Frocktails Vogue 1339 : Me and Guy

First things first... that title rhymes. If you're going to dive in deep with Vogue 1339 you will need to get on friendly terms with the Guy Laroche voice in your pattern envelope. OK, technically Guy Laroche himself passed away in 1989 and this pattern was released in 2013 but if you're speaking to the spirit of a french designer it's even more important to pronounce his name right. Right?

So... Guy rhymes with me.  Alors, let's get to it!

I think I've finally found my sewing "thang" when it comes to fancy frocks. And it's exactly this. a moderately complicated, designer Vogue pattern made up in a ridiculously cheap knit fabric. The sewing journey is fun, the fitting is forgiving if not downright easy and the price of failure is negligible.

I'd bought this pattern quite some time ago in a Spotlight $5 Vogue pattern sale and then let it marinade. After thoroughly enjoying making the Vena Cava dress, then the Vogue 1342, I knew it was time for another knit number.

There is absolutely no point in trying to pre-read and understand the instructions prior to sewing, you just have to "go with the Guy"  and sew each step as it comes. But, a little research beforehand proved to be immensely helpful...

This superb review on Pattern Review .com  set me up perfectly. Thanks Grays08!

The first tip I took heed of was sizing. I measured exactly as per the size 14 in bust, waist and hip, but the hot tip was to size down, especially for the skirt portion. Well I was never going to be a bigger size up top than down below so I boldly went with a 12 all over.

The pattern is a hefty package of eight sheets of pattern tissue and since I had no conviction of getting it right first time I traced my pattern.

The skirt is made up of an enormous skirt panel, and enormous skirt lining and then the flounces. The cutting had to be done on the biggest floor space I could find and the fabric really does need to be 60" wide knit. I think I got away with about 3.5metres instead of the 4 on the packet but I didn't measure. At $4/metre from Eliza's my fabric was so cheap that I didn't cut to preserve every last inch.

And then begins the sewing (unless you procrasticraft for weeks and make a gazillion other things for yourself and the kids because you fear once you start it might be an infernal mess), and yes, when Guy says sew the front shoulder neckline to the back shoulder armhole, that's what he means. Don't question the Guy, just sew it. Exactly as per the written and illustrated instructions.

Whats-more it's a french seam, because somehow, you don't know how yet, that shoulder seam is going to twist and a small part of it is visible. (I'm not wearing that shoulder seam correctly in these photos but that's how it lay when I put it on and it was time to go party so no reshoot). So it's like a wrong side to right side, front side to back side neckhole to sleeve hole confusion of a seam. But that's only hard if you fight it or try to think about it. This is Keanu Reeves Matrix style sewing only frenchier and way more sexy.

Oh, and on the other side you'll do a french seam with a big box pleat. Then the right armhole - an entity in itself, and the left armhole/neckline hybrid each get a tiny hand rolled hem the whole way round. Guy was playing with me and I was starting to really enjoy myself.

The bodice has a couple of pleats at the waistline which helps with the way it drapes but otherwise are not noticeable.  There are also these little triangle stays which are created with two triangles of fabric, stitched and turned, then added in to the waistband. Here they are but I think they are somewhat redundant due to Grays08's next fabulous tip off....

The intention is that those triangles, anchored to the upper part of the side bodice seam will hold up the skirt. Ah, non, ce n'est pas possible Guy.

The skirt is a lot, seriously a lot, of fabric and while you could make it as tight as you liked it would still sag under it's own weight. The only two reviews of this pattern I could find both said that adding elastic to the waistband was ESSENTIAL. Once the skirt and lining were attached I stitched a loop of 1cm elastic that was a good 2 inches shorter than my waist measurement onto the seam allowance. It then gets sandwiched between the skirt and lining and once you start stitching them together with all the gathering there would be no going back to add it later.

Another excellent tip for the skirt was to make all the pattern markings on the RIGHT side of the fabric. Once you have the skirt and lining together you would never see markings on the wrong side. I used a chaco liner but it faded a lot with all the handling and thread marking would be wiser.

The skirt and lining are gathered together along the side seam and then stitched, according to the instructions, with a single line of stitching. I went with two rows of stitching and added some satin bias binding to the inside to help support and stabilise the fabric.

This was the only part of the dress that needed a redo. The original amount of gathering had the dress almost floor length on me (170cm, 5'7") and the ruffle slit down below mid shin. I confess I thought briefly about just scissor shortening the dress - it is unhemmed after all, but the too low slit bothered me.

I unpicked my gathering and lopped about two inches off my bias binding and then also started and stopped the gathering at least an inch further above, and below, the original pattern markings. If you don't want it super-ruched I'd suggest using the pattern marking lines to shorten the skirt for anyone under about 5'10".

And there was my dress finished. Even after all my procrastinating and delayed starting I was done, with about 10 days to go.....

I tried really hard not to start anything else. Really I did. But then I remembered that wonderful Ida Clutch pattern that everyone but me seemed to have made. And I recalled some patchy, deep red fabric in the stash. Next thing I knew I was whipping up a bag...

It's a great, free pattern and a lovely size for all the necessary stuff for a night out. The only challenge is finding a 10" zip with an interesting metal puller, but I now know that Kylie of Kylie and the Machine sells them, as well as whole kits to make the clutch. There's your Christmas gift tip off right there.

Did I say the Ida Clutch is a nice, simple sew? Well it only took one evening and there I was twiddling my thumbs again and trying desperately not to start second guessing my dress. I decided I need tassel earrings and wondered if the deep red macrame thread I'd used for Pip's necklace might match. Did it ever!

Looking for a tassel in one of my macrame books I came across this bracelet pattern. I loved how the folding, cascading squares were a nod to my skirt's flounce. I had to make it.

It's from the Bohemian Macrame book that I'd used before and is actually quite simple being just horizontal half hitches and nothing more. Quite a lot of them of course and it did keep me very busy, but with one night left at the end I made my tassel earrings after all.

For these I referenced a tassel in a new macrame book (Macrame by Fanny Zedenius) that has some fabulous big wall hangings. I need to get deeper into that one.

Cheap knit fabric, pattern on sale, purse from scraps and string jewellery. That's thrifty glamour right there! I think my eyelashes cost more than my outfit :)

Thanks for reading. Au revoir et merci from Guy and me!

Details:

Pattern: Vogue 1339 Guy Laroche. Now out of print, snap it up if you find it.

Size: 12 (measured a 14)

Fabric: "dry knit" from Eliza's

Modifications: Added elastic to waist. More ruching to decrease skirt length and stabilised ruching seam.

Accessories: Ida clutch by Kylie and the Machine and macrame jewellery (links in blog post)