Vogue 8995 - The Start of the Journey

I knew I wanted to sew this pattern as soon as it appeared online.

Especially since it reminded me of Vogue 8799 which I made in August 2012...though I was never thrilled with my interpretation. I mean I finished the dress and wore it then and again last summer, but it really wasn't the silhouette I wanted.  The line drawing above is the silhouette I was attempting to create.

So for this version, I couldn't decide if I wanted a black and white combo or a single color with some type of embellishment.  I finally decided that I wanted my dress to say spring! So I chose a lt. spring green linen that had been in the collection for awhile and some white piping to embellish the seams.

Pattern Alterations ~
I know making a muslin is very popular in the home sewing community but I hate making muslins.  Hey, just my point of view.  So I made pattern alterations by using my TNT dress pattern as a basis for checking the pattern pieces.

Back Pattern Pieces:
I started with the back pieces first.  I'm presently using a 4 piece back on my TNT dresses for a better fit. So I used my TNT back pieces to check the Vogue back pattern pieces. I ended up making a few small changes to the Vogue pieces.

1.  I decreased the shoulder seam pattern on each piece by 1/2".
2.  I added an inch from the waistline to the hemline of the back side seam.
3.  This was done to match my TNT pattern and to insure it would fit.

Those were the only changes I made.

Front Pattern Pieces:
This is where it got interesting. How to enlarge the pieces without losing the design silhouette?  Of course I started by laying the pattern pieces on top of my TNT dress pattern.

• There are four pattern pieces that make up the front of the dress and after laying them on my TNT dress front I had to decide how to alter each piece to make them work.
• My first thought was not to add any inches to the center insert. On the pattern envelope those center front seams curve, however, if you look at the line drawer above, those seams are straight. I decided to go with the straight version because it gave me some space and was a simple space addition to the pattern. 
• The second piece I worked with was the top bodice piece because I only had to change the shoulder shape to match the change I made to the back piece.
• The bottom skirt piece was next because it only needed width added at the center front seam.
• The piece that presented the most challenge was the waist insert. Of course it was because besides my bustline that's where I carry the most weight. I made several alterations to the pattern and just couldn't decide if the changes would work. So since I have five yards of fabric, I cut the pattern piece both ways...extra large and medium large.

Smaller version of the waist insert

Larger version of the waist insert

I decided I would baste the dress front pieces together and the piece that worked best would be the one that I'd use. Fine piece of pattern altering that was - NOT! But I was getting beyond my spacial abilities. I just couldn't see how the pieces would work together and I'd rather have cut out two versions of the piece and switch out whichever one worked best.

After working with the pattern I decided that I wanted to make the short sleeve version of the dress, so the sleeve pattern also had to be altered to work with my bodacious biceps.

• That was accomplished by making a pattern sandwich ~ my TNT sleeve pattern, then the Vogue 8995 sleeve pattern piece which I sliced and spread then a piece of tracing paper to make the new sleeve.  
• This way I didn't alter the sleeve cap on the original pattern piece and the sleeve would still fit into the armhole.  
• I just gave the sleeve width and additional length so that it would work for my body.

Pattern Sandwich

Sleeve traced

Finished sleeve

After all of this ~ which btw took most of the day, I moved onto cutting the fabric.  Cutting and construction will be in the next post.

...as always more later!