Making the Transition with Vogue 1220

Fall is in the air. We feel and see the many signs of the end of the sweltering days of summer. The hot temperatures started in March and continued through August. It was a long, hot, and humid summer for us Chicagoans. But, I wish I had at least another month a warm temperatures. Because I hardly made any summer garments. And now I must turn my thoughts to making transitional and fall clothing.

Vogue 1220 has been on the list for a while. But I hesitated on making it. The front and side back of the dress are all in one, which called for extra steps in the full bust adjustment (FBA). I knew I did not want to separate the sections nor did I want a bust dart. After the Palmer/Pletsch Fit Workshop, I feel much more comfortable practicing dart rotation technique. So as part of this review, I want to share the details. I hope this information is useful.  

Pattern Description: MISSES' DRESS AND BELT: Loose-fitting, mid-knee length dress has shawl pleated collar, partial waistline seam, pleats, side slant pockets, princess seams in bodice back, back darts, short sleeves with turn back cuffs, stitched hem facing, right fly front button closure and tie belt.

Pattern Sizing:  Sizes 8 to 22; I used size 14 with modifications.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, it did.

Were the instructions easy to follow?  Nothing confusing for me. I didn't follow the steps in the same order. The waist pleats (#13) was done at the end. First I tried on the dress to get a good idea of how deep to make the pleats as the FBA changed the width of the waistline.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  Goodness, there is so much I liked about this dress. my likes are:
 - The pleating at the waist; it clinches the waistline creating a waistline for me.
 - The curve of the front to the lower back skirt.
 - The encased raw edges of the neck seam.
 - The narrowed skirt at the hem. It slims and creates more of a hourglass silhouette my inverted triangle shape.
 - The French seamed sleeve.
 - The Pleated neckline.
 - The hem facing.
 - After making all the adjustments, it was easy to sew.

 No dislikes.

Fabric Used:  Your not going to believe this. The fabric was purchased at Vogue on Roosevelt about a month ago. Me, Sandy, and Nikki met up for lunch; then Sandy and I stopped by Vogue before heading home. We find this mystery fabric among several other mystery fabrics in the remnant room on the table. It was only $1.00 per yard. I bought four yards because I didn't know what I would make, dress or shirt. I believe the fiber content has some polyester because it didn't wrinkle that much and it has a little sheen to it. I pre-washed it along two other yardage of the same type. So I could wash this dress or dry clean it with no problem. The color is exactly the same shade of teal as the color recommended by Ethel Harms.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:  This pattern was not hard to alter; there were a few more steps than I normally take to make the FBA. I was so engaged, I forgot to take picture at every step. So I'll try to explain the process.

Step 1 - Draw a line from the lower armhole to the waist to use as a guide to detach the side back from the front of the dress.
Step 2 - Cut on the line and put the side back to the side.
Step 3 - Make the FBA; standard process (Palmer/Pletsch).
Step 4 - Instead of making a bust dart, I rotated the excess to the neck pleats. Then closed the bust dart. The excess was evenly divided between the three neck pleats.

Fly -The lengthen the fly same as the length added in the FBA (center front of dress).

Prominent Shoulder Blade - I made this adjustment by adding 5/8" the length of the bodice back. Then I added a small dart to the center of the shoulder seam. Below the shoulder blades, I removed the added width at the waist as shown in the illustration. My usual process is easier. This one builds in extra width throughout the back which might come in handy. I didn't need it for this pattern.

Oh, I thought about this after I wore the dress. I read in Burda Magazine that for full bust girls, like me, you may want to consider stitching down the pleats to hold them in place. This reduces excess fabric. This is just a thought..,

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  I probably won't sew it again. It's unique, and I think I is enough for me. But you never know. Lol I do recommend it to others. It's easy to sew, figure flattering, and comfortable to wear. What's not to like.

More pictures on Flickr.

Conclusion: This is a nice dress to sew. And I recommend it to others.