Vogue 8663 - Teal Knit Dress

These photos (much belated, I'm afraid) are of a knit dress that I made back in late January/ early February. I haven't posted them until now because I'd hoped to take better ones, but as it looks like I probably won't be taking more in the near future, I'll just let my dress form do the modeling for this post. ;-)



The pattern for this dress is Vogue 8663, from the Very Easy Vogue collection. For the fabric, I used a teal cotton/spandex knit from Spandex World, basically the same type of fabric that I used for the Jalie camisoles (the color is actually a bit darker than shown in these photos).



As simple as the dress is, I did make some changes to both the pattern's fit and construction process. First, I made my typical short waist adjustment to the pattern tissue, removing 3/4" at the lines provided. Next, when cutting the material, I used size 10 for the upper bodice and sleeves, but left a little extra room in the side seams but cutting between sizes 10 and 12 on the bodice and skirt panels. I also eliminated the center back zipper by cutting the back pieces on the fold and added several inches to the hem, as well.

When assembling the dress, my construction differed from the instruction sheet quite a bit. I wasn't so sure about finishing the neckline with woven bias tape as suggested, so I tried experimenting with a 1/4" with clear elastic. Unfortunately, it did not work well and left me with a distorted and over-stretched neck opening. In the end, I decided to pick out the elastic and salvage the dress by stitching a self-fabric band to the neckline.



Aside from the neckline, I also changed the order of the garment construction. Instead of completing the bodice side seams and setting the sleeves "in the round" before adding the skirt, I started with the shoulder seams and neckline treatment. Next, I hemmed the sleeves and set them into the armholes, leaving all the side seams open until after I added the skirt panels, so that I'd be able to stitch the sleeve seam, underarm, bodice side seam and skirt side seam in one continuous line. This sequence simplified the assembly by making it easier to maneuver the panels through my serger -- especially when setting the sleeves.

When all this was complete, I did go back and tweak the bodice fit by taking in the front of the side seams at the underarm, to eliminate a bit of bagginess. Afterward, all it needed was a bit of trimming at the hem or a more flattering length.



Standing alone it was a bit plain, so I tried accessorizing the dress with a belt as illustrated on the pattern envelope. . .



. . . which really made a difference!

All in a Day's Work

Just a few shots of a knit top I made for my sister this past Saturday. I had some extra material left over from my scarf-collar top, so I put it to good use by cutting out another top from Simplicity 4076, identical to my orange version here. Since I had found a solution to my sleeve troubles with the last shirt, it went much faster this time, and I was able complete it in an afternoon (granted, I had already cut out the pieces for it earlier in the week). It looks like this just might have become a "tried 'n' true" pattern for me. :-)