Vogue 1351 dress, some facts and follow ups

Thanks for all the great comments on my purple knit dress, made with Vogue 1351, a pattern from designer line DKNY. I am a big fan of all the DKNY and Donna Karan patterns and this one is no exception. A few commenters had some questions so here are the answers for everyone to read.

  

Girlguycatdog asked 2 questions:
1) whether it can be used for a knit or woven?  the pattern envelope says crepe, matte jersey, charmeuse. Mine is a rayon jersey knit which I did cut on the bias as indicated by the pattern. I think it would be luscious in a silk charmeuse. Rayon jersey, silk jersey, bamboo jersey, these all would be perfect. I think a cotton jersey if it is soft and drapey. No matter which fabric I would stick with cutting on the bias to get the proper drape.
2) Do I adjust my sizing since I used a knit?  No I used my usual Vogue pattern size 12. I really liked this pattern as it was not too big across the back which often is the case  (see my previous Vogue dress where I took it in almost 3" at the mid-center back).  In any case I figured I could take in a bit at the side seam if it was a bit loose at the underarm, and take up at the shoulder a smidge. Which I often have to do and did so with this one.
I have never gone down a size with knits and not had a problem. When I start with a new pattern I take a good look at the printed measurements which you can see here. That circle with X is the bust point and the finished measurements once the garment is sewn are printed for the various sizes. I know a lot of people complain about these but I have never found a glaring error and they are really useful. However that said I do a quick measure for myself to check. Sometimes I want to see the circumference at a point that they have not indicated or just to verify. Below I have the measuring tape making an "L" shape, did you know the measuring tape is 5/8" wide?  so I lay it along the edge for the size 12 and thus have eliminated the seam allowance for my measuring.

So based on the finished measurement around bust and hip I thought the size 12 seemed fine and it was.

Esti Koen asked if I put in a zipper? No zipper in this purple knit dress but if it were a woven fabric then the zipper would be a necessity. I basted up the side seams and checked if I could get it over my shoulders, which I could so no zipper. By the way here is a little thing I do on the side seams of lined sleeveless dresses, stitch in the ditch under the arm  for about 1-2 inches so that the lining will stay put in that area. Doesn't show from the right size of the dress. 

sewmanju asked if I do a muslin for knit dresses? Gosh no. I am not much of a muslin maker when it comes to sewing for myself. I weigh the complexity of the garment, expense of fabric, how "serious" the project is and then come up with a few muslins a year.  Coats that will last forever, sure. Dress bodice when I can't get a good feeling from the pattern pieces, yes a quick bodice only muslin. But knit items for myself, so far I have not. I figure if something doesn't work out I will chalk it up to experience although if I waste a good fabric on something unwearable it will be annoying. All that said, I do make muslins for other people, I made the V8787 for someone else and made a muslin in a frightening piece of poly knit in traffic cone orange. I figured if we could see the good shape in that terrible fabric then it had great potential. Despite my reluctance to make muslins for myself I do recommend if you are not sure about a pattern or to try out the fit, and consider just the top half of the dress as that is where most of the alteration angst comes from. 

A question from my previous post on a quick knit top using Girl Charlee fabric: 

sapphire asked if I cut the fabric on an angle or was it already that way?  The fabric is printed that way, I just cut it out as a regular fabric. It was from their Anchors Away line which appears sold out but the zig zag print is very cute and I may have to try that. I have a few striped t-shirt knits but I may save them for winter tops.

And a follow up on my Vogue 1353 dress. I do like this a lot, and yes the color is fab. I tried it with a belt and actually prefer it without. I was thinking about wearing it this weekend to a birthday dinner but we are going to a new Italian restaurant, Venetian regional cuisine and I KNOW that sure as it will be hot here in July I will get some sort of spot on that solid blue dress and be so mad. Are you with me? Olive oil - tomato sauce - a wayward drop of balsamic.  Restaurants are fraught with danger! A slight obsession with spills in restaurants but at my junior prom the waiter dropped a dish of strawberry sherbet and it landed on the skirt of my white dress. Talk about teen age trauma. OK not really, as I recall I rinsed it as well as I could and carried on with the fun. It was such a cute dress, white cotton pique with cotton lace straps and lace insets at waist and hem. I would wear it today. So for this weekend I think I will wear this dress, one of my one-hit wonders which still has not seen the light of day. About time, and possibly good for hiding tomato sauce :)

Up next, a black denim jacket with a new lining technique.

Stay cool and happy sewing,  Beth