Vogue 7271 - Maximized

After I made Vogue 7271, I knew I would make it again because I always saw it as a maxi dress. I even pulled a couple of fabric contenders...but there were other patterns and more garments to make, so it took me a minute to circle back around to this pattern. I'm just happy that I did before the summer ended.

Supplies ~
1/2 yard of white ponte that was gifted to me for my birthday
Black/White/Grey rayon from the fabric collection via Fabric Mart
22" white invisible zipper

Pattern and Construction Info. ~
The first thing is that I made the corrections to the pattern pieces from the alterations I made to the first dress.  Then I cut the bodice out of the white ponte fabric.

These are the alterations made to the bodice:
- added an inch to the bodice of the dress 2" below the armhole to lengthen it from the weird empire length of the original version. This was done to the front and back bodice pieces.

- raise the front and back darts 1/2" to make up for the additional length added to the bodice

- scooped out of the neckline 5/8" to make it a little deeper because it felt tight when I tried the dress on

- added small darts in the armholes to ease out excess fabric

- because I used a knit fabric for the bodice I took the side seams in an additional 1/4" so that the top fit closer to my bustline.

- added bias binding to the neckline and armholes to finish them

The second thing is that I didn't use the skirt pieces for the maxi portion of the dress. 

The skirt was cut from the rayon print:
1. I cut two pieces of fabric 43" long and the entire width of the fabric - 54"

2. After I had two pieces, I cut one piece in half lengthwise.

3. The three pieces were serge finished.

4. Then the two shorter pieces were sewn on either side of the main piece to form the side seams.

5. To gather the top seam, I used my favorite method - zig zagging over dental floss. Then the dental floss was gathered, spreading the gathering equally around the skirt.

6. I used lots of pins to hold the gathered skirt to the bodice

7. The bodice and skirt were carefully stitched together. The seam was pressed down into the skirt and the gathers were pressed flat.

8. I cut 2" off the hem after I let the dress hang for a week allowing the rayon fabric to grow. Hemmed the dress with a 1" hem allowance and three rows of stitching.

A few pictures of the finished dress ~

Dress without the ribbon belt

Dress worn with a RTW cardigan

Conclusion ~
Due to the fact that my photographer has been very busy this summer, I wore this prior to blogging about it.  So here is the wearability report. I wore it on a really hot and humid day and it was perfect both inside the office and while moving around outside. I love the flow and the width of the rayon skirt. Using the ponte for the top gave me a close but comfortable fit. I've photographed it with & without a black grosgrain ribbon, however, I didn't wear the ribbon to work.

This year I really wanted several full flowy skirted maxi dresses. This dress more than fulfills my desire, especially since I can feel the difference when wearing the two different styles. If I get a chance to make another maxi dress before the summer ends, it will be another flowy skirt kind. I've really loved wearing these maxi dresses this summer and would like a few more.

...as always more later!