Muse - Final

I started making my Muse dress interpretation with Vogue 8805, which I've obsessed over since it was released in 2012. I've even blogged about it a couple of times here. I thought I'd have to make several alterations to the pattern but after I finally located it in the sewing cave, I saw that I'd already altered the front pattern pieces.

See even though I really wanted to make this pattern, I'd never found the "right" fabrics to emulate the Preen designer dress I admired. Since I'm never lacking for an idea to sew/create, after awhile I just moved on and totally forgot what work I'd done with the pattern.

So some stats:
Fabric ~
Black pleather originally purchased from Sawyer Brook
Blue cotton ponte purchased from Mood NYC
Black 'n white cotton from the collection - I honestly don't remember where this came from.

Notions ~
18" gold zipper from Pacific Trimmings
bias binding
stitch witchery

Pattern Alterations:

• Originally I used my TNT dress pattern to alter the pattern pieces.
• To get the look of the original dress, there was one additional alteration to make to the pattern front. It was for the blue color band on the front of the dress.  I made the center of the band 3" with a 5/8" seamline on the top and bottom of the pieces. (see pics below)  
• I also added 2" to the hemline of the sleeve.
• I added a 5/8" seamline to the center back pattern piece - to change it from a cut on fold back piece.
• The middle and bottom pieces were taped together to form one pattern piece.

Pattern Alteration Pics:

Dress front with width added 

and line drawn to cut off the band

Band cut off and 5/8" seam allowances added to both pieces

Connecting the middle and lower bands together

 to form one dress front piece

Construction Techniques:

• I changed the back of the dress from a loop and button closing to a zippered closure. 
• That meant adding a center back seam to the dress' back pattern pieces.
• My zipper choice was a gold plated one that I'd picked up from Pacific Trimmings. I don't really like the exposed zippers with the zipper tape on the outside of a garment. So I only exposed the teeth from the zipper.
• Because of the pleather used in the top of the garment, I installed the zipper by hand...exposing the amount of zipper teeth that I wanted...yet not having to worry about machine stitching through the pleather.
• I've lost 30 lbs in the last year and that means that my TNT dress is a little large on me. So the original pattern alterations I made were for a dress a lot looser than I wanted. I ended up sewing one inch side seams, trying the dress on, and then taking in another 1/2 inch.
• The dress' shape is still boxy but it doesn't look like I'm wearing the wrong size.
• The dress is unlined.  The pattern doesn't call for a lining and for once I followed the pattern. I will wear a slip with the dress.
• The neckline is finished with a bias tape finish. After some internal debate I went with some stitch witchery to hold it flat and then I hand stitched the bias binding down.
• Since the yoke forms the sleeves and I've made it in pleather, I've opted to leave the sleeve hems unfinished. There's no need to do anything to them since the pleather won't fray.
• The dress hem has stitch witchery in it but I also added a line of machine stitching to the hem.

Construction Pics:

Dress front sewn together

Gold zipper pinned into the dress back

Dress back and yoke assembled

Inserting the binding around the neckline 

...with the handstitching to hold it flat

A few more pics of the dress:

Conclusion:

I like the finished dress. It's a little edgy ~ hey anything with pleather on the top and the sleeves ain't exactly corporate ~ the black and white ponte bottom though gives it the corporate finish...so "Creative Corporate."

It's an easy dress to sew. It just took me so long to complete for a variety of reasons. However, I'm glad that it's finally done and hanging in the closet, waiting to wear.

Parting Shots:
The shots above were taken on our way to the kiddie playground in my complex. My daughter shot pics all along the route including some of the grandkids. I've included these two as parting shots...

...as always more later!

Muse

I've been a fan of the dresses from this company for years. I subscribed to their emails and have an entire folder of luscious dresses.  Though it doesn't look as if the site has been updated since last spring...which is sad because they made a great, trendy dress that could be worn for young and upcoming women in the workplace. (Just received an email from www.MaggyLondon.com showing their dresses and Muse dresses.  The sites have been combined!  Mystery solved! So go on over and check them out!)

