In keeping with my current fruit obsession (discussed in details in my last article) , here is my second fruit garment: the lemon dress.

Based on the largely modified Vogue v8630 pattern (used here and here without modifications), it was sewn literally the day after the cherry dress!!

A bit crazy I know… But how much do I love this fabric! Although the pictures make it look black, the background is actually a deep navy, which will be perfect for Spring. The quality is fantastic: it is a mid-weight cotton sateen, with a bit of elasticity, making fitting adjustments that bit easier. I saw it on Emily Hallman’s website and immediately ordered 5 meters from www.fabric.com in the US – no matter the distance or the shipping and import duties, I just had to have it!!!

After a rather disappointing fitting experience with the Vogue V9197 pattern, I decided to follow the advice of a friend who is a professional haute-couture sewer: go back to a perfectly-fitting bodice pattern and play around it. So I went back to V8630, which had shown such a good result in two very different fabrics, and made the following changes, in this exact order:

1. I removed the collar, as I wanted a completely plain bodice.
2. Once the collar removed, the neckline was too wide and too low, so I raised it, using the V9197 bodice pattern to help me get an accurate shoulder slope.
3. V8630 has two lower-back darts, but I also wanted the top of the shoulders to be perfectly fitted, so I added two darts there as well, about 2cm wide and 10cm long.
4. I had shortened V8630 by about 1cm for my previous dresses, but with a wide skirt it looked strange, so I went back to the original length.
5. And for an obscure reason I must have lost a bit of weight over the past month (??) as I had to increase the curvature of the bodice by about 1.5cm.

All this pattern fussing-about was a bit lengthy but really worthwhile: I now have a perfect bodice pattern, which I am going to be able to use for multiple projects by decreasing the neckline, adding a button placket or a collar… The possibilities are endless!

In any case for the lemon dress I made not further adjustments, the fabric speaks for itself so it really does not need further complications. I added a self-drafted pleated skirt, lined the skirt only (to make the dress wearable with tights) and I was done! And very happy!

In summary :

• Pattern: Vogue 8630, modified by raising the neckline and adding two shoulder darts.
• fabric: bright yellow lemons on dark navy background, in the nicest quality of cotton sateen ordered from www.fabric.com.
• Sewing level: V8630 is completely manageable for a motivated beginner, so if you want to keep the same bodice without adjustment and add a circle or pleated skirt it is easy-peasy. Modifying the pattern like I did requires a bit more experience of course, but it iscompletely worth trying!
• Love level: HUGE CRUSH FOR THIS DRESS, I absolutely adore it.

When spring approaches, I develop serious wardrobe mono-obsessions: last year I wanted to fill my wardrobe with Japanese cherry blossoms; this year it’s fruits... So when I saw this amazing cherry fabric on the Croftmill website, I took it as a sign that is was time to start working on my fruit Spring collection…

My fruit obsession actually started a few year ago with lemons, after seeing this Dolce & Gabbana dress, itself part of a wider fruit collection.

After many months (years) of searching, I have managed to accumulate a pretty decent stock of fruit fabrics, internationally sourced (!!!):

• the lemons on white background fabric comes from Aliexpress, it took ages to arrive from China and is actually a bit transparent so will require full lining;
• the lemons on navy background comes from fabric.com in the US, I discovered it on Emily Hallman’s website and immediately ordered 5 yards (just to be on the safe side…); it is slightly stretchy and absolute beautiful quality cotton;
• and obviously to justify the shipping/ customs cost, I ordered the lemon on turquoise background fabric too…
• the bananas on navy background fabric is from Croftmill, I already made a dress with it last summer but I’m very tempted to order some more… you never have too many banana dresses, right?…
• and the cherries on black background fabric is from Croftmill – the quality is very similar to the lemons on navy background one.

Although my most recent purchase, the cherries were the first to go into a dress, as I find that a black background is more appropriate for the transition from winter to spring.

As for pattern choice, I wanted a fitted dress with a retro style but EASY to make – after my V8997 ordeal, simplicity was my priority! I opted for Vogue 9197: minimal number of pattern pieces, only two bust darts and an invisible zipper, only a skirt lining required to be able to wear with tights, perfect!

