box. It's not my ideal silouette for a dress but sometimes you just gotta say WTF and go for it.

Sorry you got me with no makeup after a day home alone with nowhere to go but up to my sewing room.



You can see the pleat just above the bust line. You fold it up from the bottom to get the interesting pleat for the sleeve. It's not pulling, that's the way it is supposed to be.





And this here is why I sometimes have a stupid look on my face while I'm taking pictures...the doofus Cattle Dog makes me laugh doing his silly little happy dance!

13 comments:

Lisa said...

Cool fabric!

Sarah C said...

Great job!

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

I love the fabric you choose for your "muslin" dress and now I'm gonna have to look at that pattern again! Great dress!

Rebecca said...

Your dress is lovely! :]

Anonymous said...

This looks fab - I went straight past this pattern assuming it would be shapeless but it really works!

Eugenia said...

So fabulous! This dress looks amazing on you - that fabric is perfect for spring. You definitely have to make another version of this dress.

Heather said...

I love the rayon! I have this pattern too and can't wait for a chance to make it up. I think yours is quite flattering actually.

Victoria said...

Lovely dress! I love the placement of the flowers. The back shot with the flowers on your left shoulder is really pretty. Nicely done:)

HeathersSphere said...

A sensational looking dress that looks like a work of art and much more enticing than on the pattern envelope! You are thrillingly chic in this dress. I hope you make another dress after your first try with this pattern.

Michelle said...

Great work! I would never have attempted that dress, but your dress made me take a second look at that pattern.

TJenn said...

what a great choice for your muslin! wow - it flatters you well. Don't even consider apologizing for lack of make-up- be proud. You look great and styl'n in the muslin no less.

Angie said...

You look very nice.
You did an excellent job with the fit.

theperfectnose said...

What a pretty dress. You look lovely. And thanks for mentioning you didn't need the zipper, I'm sewing mine up now and was wondering if I could opt out of that. See you around.

PS OpenID doesn't work for commenting on your blog. I had to sign into my Google account which means non-Google people won't be able to comment here. You might want to install disqus so that cross platform commentors can comment and keep track of comment responses and not have to play the hideous recaptcha game of eventual blindnes...
http://theperfectnose.wordpress.com