Vogue 8388 - part 1

From bad to worse. Even more issues this week, many connected to the severe cold snap we've had here in the UK, have reduced my sewing time to practically nil. On top of that, for various reasons, I was unable to go to the dinner after all. Sigh. At least I hadn't rushed to make a new dress.

After all this, I decided that I just wanted a silly, no-pressure-if-it-goes-wrong, project to perk me up a bit. Step forward Vogue 8388.

I posted about this the other week, and its general ridiculousness just stuck in my mind. Plus, I had a suspicion that I had some 'suitable' fabric in my stash.

Indeed yes, I did

I have absolutely no idea how, or why, I acquired this. Possibly it was part of a mixed lot of sewing stuff which I bought at an auction. Either way, the design and colours look quite 1972 to me. It's like a thick georgette, so far more drapey than the taffeta used in the Vogue Pattern Book examples.

The huuuge collar of view A was a bit much, even for me, so I decided to embrace the silliness and go with view C.

Frilled to bits

But before I could cut it out, there were alterations to consider. I needed to make the bodice both wider and shorter. The instructions on the pattern are to lengthen or shorten pieces 1 and 2 just above the waistline.

The pattern pieces

However, I would need to shorten the pattern so much that this would make the sleeves start pretty much at the waist. And because I sometimes have to narrow the shoulders on patterns these days, I didn't want to include all the extra width in the bodice pieces, either. So instead I made some of the changes on the main part of the bodice, and some where the sleeve fits into it. This meant that I had to alter the sleeve as well, but hopefully it will improve the overall look.

The narrowing at the top of the sleeve was tapered away to nothing lower down, because I wanted to keep the glorious seventies fullness at the cuff.

Blue lines - widening, red lines - shortening

It’s now all cut out and ready to go. I’ve got another busy week coming up, but hopefully I’ll manage to squeeze in a little sewing time somewhere.