Vintage Vogue

I am absolutely in love with this dress which I made for a friends wedding. As soon as I received the invitation I started rummaging the Vintage Vogue patterns in John Lewis. I decided upon the V1172 because of the dreamy neck line and beautifully huge skirt. This pattern took a sky rocketing 6 metres of fabric 115cm wide! I bought the fabric, which is a medium weight cotton, from Sew Over It.

As you can see, I was seduced by the red illustration on the front cover...

With all that fabric, who could resist a little twirl...

I made a size 8, but possibly should have made a 6 on top and graded out to an 8 at the waist as when I tried to adjust the bodice through the bodice side seams I was unable to due to the amount of ease in the curves which was frustrating. So, as you can see above, the fit of the bodice is not as good as it could be. The skirt it made from 5 pieces, including two large godets which give it a beautiful shape and plenty of movement. I feel like it's crying out for a petticoat!

I tried to keep as many of the vintage touches as I could, which included lingerie straps. Horary! No need to a strapless bra! I don't know why all dresses/tops don't have these? The dress has a side zip which was sewn into a small pocket. This was my first time sewing a zip in this way and although far from perfect, I'm happy with the result. There was one vintage touch I didn't keep. The design has an inside belt which they recommend making from grosgrain ribbon. I made this but found it so uncomfortable that I decided not to include it.

I am officially hooked on Vintage Vogue patterns, do you have any recommendations for my next one?