Saturday, September 22, 2012

One Dress

I had an idea that the Vogue 1250 dress, which was very popular last year and continues to be, could be modified.  Specifically, the dress is very straight, and designed to be made from stretch knits.  Oh, and the construction of the back is really weird.  Astonishingly weird.  Those of you who have made it know what I mean.  I had a couple of ideas in mind, and set out last weekend to try a variation.

The first thing I did was to make the front in one single piece, instead of a piece with part of the back attached.  Then I made the back one unit, removing a u-shaped horizontal seam from right above the wearer's butt (which my dearly beloved said made me look "droopy", not something a girl wants to hear).  I added a little extra width for non-stretch fabric, and added 6 godets to give the skirt some fullness.  Finally, I cut the dress out of yellow gauze (left from a 14 yard long piece I bought maybe 2 or 3 years back....I still have 4 yards or so left), and stitched it up with a 22" long zipper up the back.

The verdict?  Well, I liked the idea, but I think the gauze was too stiff for this application.  Still, it's not awful.  I might even try it again from a softer fabric.  Next spring, maybe.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

9 comments:

pam said...

It doesn't look to stiff to me, but then that is hard to tell in a photo. I am in awe of the way you can modify a pattern!

Jan Mader said...

And I am in awe of EVERYTHING you do!!!

SissySees said...

Impressive. I don't sew, but add me to the in-awe list!

Mickle in NZ said...

I like your alterations.I find it interesting that, like Carolyn, you've converted the pattern into having side seams - this must hake it so much more useful as you can make it from a variety of fabric widths and adjust it to fit perfectly. The godets look really good.

Yes, I know how to sew I just haven't for ages; and have yet to use the new sewing machine my dear Folks' gave me last Xmas!

~~louise~~ said...

So this is what you were doing this rainy Pennsylvania weekend. At least one of us was creatively productive. You are amazing!!!

Thanks for sharing, Marjie...

Claire S. said...

Just had time to catch up on the last few posts. I like the new version of 1250, yellow looks so nice on you :-) Definitely worth trying again.

The peach pie looked yummy too. It's almost time to start my yearly baking, yes really ! I was wondering about making and freezing pie crusts. Need to make up my next batch of multigrain bread though - on my 5th recipe now.

Love the book reviews. I've found a bunch of freebies online and my iPod has a lot of hours of reading loaded !

Lapdog Creations said...

That's a fabulous color on you!

Sarah said...

That's a lot of alterations! Good job. I haven't done that in years. Perhaps this winter. I have some lovely summer fabric. It will take me all winter to finish it I'm sure! Unlike you!

Pam said...

I think it looks pretty - love the color!