Sunday, October 24, 2010

Sewing Pattern Review - Vogue 1183 - the Kay Unger dress



Serious catching up to do with this review! I finished this dress a month ago, but found it needed Spanx to wear. Now that I have Spanx, a review can happen.

Here goes!

Fabric: Some kind of wool blend that I bought ages ago at Fabricland. It was a remnant, dumped in a bin, with some holes here and there. I think I paid $3? $5? for it? My lining is cotton voile that I bought in India - it is very thin and sheer, wrinkles like the devil, but I like how cotton feels against my skin.


Pattern:
Vogue 1183.

Pattern adjustments: I cut a size 10, graduating to a 12 at the waist and hip. A bit of petite sizing in the torso, and I also made the waist band an inch narrower.

One issue I have, the bodice gapes. I have it pinned in this picture, but I'm going to tack it down.

Time taken: I think I sewed this over 3-4 evenings. While things like top-stitching are time-consuming, this is a straight-forward dress to sew.

Favorite bits:
While I don't look particularly slim in this picture, my family saw me wear this dress and told me it really made me look thin. Yay. (Spanx helps, of course.)
I also like the top-stitching - though it is a bit of a pain to do, it really makes this dress pretty special.

In conclusion: Gaping aside, I've already worn this dress twice to work, so I think I love it!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the dress, Reethi. You've got me inspired again.

Karin van D. said...

It's lovely and you look very pretty in this dress.

Summerset said...

Looks great! You can definitely wear this many ways and it is a good choice for work.

Clio said...

Definitely slimming! Looks great.

SEWN said...

Hmmm... I wasn't a fan of this dress until I saw it on you. Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Great looking basics dress!...and you are so pretty!

Andrea Fischer said...

I love what you did to make it you. I also am a size wider in the hips and smaller on top and waist like you. Great idea ..this looks wonderful on you for work or any occasion to dress up or down. :-D