Vogue 8764

I fell hard for this pattern when I first saw it in the Vogue winter new patterns section.  I HAD TO HAVE IT!  So I was really thrilled when Vogue put the new patterns on sale so quickly...and as tired as I was last Friday I was even more excited when I opened the mailbox and found it there.

Vogue 8764

I really wanted to make this dress this past weekend.  I was even willing to throw over my other obsession (the SF Designer Interpretation) for my very own copy of this dress.  But I was tired, really tired and all I managed was to find the fabric in the collection and cut the dress out.  Wait, wait, I need to back up a minute and talk about my fabric selection - because what I ultimately used was not my first choice.  


I knew I wanted to make the dress from a ponte knit because ponte knits are my new favorite fabric to sew with...so it was a matter of finding two coordinating colors in my collection. (Yes, I have amassed a collection of ponte knits but shhhhh that's not what this post is about!)  From the very first sighting I knew that I wanted this as a two tone dress...so it was a matter of choosing.  


My first thought was to mix a solid and a print but I couldn't decide on what print and solid and how to situate them.  Print on top/solid on the bottom or the reverse...no matter how I placed them I just wasn't happy with the combinations.  So I fell back and used a bright tomato red and black combo.  I cut them out Sunday afternoon but I just wasn't feeling them, so they sat.


Then there were the pattern alterations which really weren't extensive because this is a custom fit ABCD cup bodice.  Seriously, if you haven't used one of these patterns you are really missing out!  There is a chart on the first page of the instructions that tell you where to measure to figure out what size cup bodice part you should use.

I used a smaller size bodice than skirt bottom.  I altered the skirt bottom pieces to include enough space for my abdomen which hasn't seen a flat day for the last 22 years!  However, I'm finally embracing the fact that I'm a true pear and I think that when I acknowledge that fact and incorporate it into my sewing that my dresses fit better.  With much trepidation, I cut the bodice one size smaller and as I said before the pieces sat on the sewing table while I watched Sunday night television.


Yesterday was a holiday...well for some people...not for me but I did manage to leave time on work and since the traffic was very light, I made it home in record time.  With all of that extra time and some renewed energy, I decided to baste the dress together to see how my alterations worked...I know, I know, the muslin camp is thinking, "if you had just made a dayum muslin, you would know how it fit"  yeah you're right but since that ain't happening, I basted the dayum thing together! *LOL*


Here's the result...

...pretty good, huh?  I'm thrilled!  I made one simple alteration to the skirt bottom and transferred it to the pattern piece...and then I added this ribbon trim...

Now I can't wait for the weekend to finish this up!  I did take the basting out, serged the edges of the fabric pieces and then pinned it back together...I will definitely finish this up this weekend...so stay tuned!


...as always, more later!