Thursday, June 18, 2009

s-t-r-e-t-c-h

I had intended to reconstruct a dress to try out this pattern, but there wasn't nearly enough fabric (the front is fully lined) and so since I had 4+ yards of it I used this slinky stretchy stuff I had on hand. I cannot remember where I got this fabric from, but I'm fairly certain that I got it at a store (as opposed to a thrift shop or yard sale).


Once I was finished, I liked the look of the fabric so much, I tried making a dress out of it. I used Vogue 1046 by Anna Sui and while the pattern itself is really simple my choice of fabric ultimately proved to be a poor one. The front has a slight cowl neck, which requires you to cut it on the bias - no problem there. It's also lined, and so I used a vintage nightgown for that part, which I was really pleased with - nice and thin and slippery.

My first problem came after it was mostly assembled. The curved seam in the front and the back got really stretched out and just looked terrible. To fix that, I topstitched the allowance down about 1/4" from the seam, and then inserted some elastic in the casing that was formed. My second problem came when it was time to sew down the facings. I had to hold the fabric stretched between the fingers of one hand while slip stitching the lining shut with the other. Not fun and very tiring for my hands. In fact I'm still not done! Only the back is sewn down in this picture:


I'm not sure I even like it on me, but I do think the pattern has potential if next time I sew it with a woven instead of a knit.

1 comment:

  1. I made this dress last year and I think your fabric choice looks beautiful! Aside from construction issues, I imagine it could be heavy, too, given how much fabric the pattern calls for. Anyway, I was befuddled that there were not finished garment measurements to be found on the pattern or envelope, and the smallest size was pretty voluminous on me. A couple people commented that it looked like the dress was wearing me, but more than that many compliment the dress, online and in person. Anyway, I blogged it if you want to visit and search Vogue 1046.

    Funny thing is, I bought it to sew up the other view! Just never found the fabric I wanted to make it from.

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