Vogue V8352 In a Red Dot Cotton

Vogue V8352 is a dress with a dropped waist and front and back darts. It has a one piece convertible collar and three sleeve variations. The skirt can be gathered or pleated.

Although not truly a shirt dress, this pattern addresses some of the problems I have with Butterick B6091. The convertible collar sits neatly closed at the throat and the dropped waist eliminates that all too curvy silhouette that I disliked so much with the Butterick pattern.

I sewed the project up in a cherry red cotton print with a white dot.

Garment Finish:  The pattern was well drafted and I had no problems with construction. I used a combination of french seams and over-locked seam finishes. Grade: A+

Fit: The dropped waist covers many sins, but at the same time it does give me the look of a unfitted sack. I may take in the fitted darts again. Let's see after a couple wearings. Grade: B-

Material Choice: The cotton print gave a crisp look to the project and it was easy to sew. I do regret the cherry red for winter. The color is too bold a statement for the typical palette of grey, black, and brown in the winter here in Belgium. I definitely need to change the buttons to red. The white ones stand out too much. Grade: A-

Style and Wearabilty: It's a better dress than the Butterick shirt dress, but it still has it's problems. I think I will save my final verdict for after some adjustments in the darting and some new buttons. Right now the grade is a B-.

Overall: B There is room for improvement.

WWII fabric rationing

The last several sewing projects have used two pieces of yard goods bought for two projects, a circle skirt and a shirt dress. By using every last scrap, I also gained three shirts out of the same yardage lengths. Three extra garments gained from the waste of two. This is incredible to me. I checked my purchase receipts and original lengths and pattern requirements and although a little extra was given to allow for straightening the yard goods, there was just that much waste.

All this waste is rather disturbing to me, especially in light of today's economic conditions, few of us have anything to waste any longer. Also, given that one of my research hobbies is reading about the economic hardships of the WWII householder, the very idea of being lead into purchasing enough fabric for three additional items of clothing was shocking.

I did some research on the War Production Board in the US during WWII. This government organization directed US industries from peacetime to wartime production. It had its hands in every part of  the US economy from warships and parachutes to scrap metal drives and civilian rationing. They even issued guide lines for the amounts of fabric allowed in various items of clothing. These guide lines were used by manufacturers and clothing became more tailored and slim. Hemlines rose, pleats were forbidden and pockets were limited to one per garment. There were no such restrictions on home sewing and its popularity rose.

Here are some of the fabric restrictions from the WPB for some of my recent projects.

Daytime Dresses - Women's sizes - Length, 45". Sweep of Hem, 74".
                           - Misses' sizes -  Length 43". Sweep of  Hem, 78".

Blouses - Sleeve Width limited to 14" for size 32". Length from neck to hem, 22". Only one patch pocket.

Skirts or Culottes - Women's  sizes - Length 28 1/4" to 30". Sweep, 66" to 97"
                            - Misses' sizes -  Length 26 1/4" to 28 1/2" Sweep 60" to 84"

Prohibited: Dolmon, balloon, leg o'mutton and bias cut sleeves. All-round pleated skirts. Wide belts, aprons and tunics.

Straight Coats - Women's - Length, 44". Sweep of Hem, 64".
                       - Misses' -  Length 42". Sweep of  Hem, 60".

Fitted Coats - Women's - Length, 45". Sweep of Hem, 64".
                       - Misses' -  Length 43". Sweep of  Hem, 70".

It is interesting to note that the length of the day dress could be longer than a straight coat. I guess your dress hem peeked out from your coat. It is also interesting to note that nearly all my sewing projects fail these standards, mostly in length.

Back to Success; Vogue 8689 Again

The previous project, the Butterick shirt dress, B6091, left me with lots of left over fabric. This particular fabric was generous in the width and all those godets in the shirt dress skirt were not fabric saving in any way. I had enough fabric left over for a shirt with sleeves!

I immediately went back to my newest pattern Vogue 8689. Patience and organization allowed me to cut a three-quarter sleeved shirt which will be perfect for my Saturday jeans.



I needed to piece the back yoke, but that was the only change I had to make in order to cut all the pieces. A quick basting and a flat felled seam solved the problem and I was neatly on my way.

I used flat felled seaming through out construction.

The cotton fabric and pattern performed beautifully.

An absolute success! A+ across all categories. 

I think I'm going to see a lot of Vogue 8689 in my closet after this!

In Search of a Shirt Dress....

     I am forever in search of the perfect shirt dress. I live in shirt dresses. They are easy pieces to wear in my wardrobe. One garment and I'm done for the day. I can clean, cook, sew, garden and run to the grocery shop in a shirt dress. A shirt dress is cool on a summer day with sandals and warm and toasty in winter with tights and sweater. I want the perfect shirt dress. I haven't found it yet.

     This is Butterick B6091. It's good, but not perfect. This pattern is has a fitted bodice with princess seams. The collar is two piece and there are three sleeve variations, sleeveless, short-sleeved and three-quarters sleeves. I really wanted this pattern to work because it had side seam pockets and a concealed button placket closing. I loved the full skirt and the three-quarter length sleeves. This pattern had it all going for it.

Garment Finish: I chose a light colored retro cotton print. The print reminded me of a favorite printed dress I had in elementary school. Again, the fabric was very easy to work. Pressing was easy and I finished the seams with either a french seam or a serged finish. Grade: A-

Fit: There are some issues with this dress. After checking the pattern fit on my dress form, I decided I needed to shorten the bodice to the petite length. I did not do a FBA for this pattern. Otherwise, I made this pattern as drafted by Butterick. Grade: C-

Material Choice: Printed cotton. Grade: A+

Style and Wearability: It is a wearable shirt dress, but I'm not in love with the specific style of this pattern. There were a lot of thing to love about this dress. The three-quarter length sleeves  are just right for housework. They stay out of the mess of house work, yet never are untidy. I always want pockets for all the flotsam of housework. I need places to put the untidy bits of life until I come around to their proper places. I loved the covered placket for the front closure; nice and neat. 

     I shortened this pattern to a petite bodice length, maybe I shouldn't have but this adjustment put the narrowest part of the dress at my waist, the narrowest part of me, right? Not quite I think...the large bust and the very full skirt created a curvy silhouette that just didn't work for me. I need simplicity in either the top or the bottom and the full skirt and the fully tailored shirt top seem to fight with each other. I think if I did this again I would redraft the skirt to be narrower, perhaps without the godets.

      The greater problem with this pattern is the draft of the collar. It is a two piece collar with a band. The issue I have with it is that the collar is just as long as the band. It is not set back from the edge of the band. When the collar and the band are exactly the same length, you cannot button the collar neatly. In my opinion, you might as well have a one piece convertible collar that is not meant to be buttoned and save yourself the bother of the two piece construction. If you have a two piece collar the band is longer that the collar piece around the neck, giving you an overlap for a neat closure. I've shown this with the photo here on the left. This is as neat as it gets at the top of the dress. A failure on the pattern's part in my opinion. Grade for Style and Wearability: C-

Final Grade for the Dress: B-  This project is not a wadder, but it doesn't give me any joy to wear. The dress is perfect for housekeeping, but the pattern is not a keeper. The search for the perfect shirt dress continues.