Sad about that but so glad that I've saved so many images of their amazing dresses.  I stumbled upon this picture on my work computer and I realized that I own these fabrics.  Yes, every piece of fabric in the dress to the left (to the left, to the left - yeah totally had a Beyonce moment there! LOL!) is in my fabric collection.  

I don't know if I bought them to make the dress because normally I don't copy a RTW or designer garment fabric for fabric, I interpret it as I see it.  I usually "see" it with a twist...but this time...I want to make it EXACTLY as Muse created it.

First a pattern...I'm thinking of starting with Vogue 8805.

Vogue 8805

I believe the pattern alterations will be easy to make to this pattern since the pattern is already in sections. I will be adding slightly longer sleeves, just because. It will be the only deviation from the Muse dress. I'm also adding a center back seam and an invisible zipper...just don't like the button and loop closure on the dress back. Is it just me that always feels a little undressed when wearing a dress or top with the closing?

Here are my fabric choices ~

A black 'n white graphic print from "The Ponte Collection."  I think it's from Mood but I'm not sure because this piece no longer has a label. It has been prewashed and a piece cut from it.  So I'm wondering if my daughter used a piece of it for something.

The royal navy (although it looks purple in the pic) is also a cotton ponte from Mood. I know because this piece is marked. I love their ponte aisle and had a hard time staying out of it when I was a Mood blogger. There were always so many amazing treasures to find there!

Finally the black faux leather is from Sawyer Brook Fabrics. I bought many yards of the faux leather in black and brown and have used it for accents on several pieces in my wardrobe.  This won't be the last time this winter that you see faux leather in a garment.

Next up will be pattern alterations. I will leave the boxiness in this pattern because the original dress is slightly boxy also.  BTW, I made a list of garments that I wanted to sew back in early September. This is item number four on the list. I've skipped the wool/lace version of McCalls 6988 to make later.  However, there are only three more items on the list (one is another new pattern) and I'm kinda thrilled that I'm working my way through the list.

...as always more later!

What do you think?

I know Pinterest is the newest addiction in the internet world but I like going to the source, so I'm still addicted to Net-A-Porter and Style.com.  I love seeing the close up of the garments, the back view, the accessories that were used to accent the piece and watching it move.  


So everyone has their internet delights...what does this have to do with the title of my post?  I've wanted to make Vogue 8805... 

as soon as it was posted to the Vogue site...especially since it resembles this Preen dress...

I know I want to make it from ponte knits and I have a good collection of them but I don't have orange or a turquoise blue.  I guess I could go down to the garment district and search amongst the stores for a yard of either color but there is this collection and I want to sew from the collection.  I also want to make the dress this weekend...not wait for another time...so I auditioned other options I could live with:


Here is the first choice (a) - stone, honey brown and dark brown:

or the second choice (b) - stone, navy blue, purple:

the third choice (c) -  maroon, brown, stone or the flip - stone, brown, maroon:

and the final choice (d) - stone, navy, red:

I won't tell you which combination I'm partial to but I am worried that the final choice will make me look like an American flag...not the look I'm going for...but it is the brightest looking combination similar to the Preen look.


There are a few construction changes I'm going to make...the pattern has a button loop closing on the back of the dress.  I'm going to add an invisible zipper like the designer dress instead of the button/loop closing.  Since the hemline on the pattern ends above the knee, I will lengthen the bottom block to just below the knee...a better look for me and for work.  Simple changes but necessary for me.


Even though this is not one of the dresses in my 10 yard adventure wardrobe, it is on my summer sewing list.  So I will be sewing from the list, just not in the order I thought and I'm fine with that.  Please let me know what combination you like by leaving a comment with the letter designated...I will count them all up Saturday morning and inform you of the popular vote.


...as always, more later!