Vogue 8682 Snow Leopard

I finished Vogue 8682 Friday night and I'll be wearing it to work tomorrow to road test it.  So far I'm liking it very much.

I used the black and white leopard ponte that I bought during my retail therapy session last weekend.  The finished dress is soft, comfortable, and warm.  I think it will be perfect for my cold office.

This is a Very Easy Very Vogue pattern, and it was indeed easy to put together.  The skirt is princess seamed and the cross-over top has pleats in front and darts in the back.  The dress is designed for "crepe back satin, lightweight double knit, and stretch wovens."  My fabric has plenty of stretch so I cut the back bodice on the fold and eliminated the zipper.  It worked out well for me, although I did run into a little fitting issue that I think was due to my fabric choice.  More about that in a moment...

I like this pattern because it is relatively simple.  I like the vertical seams in the skirt which make fitting a breeze and are also visually slimming.  The cross over top is flattering, and unlike some other patterns, offers plenty of coverage.  The dolman sleeves are also easy to fit and mean no setting in of sleeves!

I cut a 16 from neck to hip and an 18 from hip to hem.  I made a muslin of the bodice which indicated that no FBA was needed.  However, I used cotton with no stretch for the muslin.  My fashion fabric is rather heavy and has stretch.  When I put the bodice together and tried the dress on, I found that the top was way too big.  The empire seam was halfway down my ribs and the dress looked like a bathrobe on me.  A pretty spiffy bathrobe, but a bathrobe none the less.

The sleeves were also loose and sloppy.  I had already finished the neckline by serging clear elastic to the front edges and then turning and top stitching them.  The back neck was finished with bias tape.  I was too lazy to take everything apart at that point (and worried that I would destroy the neckline if I tried) so I took the easy way and basted a new seam from neck to wrist taking the top up by about 1.25."

This snugged the bodice up and brought the under bust seam to the right place.  It also made the sleeves nice and comfortably snug so that I can now push them up and they will stay nicely.

I could probably stand to take the skirt in ever so slightly.  In fact I could have just cut a 16 all the way to the hem with this knit fabric.  But I don't mind it being loose, so I'll wait and see.  I would kind of like to try this again in a woven and see how the fit works...

With V8620 finished and in the closet, I have started my next dress project, V8742.  Here's a sneak peek:

Happy Sewing!