Needless to say, Jess doesn't own such a dress - until now. She was going to buy a RTW dress ($199) but it meant that I would have to take it in and hem etc. Making her this dress was the simplest, cheapest thing to do - not to mention I love sewing for Jess.
In my stash found this beautiful 100% wool fabric from Agnona (part of the Zegna group) so this suiting fabric is amazing. Purchased when on sale for 50% off and was just waiting for the right occasion to use this beautiful fabric. Sorry the picture is a bit light - should be darker in colour - dark grey but at least you can visualise the texture of the fabric.
The dress she found for $199.00 is very similar to Vogue 8511, which I've made twice before. This was the perfect choice. Sad to see it is now Out of Print.
Alterations: Found that the front bodice was quite roomy for her and didn't sit flat on her chest, so I sewed a size 6 and fitted her properly by taking in the princess seams for a perfect fit. Also, altered the paper pattern for future use. I should have remembered this as the first V8511 dress was made when she was away in Canberra and all I used was her body dummy - fit was perfect.
Bagged the bodice top but underlined the skirt and sleeves. Found the sleeves to be a bit roomy so took a good 3cm out the whole length of the sleeve. Also, didn't like the gathering so removed this by altering the sleeve head. Conclusion - I had to fiddle a bit getting the sleeves to fit - needed to take out more fabric but in the end, it worked out.
I much prefer to have sleeves with 2 parts to them - like they do in jackets. I wonder if this is possible in dresses or are they cut in one piece. Would love to find out what your thoughts are as I think a sleeve block for Jess is in order, for future dresses.
Of course, she wore this with a black belt. Am currently taking this dress up above the knees - for next time she needs that office look.
Jess loves this pattern, so much so that she's asked for an evening dress - no sleeves and longer for a formal night at uni later in the year. Hmm still thinking of the design and definitely the fabric will play a big part in the look. The back would be a 'V' quite low - oh well, another project in the pipeline to think about. I'll just add this to The List.
