The holy grail

Not really the holy grail, a perfect fitting pants pattern is probably the holy grail, but when it's your intention to sew your wardrobe and you are over 25, the perfect knit wrap dress pattern is up there.

The gold standard: DVF

image via Pinterest

Iconic. Flattering. Seasonless. Classic. 

And spendy. Silk jersey is gorgeous and costly, and once I get it perfect I plan to invest in some, but we aren't there quite yet.  Enter Vogue 8379.

117 sewers made and reviewed this pattern on Pattern Review and it was an excellent place to start. With some $5/yard poly knit from the bargain bin at Hancocks, I began my quest. 

Most of the reviewers found the skirt much too full and removed various amounts of width. I took their advice and folded  a good 18 inches out of my skirt pattern pieces. 

I cut out the smallest size, adjusted for my small bust, per usual, and pinched a tiny bit from the shoulder seams.Since this was a "test dress" I stabilized the neck edge with clear elastic and folded it over instead of using the facing pieces. This was a fairly quick project and I mostly used my serger for construction.

The finished skirt turned out to be still too full for my taste. I tapered the side seams some more, and messed around with the front edges, which turned out to be a mistake. Instead of hanging straight from the waist, they angle in a little bit.  

Here's where I ended up.

As you can see, my belt is WAY to short. The fabric had a border print running down each edge that I had to remove, so I ran short, literally. The top part is great, perfect really, but I'm just not loving the skirt.  It's not a wadder by any means and I'll be wearing it, but the search for a better pattern will go on.  The DVF inspiration dress is straight, which I think  is more flattering but it doesn't have any bodice pleats, which is a feature I do love about Vogue 8379. I'll always take a little boost in the bust.

Hmmm.... What about this?

The Style Arc Kate dress. Straight-ish skirt with no waist- check. Bust pleats- check. Surely the collar and cuff pieces that I love from the Vogue pattern can be made to work with this one.

 I haven't tried any Style Arc patterns yet, but have read many glowing reviews about their fit. It might be time to finally place an order. If you have any experience or advice to share regarding Style Arc, I would love to hear it. 

Quick and comfy dress

This blackish/grayish lightweight linen has been languishing in my fabric stash for over a year. It was meant to be any number of things, but met its destiny in Vogue 8786.

I'm a little distrustful of patterns that only include sketches on the envelope. Kind of like learning after buying a Paula Deen cookbook that she was so rushed to get it finished  she just made up some of the recipes without ever testing them. Why would you admit that?

This pattern looked so simple, and the fabric was so old that I considered it free, so it didn't feel like too much of a risk. 

Because the fit was super un-structured and the fabric was so plain, it needed some kind of detail.  The shoulder seams extended into cap sleeves, which is a design element I don't necessarily love. I chose to finish the edges with self-bias, round the corners and add decorative shell buttons. I extended the bias into a little loop at the back for a closure. Here are closeups of the shoulder and back detail.

I made some fit adjustments at the side seams to give it a little bit of shape, and top stitched all the seams except for the sides with a double needle. It is a very subtle detail but it really adds a nice level of finishing to the dress. 

This little dress is perfect for work but could just as easily go to the beach. I love it.