Still more Dots - Vogue V8689

      I still had yardage leftover, even after cutting a circle skirt and a sleeveless blouse. What to do? What to do? I decided to make a "wearable" muslin from this new pattern, well, as least new to me.

     This is Vogue V8689. It's a tailored shirt with two collar variations, two lengths and three different sleeves. It also comes in B,C, and D bust drafts. It's a Vogue Pattern, a company which as always been reliable for me. The versatility would give me 12 different style variations, quite enough for a tailored shirt.

     Although, there is no such thing as a wearable muslin, I was quite willing to attempt this new pattern with nothing more than a quick check of the pattern pieces on my dress form and see if I got a decent fitting shirt out of my time. In my experience, Vogue does a good job with pattern drafting, particularly with these wardrobe building patterns. I'm hoping for a standard shirt pattern that will be with me for decades.

Here's the result to the right.

Garment Finish: A
        The pattern was straight forward and easy to work. I made all the seams flat felled and the blouse is nearly as nice inside as out.

Fit:  A
         Excellent fit. I used the C cup draft and I had no problems with the front packet gaping at the bustline.

Material Choice:  A
         Just as the last project, this printed cotton was a good choice for ease of construction.

Style and Wearability:  A
         The shirt is great wardrobe extender. It can be worn with jeans, skirts, and shorts.

Overall: A  Nailed it! I will file this pattern with my gold standards! Vogue 8689 is well worth the investment even at full price. This is a classic tailored shirt for any wardrobe.

       

Starting to Pick up Momentum Again: McCall's 2094

After my grey shift dress disaster, it took a very long time to gather any confidence to reenter my work room. Eventually, I started with something simple. It's one of my tried and true patterns McCall's 2094. This pattern is currently out of print. I think is has been available since 2004, making it over a decade old. It still works. It's a simple blouse with several sleeve variations and tailored a bit with front and back darts. I had plenty of a cotton print with black dots left over from last year's summer circle skirt. The longer the skirt, the most yardage required and I had a lot left over as you will soon see. I decided to try and do a nice job with this project and redrafted the front from a C cup to a D cup, up one more cup size in the bodice with a FBA. There will be no more lying to myself that I am anything other than  a D with the big four pattern companies.



I finished the inside with french seams. They are not tiny, but a sporty blouse in a crisp cotton can carry a bit of width in the seams. They are certainly narrower than the normal 5/8 inch with a over lock finish. Below it the finished blouse and my evaluation.

Garment Finish: A
         The crisp cotton was easy to work with and I've made this pattern five or six times.

Fit:  A
         The redraft to a D cup solved all my fitting issues.

Material Choice:  A
         It was a printed dress weight cotton, not a quilting cotton. It ironed crisply and I expect years of wear from this fabric.

Style and Wearability:  A
         I love this type of shirt. It goes with jeans, skirts, and shorts.

Overall: A  A good success!