Thursday, September 21, 2017

Aztec Print Linen Dress: Vogue 9253

I'm pretty sure Vogue 9253 was declared The Dress of summer 2017, right? It was absolutely everywhere, in part due to the contest that McCall's was having in August. I totally missed the contest until it was over, and just happened to coincidentally be working on the pattern at the same time. Mine might be a bit unrecognizable though, since I made so many changes! I have a lot of notes about alterations, so scroll to the end if you want to read those.

Vogue 9253

The idea for this dress started when I saw a similar one on TV. I put out a request on IG for someone to find me a pattern like the dress I saw. My husband has a work event for us to attend this weekend and it's basically my only chance to dress up (think wedding attire). I wanted to make a dress and ended up purchasing Vogue 9253 and McCall's 7315.


The McCall's pattern had the handkerchief hem and was sleeveless, like my inspiration dress; the Vogue pattern had the deep V neckline. I had recently purchased this amazing black and white print linen from The Fabric Store and was desperate to use it before summer was over. Isn't it dreamy?

Vogue 9253

After lots of waffling, I decided on the Vogue pattern. There are so many beautiful ones on IG, check out the hashtag if you don't believe me!


I didn't have enough fabric to completely match up the back, but it's close enough for me. The skirt does match well though, considering.


Sewing the dress is pretty straightforward. There are pleats in the front bodice and skirt, and darts in the back. A regular zipper is inserted and there are double-turned hems.

Vogue 9253

Alterations

I made a quick muslin bodice of the smallest size (Vogue patterns always run large for me) and it fit well with letting out the side seams just a touch. I did find the sleeves to be overwhelmingly long. I did not want the skirt to be midi length (I hate that length and I did not have enough fabric anyway). I made the following changes to my paper pattern before cutting:
  • Removed 6" from the skirt (really!). I'm 5'4" and I estimated that would put it close to knee length (see unhemmed photo below). I took out 3" at the L/S line and 3" somewhere in the lower portion.
  • Shortened sleeves 8" (really!).
  • Reduced SA under the arms, tapering to the waist, to 1/4" (adjusted skirt portion at waistline accordingly).
  • I chose not to make the tie or add pockets.
That left me with this look:


Even after removing all that length from all over, the dress still overwhelmed me. I was drowning in it, and the linen wasn't draping quite enough to make up for the volume. The sleeves felt like wings. I ended up making additional changes:
  • Added back in the SA I removed from the bodice/skirt.
  • Removed 4" more from the skirt hem.
  • Cut off the sleeves and drew in an armscythe (used the above McCall's pattern). Finished the armholes with bias tape.
After those changes, I no longer feel like the dress is swallowing me. It's cute and fun. The "make it work" fixes are not perfect, the skirt now hangs in a weird way and the armholes are tight. But going from what I had to this is way better than leaving it wadded up in the WIP pile! A fabric with better drape would have made this project more successful. It also would be amaaaazing in a knit and you could leave out the zipper (I could almost squeeze it on in this woven without a zipper).


Now about that neckline...

I know everyone is thinking the same thing about this pattern. The neckline is SO low, can I change it? Yes, you can. It's as simple as putting the front bodice pieces RST and sewing them up, OR overlapping it at CF. It does pull the fabric across the front but for me personally it didn't affect fit too drastically. Post three breastfed babies I'd say I fall into the saggy C-cup range these days, for reference (and TMI). I'm wearing a lightly padded bra and I'm still not sure it fits my bust correctly. That could be my fault with sewing the pleats, I'd much rather there was a dart. There are two pleats on each side so getting it all perfectly placed and symmetrical was a challenge.

As drafted, the V-neck cuts all the way beneath the bust to the waist seam. I raised the neckline 2". It's still pretty revealing and my bra is only just hidden. I tried it bra-less and for me it's a no-go (see above saggy reference!). I spent five years with my boobs basically out all the time, nursing babies, so I've gotten much more comfortable with my body over the last few years. I love the way I look in this but it does take confidence to rock this much cleavage. On the flip side, I wouldn't judge anyone for making it more modest. You do you! That's the best part of sewing our own clothes, right? And obviously, you could wear a cami underneath.

Vogue 9253

And by the way, in the interest of full disclosure, I ended up deciding that the dress is a little too summery for our event, and just a little too casual for pairing with my husband's suit. So for now, it'll go in the closet and hopefully come out next summer! Somebody I know have a summer wedding, okay?

Looking for a great way to plan your sewing projects? Save 15% on all versions of A Sewist's Notebook with the code LULU15. Expires today! Click "About the Book" for more info!


2 comments:

  1. I love the sleeveless version!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very likely I’m going to bookmark your blog . You absolutely have wonderful stories. Cheers for sharing with us your blog. linen dress

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to comment below.

Newsletter sign up

.