Vogue 9251 wrap-over dress

 

Wedding outfits are always a dilemma and sewing your own is no exception to this! When my elder daughter’s best friend made the happy announcement she was getting married in the summer I started planning (in my head) straight away!

As I mentioned in my previous Simple Sew blog, by about May it was going to be the Lizzie pattern in a particular fabric but then the supplier was no longer going to provide us with said fabric so it was back to the drawing board.

I made a trip to Goldhawk Road in London in early June and Classic Textiles came up trumps with a silky crepe de chine in several lovely botanical prints which necessitated a game of eeny, meeny, miny, mo to choose between them (very scientific!) I settled on a silvery grey background with a variety of flowers on and I bought some very soft slipper satin lining to go under it.

I didn’t want to use the Lizzie after all because it would break up the design into too many pieces so I opted, after quite a bit of research using The Foldline’s pattern database, on Vogue 9251. I chose it over the Eve from Sew Over It because I liked the front and back darts on the bodice instead of gathering and I preferred the flutter sleeves too-I couldn’t quite work out on the SOI one whether the sleeves dipped oddly at the back or not. Anyway, I didn’t want to do it just because everyone else was and Vogue have always been extremely good patterns. By using a very simple wrap over style it would show off the print nicely, not all ‘chopped up’. It has a full-length version too with simple short sleeves.

I chose to make a test version in stash fabric first just to be sure about fit and whether the style suited me. It’s a Vogue “Easy” pattern and it’s very straight forward-cutting out the toile wasn’t too tricky but I did have to spend a long time cutting the crepe de Chine later because it’s soooo slippery and having a one way design meant I wanted to get the flowers matching horizontally on each piece as much as possible. I wouldn’t advise a total novice using this fabric, I had a lot of fun and games with it and I’ve sewn forever!

I chose the size according to my measurements increasing slightly at the waist and I’m really happy with the fit. Obviously a wrap-over is pretty forgiving size-wise but you don’t want it much too big because it will be all gapey at the front which is never flattering. 

Help was at hand as you see!

There’s a lot of hemming to do around the skirt and flutter sleeves so I used my new rolled hem foot for my Pfaff but I really struggled with it. I just couldn’t seem to get the knack of it. I persevered and it’s just about acceptable if you don’t look too closely, I don’t know if it was too much of a curve or not enough but I must practice more! I just wasn’t happy with it on the crepe de Chine so in the end I reverted to making a pin-hem which was long winded and still not as good as I’d like but there’s an element of me being uber-critical as time was running out. [I did a test of the rolled hem finish on my overlocker too but decided it wasn’t smart enough on this particular fabric] As I’ve mentioned, cutting out the slippery fabric probably meant it had shifted a bit on the table in the process-it’s always going to be difficult if you have to use your dining table and not one specifically for the purpose.

You might find the side seams droop down a little so if this bothers you, and you’re not up against the clock like I was, then leave the dress to hang for a day or two and then level the bottom off before hemming it. You could do this on your dress stand (dummy) if you have one, or measure consistently from the waist down using a tape measure.

The pattern calls for the neck edge to be finished with bias-binding, which is what I did on the first version although I made my own from the fabric rather than buy ready made. The crepe de chine is very thin and quite sheer so I’d bought slipper satin to line it with. I cut the bodice exactly the same and bagged it out, then under-stitched the edge-take great care not to stretch this edge because it will go baggy, stay stitch the edge first or use iron-on tape if the fabric is sturdy enough. The skirt was the same except much shorter, about knee length as you can see in the photo. 

This is the finished dress turned inside out so that you can see how I lined it.

For extra security I used a clear press stud at the wrap-over point and made lingerie straps on the shoulders too, using narrow ribbon and press studs.

So that the lining didn’t flap about and show I slip-stitched the edge of it to the top layer some of the way down.

All ready for the off! I got the hat less than a week before the wedding (half price in John Lewis) the shoes and bag I already had.

After all the boiling hot weather we’ve had in the UK over the last few weeks it changed and was a bit cooler and really blustery on the day of the wedding. I was a bit concerned that I’d lose my hat and my skirt would blow up around my neck but that didn’t happen thankfully! A hat pin helps!

I really like this pattern, it’s really comfortable to wear and the wrap-over covers well although a press stud always helps. I think I’ll make more of this style as it’s a fairly quick make and is quite beginner friendly if you don’t use a super-slippy fabric like I did, just something with a bit of drape. The sleeve shape is very pretty, and did I mention it has pockets?

Don’t overlook the ‘big four’ pattern companies when you’re choosing a pattern because Vogue in particular have always offered fashion-forward styles, often by top designers, and you don’t necessarily need to be a very experienced sewer to get a good result. [Even better if they’re on a half-price offer!]

Happy Sewing,

Sue