Saturday 4 August 2012

Relaxing Dress - Modified V1257 (DKNY)

"New dress, have a rest." Could be my new sewing slogan, you know...  Sounds a bit like "knit one, purl one" - and that little ditty certainly keeps the knitters going... sometimes for months! Yes, a slogan's the go - but is this the right one? Might need to think on that... maybe just here on this relaxing stone wall... I wonder if anyone would fetch me a nice little semillon if I called out "Hey, YOU" politely? 



Oh - that photo!

Yep, took me a few tries to get up here admittedly. A spot of exertion makes a little rest all the more enjoyable though, doesn't it?



I AM on my lunch break, you cheeky so and so!  And no one has fetched me a glass of anything, so I will be absolutely fine to go back to work shortly. In a little while. When the sun moves...




















Alright, alright.  Coming.  I CAN take a hint, you know! 

 
And there is absolutely no need to poke me in the eye with an M.

It is not propping me up. 

I am awake. 

The hat? Louis Vuitton-style. Made it myself, just used some Picasa that we had lying around.


A close-up? OK, but I have to get back to work now.  Be professional. You know what I mean!



So. It's becoming evident to me that Ms Karan is designing for curvy, shapely women. The bodices on her recent patterns gape on me, but regular Vogues fit me in this area...

The approximate fit you see on the left here was achieved by removing a reasonable chunk of length from the overlapping left and right front bodice pieces, but a proper SBA would have been better. I didn't remove as much as was really needed because when I discovered the problem I'd already made the pleats and lined the front pieces, and taking out more length would have taken away the pleats.













Anyway.  Good enough.

So. I gather V1257 would be more popular amongst sewists were it not for its surprisingly constrictive sleeve design and superfluous toggle. My modifications were as follows*:
  1. replace constrictive cut-on sleeves with normal sleeves - also shortened due to fabric limitations
  2. remove toggle and all toggle-related steps
  3. add full lining to bodice and skirt using made up process which I doubt I could document
  4. removed length from front centre bodice (left and right pattern pieces) as a last minute dodgy SBA.

*When I'm feeling more awake I may post more information on these changes on PatternReview.  

The result is encouraging - imperfect but perfectly wearable, merino wool + stretch lining warm, charmingly green and of course, very friendly - the sort of dress that encourages people to smile at you. 

Below are some photos taken on the dummy - more of those poses against the sky that I like so much, which you can compare with the original pattern envelope photo. I hope these clarify the modifications I made to the pattern. I know they'll also make it abundantly clear that I need to use an overlocker to clean up the insides of my clothes!


 



 




Dodgy SBA, version 1

You've probably noticed all these photos have words on them, and some also have silly decorations.  There are two reasons for this - the first is that I recently noticed Tumblr in my blog stats as one of my top traffic sources (and obviously if images are being taken from this blog I'd like their ownership to remain identifiable), and the second is just for fun.  I hope it doesn't look too naff!

Finally, I've got some overlocker news to share - I bought one on eBay! Unfortunately it was quite a disappointment.  Contrary to its representation on eBay, it just doesn't work. I've taken it to my local sewing macine repair shop today and they were confident they'd be able to fix the problem (something's locked up and the handwheel can't move and neither can the other bits attached to the handwheel), so hopefully there'll be some good news within a week.

20 comments:

  1. How about - new frock, run amok! :) Love the colour of the dress and good call I think to remove the toggle. Wearable is good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah - and that one rhymes!

      Thanks; I'm loving the colour too, and enjoying seeing quite a bit of green around lately (clothes I mean).

      Delete
  2. Shame you didn't try the "Hey, you!"...you could have spent a lovely afternoon there.

    Dress looks gorgeous, love the colour. Great idea to change the sleeves. I wonder if the original had the same sleeve problems or if it was just a drafting problem at Vogue?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe - even though it looks like a nice spot there are too many busy roads around for it to really be an ideal afternoon spot. And it's too close to the office for comfort too...

      Yes, I have no idea what was intended vs planned with the sleeves...

      BTW I finally got to the PO last week.

      Delete
  3. Love the new dress and the color! You did such a beautiful job on the front pleats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, but the insides really are a disgrace :-)

      Delete
  4. The dress looks great on you. I have not tried lining merino knit, but am now inspired to do so, the dress has such nice drape, and the colour is gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I wasn't sure if lining the dress was the right thing to do as it wasn't part of the pattern - and I wasn't sure whether this was the right sort of lining to use. It does seem to be working well though. It does add a good amount of weight to this rather light merino and also keeps me extra cosy and stops the dress clinging to my tights.

      Delete
  5. I never would have recognized your dress as Vogue 1257. My version of that pattern was a throw away, but yours looks great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Audrey! This dress was trickier than I expected - I thought knits were quick???

      BTW I love your recent V1316 - it looks fantastic on you!

      Delete
  6. Love the dress - those pleats at the front at really practical AND flattering. That green fabric isn't the artichoke green wool from tessuti is it? I have some that looks identical to this, funnily enough it's also a DKNY dress (bit of a UFO though, it's been sitting in a bag waiting for a hemming job for a loooong time)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Melanie! The fabric is a merino wool knit from The Fabric Store. From memory I think it's close in colour to the green merino top you wore on your travels = THE green garment that convinced me I needed a green garment of my own :-).

      Ha, hemming. I just took 2 weeks to finish off something - so illogical!

      Delete
  7. Your dress turned out lovely. I am really liking all of these jewel colours around at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I love these colours too - regardless of whether they look OK on or not I want to wear them all!

      Delete
  8. Hey great dress. Looks so easy to wear. The colour is perfect. The front looks lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bernice - it's a bit loose on the bodice but no dangers a little singlet can't withstand :-).

      Delete
  9. I really like this dress, and the cute pictures too of course!! I am sorry to hear about your non-working new overlocker too .... fingers crossed that it is fixed and humming along in no time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Emily! I'm really lucky to have a colleague with an interest in photography (and in taking scenic walks).

      My overlocker seems to be all fixed now, thanks for your finger crossing! I now have to work it out - complex beasts aren't they!

      Delete
  10. What a lovely dress, it drapes so beautifully and I love the fresh colour. You are ready for spring!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Carolyn! I think the lining is helping with the drape as this is otherwise quite a clingy knit - it's nice to occasionally get this sort of detail right. Yes, and Spring feels like it's just about here - how's Perth?

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...