The dress only took a few hours to make indeed, muslin included; and everything was very straightforward. I picked a size 10/ D cup, as I always do for the Vogue Custom Fit patterns, but although the muslin seemed perfect, the final dress was way too large – probably due to the slight stretch in the fabric. The changes I ended-up making to the pattern were the following:

• remove 1.5cm from each side of the bodice;
• replace the pattern skirt by a semi-circle, which I find much more flattering on me;
• shorten the sleeves to 3/4 (about 15cm off I think);
• no lining of the bodice (I finished the neckline with bias tape) but full lining of the skirt;
• and as usual for me, I increased the armhole by 1.5cm.

Despite the bodice adjustments, the bust fit is not perfect, to my great dismay. There is too much fabric at the top end of the bust darts, forming two little beaks… It is not very visible to the uniformed eye but it drives my absolutely crazy.

The back does not have any darts and it is therefore not as perfectly fitted as it should be. I wonder if I should have cut everything  a size smaller: size 8/ C bust; but I’m not sure I want to make this effort, knowing that the back won’t be perfect anyway…

That said, this dress is completely wearable, this fabric helps a lot to forget all the little fit imperfections! I do not love it but I like it a lot!

In summary :

• Pattern: Vogue 9197.
• fabric: red cherries on black background from Croftmill, in the nicest quality of cotton sateen, slightly stretchy.
• Sewing level: completely manageable for a motivated beginner, this is a quick and easy make and the Vogue explanations are very straightforward.
• Love level: I absolutely adore the fabric, I am slightly disappointed by the overall bodice fit but nothing that a belt cannot sort out; I will probably not make this pattern again though.

You would think that the more you sew, the wiser you become at choosing your projects and the fewer fails you have  – well, not for me! I have recently noticed that a series of good projects get followed by a series of disappointments: not just one, but two or three things that just don’t turn out as I wanted. This V8917 dress definitely is part of a “bad sewing luck” span…

I recently discovered with amazement the perfect fit of the Vogue Custom Fit models – in my enthusiasm I made this first V8630 wide-collar, straight skirt fitted dress;

followed by this second one – exactly similar shape but very different fabric;

and by this V9327 high-neck, large cuff, big skirt dress.

And I absolutely adore all three! The bust, which is usually a long struggle for me, fits perfectly with no adjustment whatsover; and THEY were actually quite easy to put together even when you’re mad enough to want to fully line all your winter dresses!

So when I decided to tackle a third dress pattern from the same collection, namely V8997, I was fully confident that it would turn out as a stunning project. I was attracted to this dress by its V lines at the neck, back and waist; its princess seams at the bust (which I’ve been wanting to tackle for ages but couldn’t face a self-made FBA); and its big floating skirt. My plan was to sew view C (big skirt at it longest) with long sleeves, to make it a perfect winter skirt.

I made a series of mistakes that could have been avoided but transformed this project into an unpleasant sewing marathon:

• My first mistake was not to look at the line art in sufficient detail – had I done so, I would have noticed that the dress itself has 18 pattern pieces, or 36 if you decide to fully line it! Not a good start! Note to myself for the future: always, ALWAYS count the number of pattern pieces before purchasing a pattern.

• The other problem I had is that the (8!!!) skirt pieces all look quite similar, so if you don’t keep track of which is which, it is quite easy to put them together wrong – I did very well with the dress itself; but for the lining I did attach the wrong pieces together at least twice! Arrggghhhh! Adding to that my very poor quality lining, which meant a few holes and having to completely resew my lining bodice (which I had assembled the wrong way around too)… Nightmare!
• When the dress was finished and ready to hem, I realised the long skirt was definitely too long – in my grey fabric I looked like a nun, not that I have anything against nuns but that was definitely not the look I was planning to achieve! So I had to take 10cm off a very wide skirt circle skirt… And then hand-hem the skirt… It just took FOREVER!!!

• Oh and off course I decided to add black piping at the waist after putting the dress entirely together (but thankfully before assembling the lining). So that meant unsewing the entire waist to insert my piping; and cutting corners at the back, not to have to unsew my invisible zipper. ARRRGGGHHHH! Second note to myself: make up your mind on the piping at the beginning of the project!

