Vogue 8723

Flower tutorial link added below.


Pattern Description:

MISSES' DRESS: A, B: Lined, fitted bodice and side seam pockets. A, B, C, D cup sizes:


FABRICS: A: Double Border Print Fabrics. B: Cotton Shirting, Linen, Gingham.

Pattern Sizing:
Combinations: (8-10-12-14-16), (16-18-20-22)
I made a 10 with the A cup.

EASY?
Yes. No surprises here.


Fabric?

This dress is made in fabulous Pink Swiss Dot and cost about $15 to make!.
It is fully lined with hand stitched finishing.


Notes on pattern:
Lengthened two inches as we are tall people over here. The dress as is hits mid knee length.
It might run just a tad large, just a tiny bit. If I make it again I might try one size down in a muslin and see what happens. It depends on your preferences. I like dresses just a little roomy, some people like them very snug. If you are a snug person, I would recommend making a muslin and maybe go down one size. Bear in mind that snug dresses pull on the zipper and can make it look bad, especially where the gathered waist meets the bodice. Just a thought.

One thing I wanted to mention is that the shoulder straps are cut at an angle. When you are ready to put the dress on and adjust the straps to sew them permanently into the front, mark or pin and then make sure when you sew it in, that the slanted edge is parallel to the seam allowance. This makes the strap slightly longer on one edge than the other, which fits the human body better than just sewing both edges the same length. Use lots of pins to hold it when sewing it in...


Conclusion:
This dress is sweet.

Created my own embellishments like this:

Flower embellishment:
Free form cut two flowers, one large and one small, from interfaced fabric. I made mine with rough petal shapes of 5. Even numbers generally look strange, so 3, or 5 would be OK. I did 5, ala Fibonacci.
You can, but don't have to, since it is interfaced, sew around all the edges of the flower shapes. Take the small flower and fold in half and then half again. Stitch over the pointy end to secure it. Now you can do it two ways. The faster would be to now position the smaller flower center, you just made, on the larger flower shape at high center. Look at it artistically to what you want it to look like. Now fold up a bit of the lower part of the large flower to cover the pointy stitched end of the center and stitch a small row of stitches, just long enough to hold and cover the center. On some you might secure it with a satin stitch. I used a small oval in the center of some.
-OR- you can sew the pointy end to the larger flower first and then fold the larger flower pleat and sew that up separately over the small center flower, but that adds another step. Now choose just a few flowers to put something special on, like a vintage button or bead. Think about the feeling you want to create. I wanted sort of a pinkish translucent raindrop for mine.
Picture Tutorial
Flower Embellishment Tutorial

Remember, you want it to look somewhat natural. So dimension is key. I wouldn't sew it all down flat, unless that is the look you are going for.
Sew each flower to the bodice, with a small square of the same interfaced fabric you made the flower, from behind it for stability. Now, when you sew the lining by hand down inside the bodice, the stitching for the flowers will be inside between the garment and the lining and will not show inside the garment or touch the skin. There! So that's how I did it. If I get time later I might take a few pics for that - but it is really easy and up to your own personal interpretation. Just trust yourself...


Photo Set

Pattern Review

DSCN2106, originally uploaded by Terri's Sewing Room.