Vogue 1027

This dress waited in my queue far too long. I'm not sure what my holdup was. It has a ton of positive reviews on PR and Elizabeth's versions are amazing. In fact, I totally copied her brown version with this one.

The pattern is Vogue 1027. Write that down (or click the link and order). If you do not have this pattern in your collection, you neeeed it.

The dress itself is a surplice bodice with a half circle skirt, kimono sleeves and waist tie. The waist is designed to be slightly above the natural waistline, but I am high waisted, so it sits right at my waist.

And it has pockets. I have recently discovered how essential pockets are in a day dress. These could be a smidgen deeper, but they hold my keys and phone admirably while I chase kids at the park. The fabric is a lovely ITY knit that came from Gorgeous Fabrics.

The bodice is shaped with two pleats on each side, as well as the wrap. It is cut with the grain parallel to the wrap, which I think makes a big difference in a woven wrap in reducing the tendency of the bias to stretch out, but I don't think it makes a ton of difference in a knit. The pattern doesn't instruct you to stabilize the wrap fronts at all, although I think this would be a good idea. For this dress, I bound the front edges with self fabric, which I interfaced with Pro-Sheer Elegance to stabilize it. This helped tame the binding strips, but also prevents the wrap from stretching out.

The binding really turned out nicely on the neckline. The interfacing really made a huge difference. I also bound the sleeves, but that makes them a little snug, so the next time I will do a plain hem on the coverstitch.

For fit, I noted that many of the reviewers on PR felt there was excess ease in the waist particularly. I found this to be true as well. I generally cut a size 12 for my lower half, and a 10 with a large FBA for my upper half. For this dress, I cut a straight 12 and had to take in the waist 2 inches all around. It fits comfortably, but there is still about an inch of ease at the waist. I also did not remove the hem allowance on the wrap fronts when I bound them, which effectively raised the neckline 5/8 inch. The neckline is PERFECT this way. I can honestly say I have never had a wrap dress fit this well. I am thrilled.

Hmm, my turnout isn't what it once was.

The style of this dress reminds me strongly of the dresses my ballet instructors wore when I was a young thing. I found myself "dancing" through my day as I wore this dress. It's amazing the effect a dress that makes you feel pretty can have. I held my head higher, smiled more, and basically had a great day, despite the fact that I had a miserable head cold. I'm going to make a few more of these.