The other adjustments I made were the following (after making a muslin of the bodice):

• There were two front body pieces, I merged them into one as I couldn’t see the point of having a seam right in the middle of the dress;
• the neckline and back were too low for the winter, so I added 3cm at the shoulder, going to 1.5cm at the center front and back;
• there was a mistake in the pattern for the sleeves – at some point the size lines disconnect, you have to go along with the largest for your size; I got that initally wrong so the sleeves were to tight and I had to redraw them;
• I turned the three-quarter sleeves into long ones by adding 13cm.
• I increased the underarm opening by 1.5cm, which is a common adjustment for me; I did not have to make adjustments to the sleeves to do this, just to the bodic, as the ease was sufficient to accommodate my adjustment.
• As mentionned previously, I added black piping at the waist and around the neckline.

Other than that the bust fit was absolutely perfect; the V shape at the waist is very flattering; and the skirt moves very nicely when you walk (justifying all the fabric used!!). The shoulders are a bit too wide so if I ever make this dress again I will have to take 1cm off there. And I think this dress needs a bit more pressing of the seams before wearing, I need to buy the proper tools for that! (these pictures were taken the day before our holiday, in the middle of my packing-for-six-for-two-weeks frenzy!, so not much time to press)

I have been looking for the perfect shift dress pattern for a while, in particular to use up my wool jersey stash. So when I saw the Cara dress from La Maison Victor (Nov-Dec 2018), I got very excited: clean shapes, nicely fitted at the top, only four pieces to put together, the perfect match – or so I thought!

In the end it was quite a disappointment; and a much longer project than expected!

Don’t get me wrong, the dress has a few advantages:

• the shape is very flattering: it is quite fitted as the top, then gets larger in a nice, soft curve – unlike many other shift dresses, which are either too straight, or go from underarm to knees in a straight triangular way;
• the lenght is spot-on for my 1.68m, it perfectly balances the dress – I initially thought it would be too short and addedd 10cm to my pieces but ended up going back to the original lenght;
• the sleeves are the perfect lenght and, more importantly, width, here again in perfect harmony with the rest.

But its main drawback is the sizing: it is far, far too large! According to LMV, I should be a 38; but I know from experience that their patterns are always one size too large for me so I always go for a 36. This time, I even cut a 34 above the arms (then 36 for the rest) – but the shoulders are still dropping, there is a good 1.5cm I could remove from the top of each sleeve!!! I know, a muslin would have told me that… but who would make a muslin for such a simple patter?…. My mistake!

It is also an extremely plain dress, so to make it a bit more fun I added cuffs at the sleeves and a large collar. If you’ve been faithful to this blog, you will recognise that the pattern pieces come from my recent wonderful Vogue makes, specifically the V9327 dress pattern for the cuffs; and the V8630 dress pattern for the collar. I did not do anything particularly sophisticated here: the cuffs fitted perfectly as they were and for the collar, I (rather randomly) enlarged my dress neckline to make it fit. I actually quite enjoy these details on the dress!

The other disadvantages of this dress are very specific to my situation and choices:

• first, it is a massive hassle to get hold of the La Maison Victor magazines when you live in London. The magazine is not on sale in England, the subscription is not available either, and you cannot get back issues posted there. Nightmare!!! To cut a long story short, I had to order the back issue just before the Christmas holiday, so that my Partner in Sewing Crime could receive it while she was on holiday in France and ship it back to England. How complicated is that?
• second, my fabric choice was not the wisest. I was very keen to use one of my wool jersey for this dress, but being too lazy to make a muslin I chose my least favoured one: quite an itchy thing in a dull grey… As I did not line the dress, it turns out that it is completely unwarable… Oh well…

In summary  :

• Pattern: Cara dress from La Maison Victor magazine, November-December edition. You can get the back editions from the magazines from the France, Belgian and Dutch website, but not in English and only (and sadly) posted to limited destinations and not to the UK.
• fabric: a few years ago, I got a passion for pure wool jersey fabric – I ended up with three in stock and for this one I used my least loved, a dull grey itchy thing which makes the dress completely unwarable unlined. I should really have used this fabric for a cardigan, as I initally intended – but why sew a cardi when you can sew a dress!
• Sewing level: definitely good beginners, four pattern pieces, two bust darts, no complexity whatsoever. I sew it entirely on my overlocker but before I had one my sewing machine would have perfectly done the job.
• Love level: this one will have to be gifted to whoever wants it I’m afraid, the fit is not good enough the go through the pain of lining it!