Do you ever find those patterns that just call out to you the second you see them? Not only, ‘I must make that!’ but ‘I must make EXACTLY that?!’ Vogue V8701 was that dress for me. I was looking for some retro inspired designs at my local craft store to see what my options were outside of Etsy and Ebay. When I flipped the page to V8701, I instantly jumped up to grab the pattern.
I love a good plaid dress, especially in green, so when I saw dress ‘B’, I wanted it, as is, on the spot. Alas, I’ve never been successful at finding the exact fabric used (I think they do that on purpose). After visiting a few stores, I stumbled upon a similar green plaid that I thought would do the trick.
I was intimidated to work with plaid due to the pattern matching, but once I got it in my head that this would be my Thanksgiving dress, I jumped to work. It really only took me two nights to make. One to lay out the fabric and painstakingly cut to match the plaids, and next to put everything together. It was a really easy sew and I only had a couple of concerns along the way. One of which was the fit of the front.
The front and back panels of the dress only connected at the sides, not at the shoulders. It’s a pretty extreme boat neck so the connecting factor becomes the sleeves. This was the first time I had sewn a dress like this so the front panel darts seem to have a funny placement to them when I first started. In the end, it came together perfectly with the sleeves in place. I just need to add two small darts to the top back. I’ve worn it without them but I think it’ll fit a little higher up if I add them in. The deep ‘V’ in the back is pretty sassy though and a nice touch to the shape of the dress.
This dress was so much fun to wear and I received so many compliments; my favorite being ‘where’d you buy that?!’ That was great to hear as I always worry that when I make things they will look too home made. And guess what? matching the plaids wasn’t too hard? The difference in the top from the skirt just wasn’t possible, but I think it looks good. I think I’ll usually wear it with a brown belt just because I love the look. The skirt front and back are pretty impressive (if I do say so myself). All in all, a fun dress and another easy sewing project.
