Another Vogue 8379 - Tropical Edition!

The second Vogue 8379 I sewed up had some improvements, and some failed experiments. See the first one here.

My first version had a slightly stretched out neckline, so for this one, I inserted clear elastic along the neckline between the main fabric and the facing. I think this is a solid idea, but I stretched the elastic a touch too much as I inserted it, so I have some resulting wrinkling along the neckline. It mostly gets stretched out by wear, but I wouldn't call it an improvement.

To combat the hard-to-ease turn-and-fold hem, I made it narrower, which also backfired. Easing a narrower hem resulted in fewer lumps and bumps of excess fabric, but also a fairly flippy hem that needs regular ironing. This is probably not helped by this being a 100% cotton jersey, as they are prone to curling.

To help with the ties crunching up, I interfaced these ones with tricot interfacing. They are definitely stabilized, but they've got no stretch now, so they can be a bit constricting about the waist.

I do like this fabric a lot, even though it also performs in a more challenging manner for this particular make. This is a Max Mara cotton jersey knit with a palm print in black and turquoise. I absolutely adore the print. This fabric is 100% cotton, so it only has 20% stretch, and it's all mechanical stretch at that.

So what would I do next time? I would make this dress again, as I love the pattern. I would select a fabric with some spandex content, so it's a bit stretchier. I would skip interfacing the ties, which just made them less stretchy. I would stabilize the neckline again, but I would not stretch the elastic as I sewed. I would try a third hem option, and create a deep hem facing to avoid both the easing issues and the flippy narrow hem issues.

As it is, this dress has become a regular in my wardrobe, in spite of its flaws. Hopefully the third time is the charm, and my next one is just right!

Skopelos Floral Vogue 8379

Every November, I think about participating in NaNoWriMo for a hot second, but I never do it. And I'm not doing it this year either! But I thought challenging myself to actually write a bit more was a good goal, so I'll be trying to actually use my blog this month. Expect to see a lot of things that have been in the rotation for quite a while.

That being said, here's my first Vogue 8379! I now have two. This one is made from an Art Gallery cotton jersey called Skopelos. It was a great fit for a wrap dress. Art Gallery jersey has a nice amount of stretch, great opacity, and a beefy drape that falls fairly smoothly over curves.

You do have to watch out a bit for curly edges, but that is pretty typical for cotton-lycra jerseys. To help with this, I used Wonder Tape to stabilize the hem. It helped hold things in place, but I still think I might change up the hem next time. This pattern is a turn and fold hem, which I usually like for knits. However, the skirt on this wrap dress is essentially a circle, so there's a fair amount of excess to ease into the hem using this method. I might try a knit facing next time.

My favorite thing about this make is the pleats you build into the bodice. They disappear a bit in the final make, but they also accommodate curves, so I didn't have to do an FBA on this dress AND it fits great!

One tricky aspect to this make - I let the neckline get stretched out a bit while sewing the facing on, which is a little difficult to avoid. You have to sew a long diagonal stretch for the neckline, and it's a little dicey trying to get the tension just right to avoid stretching anything. Once steamed and laundered a few times, it mostly went away, and the tension in the fabric from tying the wrap dress deals with any lingering issues, though.

 The only other thing that was a bit tricky was also very fun - stripe placement! I spent a while looking up striped wrap dresses online. I was originally planning to have the stripes run horizontally on the skirt, but a search of RTW striped dresses revealed that vertical skirt stripes are way more common. I went with the general consensus, and I'm very pleased. I get a lot of compliments on how the stripes are laid out on this dress. Is it a weird compliment every time? Yes. Does it make me feel like I nailed it? Also yes.