Pattern: Vogue 8701 Recommend: It is hard to answer this question because I really like the dress I ended up with; BUT, the dress I ended up with and the pattern that I bought are two different beings.
Sizing: 12 with MANY alterations
Fabric: 2.5 yrds @ 60" wide blue and tan plaid wool with 3.5 yrds cotton shirting for lining
Notions: invisible zipper; stabilizing tape; 3 yrds cotton lace; 2 small spools of thread; hook and eye; small snaps; ribbon; 2 packs hem tape
Assembly time: 4 hrs cutting pattern, 3 hrs on muslin, 17 hrs dress, 3 hrs hand sewing; total 27 hrs
Instructions: The dress is pretty straight forward to put together and the direction reflect that, but that doesn’t mean they are great.
Modification: Here is a list of all the modifications I can remember that I made:
- Extended the girth of the waist by 2”
- Shorten bust darts by 1”
- Reduced neckline width by 1/2"
- Made 1/4" seam allowance along sleeve facing vs 5/8” recommended
- Made 3/8” seam allowance around neckline vs 5/8” recommended
- Added 2" to front panel of skirt
- Sewed interfacing to sleeves before finishing neckline
- Reduced underarm side seam by 1/4"
- Reinforced skirt to bodice seam and zipper seams
- Bound hem
Santa has kicked me out of the craft room this afternoon to wrap presents, which gives me time to write about one of my biggest sewing accomplishments this year. Vogue 8701 was certainly a challenge; not because there are a billion pieces, not because it is fancy, and not because the directions are extra hard to follow, but because I fitted this dress to my body from a very poor fitting pattern. Actually, if the pattern was sewn without modifications, the dress would not fit at all---even if I had purchased a larger size.
Let me begin with a warning about selecting the correct size. In general, I waiver between a size 12 and 14 for nearly all pattern companies. I was met with a dilemma with this pattern though. 8701 is split between grouping the sizes 6-12 and 14+; and with little thought, I purchased the smaller set. My bust measurement is about 35 inches. The pattern dimension on the back of the envelope for a 12 is 34 inches but the ease is 36.5. The waist measurements are 26.5 on the envelope and 28.5 for ease. A size 12 works well for the bust, but the waist would not. I am WAY more comfortable enlarging a waist than a bust line, and so the smaller size was my option.
Previously, I blogged about making my first muslin, and guess what, it was for this dress. People, I didn’t even have a muslin for my wedding dress, so this was a big step. Like growing up and becoming an adult step. Follow this link to read the short entry, here. I learned a valuable lesson with this pattern. Muslins do help and since I was so messed up with the pattern sizing and absolutely in-love with my fabric, a muslin was a lifesaver. If I would have cut the fabric with the pattern straight from the envelope, I would have wasted the entire yardage.
Right or wrong, I only made a muslin of the bodice because let’s face it, that is where all the problems were. This skirt sits on my natural waist, so as long as I made the waist line on the bodice the correct size and altered the skirt width to match, I saw no need to make a complete muslin. I first sewed the muslin straight from the pattern with loose stitching that would be easy to cut apart; I then placed it on my dressform to discover exactly what I thought would happen. None of the seams sat correctly. After much thought, I made a single slit in the center of the front panel and made a new template with the muslin as a guide. Adding the extra two inches at the waistline made everything straight---bust darts, side seams, and the back opening. For the neckline, I ended up taking the front arm seams a mere 1/4 inch and a half inch from the center front. One thing I did notice on the dressfrom was the standard seam allowance would make the neck fall off my shoulders and the sleeve length rather short, so I used a 3/8 inch allowance for the neck and 1/4 inch for the sleeve. The sleeves are snug, so if you are a body builder you may need to enlarge them to fit your extra bulk. I reinforced the zipper and waist seams since they sat directly on my wool fabric; mainly because I wanted a bit of durability.
My pale blue and tan plaid light-weight wool is a dream come true. I love everything about it. The color is my favorite. The feel can only be outdone by cashmere. The drape is soft and smooth. But of course, the plaid proved to be a challenge when cutting, so I took a long time to analyze where everything would fall. The skirt has a front center seam and with the darts on the front bodice panel there is a window for something not so pretty. I only cut one piece out at a time, which seemed to help. One thing to note, if you are tall check the skirt length before cutting. I made no adjustments and at just over 5 feet this dress hits at the knee cap just like the pattern pictures.
I had a great time with the lining for this dress. It is a complete lining—bodice and skirt—made from cotton shirting. I decided to use a natural fabric inside to match the texture of the wool. The shirting also gives the fabric some support which was awesome for the skirt. There is a little more body than what would typically be achieved because of the cotton’s heaviness. In addition, I bound the lining hem, just like the dress skirt, to add extra structure and weight around the bottom circumference and finished with a little cotton lace. The bodice lining was under-stitched and capped with lingerie straps. I did a little post about bra guards here. This little detail makes the dress more wearable because of the shoulders being set off the shoulder bone, making the straps from a bra invisible.
The directions are not the greatest, particularly when describing how to attach the bodice and lining, but this is probably due to the large number of garment options in this collections. When attaching the bodice pieces, it is a little tight around the arms and neck. The sleeves should be attached before the neckline in my opinion. Really, the only trick is to take your time. Any mistake will show because there is nothing to hid the imperfections (i.e, if the fabric buckles it will be noticeable). Under-stitching the lining helped me with a smooth finish and I would definitely recommend a complimenting color for the lining.
Even though this dress was a big challenge, I really like what I ended up with and there is no way I could have bought this dress. It really is perfectly fitted to my body, just like a glove—neither too big nor too small. Unfortunately, I would not recommend the pattern but I do recommend the dress. Too simplify, I recommend the pattern with a huge amount of modifications. I doubt I will use any of the other pattern pieces after the fitting issues with this dress. I love the jacket, but have no faith that the proportions were meant for me.
P.S. Here is a sneak peek at a little project to come. I had a little left of the fabric so I made Christmas picture outfits for everyone.
Beautiful- and your review is so helpful- thanks for this!
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