Happy ! Vogue 8944 Color-Blocked dress with pattern fitting details

Happy! just like that song that is stuck in my head.  A great song and a dress that I am so happy with. Sometimes the fabric, color, and style combine to make something that I really feel great about. I have already worn this once and I know it will get a lot of outings. Even though it is quite memorable.



Both fabrics are wool crepe. I love wool crepe! While it doesn't stretch it has a lot of body, tailors beautifully and the colors available are fantastic. Don't be afraid to use it for any season. Here is a older post showing a dress I made ages ago in wool crepe that I often wear in the summer.
The pink fabric is something I purchased at a sewing guild sale, maybe paid $ 3 for two yards. It had a smattering of small holes but they were near the edge so I could cut around them.  The black is a leftover piece from this dress and the pink lining I bought ages ago at a garage sale. (also used the pink lining for this jacket) and I still have more. Score! Perhaps my delight in this dress is influenced by the fact that I spent so little. But between us sewers - you know that is half the fun sometimes.

If you think this simple dress was just a cut and sew...Nope.  A very expert sewer recently remarked that the simplest things often take the most adjustment because they need to fit perfectly and I agree. Not to discourage you, the adjustments were not monumental, just a lot for a simple design.

Here is the photo from the Vogue website when the pattern came out, and the pattern envelope.

I am not crazy about the fit on the model. or it could be the way she is standing, but perhaps this dress is exhibiting my nemesis - excess back bodice length. 

Here is a look at it on my dress form. I chose not to add a third color because a) I didn't have any other small pieces of wool crepe that complemented and b) a sewing group I belong to was having the end of the year lunch with the theme of "two" or "twice". So I figured fabric twice used, in two colors. 

Ok, let's talk about fitting. Based on my experience with another Vogue pattern last year (V1353), I thought that the front might not fit exactly as I wanted it to right out of the envelope. That seaming could be problemmatic so I did make a muslin of the bodice portion. Maybe I am shrinking in height but lately everything seems too long in the neck and shoulders, or too wide and gaping. For dresses with a fitted neckline I should probably start with a size 8 or 10 pattern and then alter the body for circumference but I am too lazy and either way I would be doing a lot of fitting so I will stick with a 12 to start and go from there. 

Here is the back bodice piece from my finished muslin so you can see the majority of alterations I did to this pattern. The front has the equivalent changes (reshape armhole, pull up at shoulders, raise underarm, take in at sides)

So kind of a lot for a dress with just 4 pattern pieces. Here is the bodice upper front piece, most of the changes mirror the back bodice piece, but I did give more room across that center horizontal seam, sewing at 3/8" tapering to the normal 5/8" at the side. That gave a bit more length across the front bodice although I did raise the skirt waist there just a little bit. I could probably take it in another 1 inch at the waist, but it felt fine when I wore it the other day so I will skip that. A very fitted waist can look good standing up but after sitting a bit there are too many creases for my liking.

My main pet peeve with patterns that have a sleeveless and sleeved version is that the armhole is so clunky in the sleeveless version. I always reshape it, usually moving it in as I did here. Even though I pulled it up at the shoulders note that I raised the underarm by 1/2".  Kind of a good item to do as a general rule, if it makes the armhole too high them you can lop it off but it is often needed.  By the way, no changes in the skirt. 

Lest you think I never have a boo boo I have one thing I need to fix. I was so careful with the zipper so that the color portions meet perfectly at the center but the alignment is off by just a few millimeters. And it will make me crazy. So I wore it on Monday but now I will take that portion apart and fix it.  Here is the lining, which I always make a smidge bigger than the dress (about one inch) just or comfort and movement. So it looks a bit droopy. I had to do the color block on the lining as well since it might show just a tiny bit on the edge if I had done all black or all pink. 

More sewing happiness.  This is one of my favorite colors.

Happy Mother's day weekend and sewing happiness to all,  

Beth

Today's SunnyGal garden photo - it has to be this one. I get mixed up on my rose names, and this one is possibly called Lipstick which seems like a great name. Luscious.