Color-blocked Maxidress

Vogue 8575

(click on photos to see larger views)

I fell in love with this photo in the February/March issue of Vogue Patterns magazine.

It uses Vogue 8575, which is out of print but is still available on the Vogue website. I chose to use View F, lengthened.

After a small amount of stashdiving and some online surfing to get a color combo that I liked, I sat right down and made this maxi:

Fabrics: Slinky knit fabric from stash, Fashion Fabrics Club, and from Fabrics World USA.

 Fabrics World USA is an unlikely site for me, since it is rife with misspellings and contextual oddities, but it had the color I wanted, or so I thought. I had never used them before. I ordered using Paypal, which I thought was a safe route for an unknown site. The fabrics were nice, the price was good, and I got my order within 3 days of placing it. All in all, I had a positive experience with Fabrics World USA.


Here are some more photos:

I just finished the dress an hour or so ago and will let it hang for a day or so before hemming it, because sometimes slinky knit likes to grow.

Here are the changes that I made to the pattern:

1. Cut a size 8 in the shoulders and bodice down to the armscye, grading out to a size 12.
2. Lengthened the skirt and cut the skirt pattern pieces as directed in the Vogue Pattern Magazine article. I didn't like the sleeves as shown because I thought they were heavy, and that the wide dark band at the elbow would widen the silhouette. Plus, I love wearing sleeveless garments.
   
   
   
3. Made tucks instead of gathers in the bust.
4. Lengthened the center front piece by 2 inches and added a bust dart to the side front piece for the bust correction I needed.
5. Stabilized the front opening, back neckline, shoulder seams and armholes with clear elastic.
6. Widened the belt and the front bodice inset by 1 1/2 inches to make it more dramatic. I thought the original belt was too skinny for the maxi look.
7. Lengthened the belt pattern piece to 62 inches.
8. Completely self-lined the bodice, enclosing the armholes in the lining so that I didn't have to do the "turn under and stitch" thing. This gave the garment finish a much cleaner look.

I think I'm really going to love wearing this dress. It has the summertime criteria of being comfortable, easy to wash and made with happy colors.