Vogue 8388 - part 2, success!

"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."

L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between

I found myself thinking about this quote as I worked on my last project of 2022, As was apparent in last week's round-up post, I finished my 1970s blouse before the year end. It wasn't especially difficult to make, but I did find the instructions strangely old-fashioned. I first started sewing for myself in 1978, a mere six years after this pattern was issued. Plus, as anyone who reads this blog regularly will know, I've used a lot of 1979 patterns. And yet, Vogue 8388 felt as though it had more in common with my 1940s and 1950s patterns than ones from later in the same decade.

I wonder if this is all down to interfacing. I can't remember a time when I didn't use iron-on interfacing, but this pattern assumes that the maker is using the sew-in variety, and some of the construction details may be connected to this.

For starters, the back facing is not interfaced on any view, only the front facing, cuffs, and collar for view A.

Cutting diagrams for interfacing

Instead of a separate piece, the blouse front and facing are cut as a single piece. The interfacing is then applied to the blouse part, and stay tape is added over that.

Instructions for view C

I chose to apply the interfacing to the facing section and stay-stitch the blouse edge, as I would with a modern pattern. I also interfaced the back facing and stay-stitched the blouse back.

The sleeves are attached by reinforcing the corners of the blouse front and back, snipping to the corner, and then sewing in the sleeve in a single line of stitching. The excess fabric at the corner of the sleeve is then trimmed away and the cut edges sewn together, so that the seam allowance lies flat under the sleeve.

Sleeve instructions

Because my fabric was quite fluid, I sewed small pieces of tear-away stabilizer onto the blouse when doing the reinforcing. The end result was four perfect joins with no puckers, so I was very happy.

Smooth join = happiness

The neck ruffle is long. Very long. And it took a lot of gathering. The instructions are to baste the ruffle to the blouse and then fold the facing over.

Ruffle instructions

However, because I had interfaced the facings, I sewed these together and then basted the ruffle onto the facing. Then I folded the blouse over, and stitched through all the layers. I was very glad that I had stay-stitched the section without interfacing, as that long V neck would almost certainly have stretched out of shape otherwise.

Attaching the super-gathered ruffle

For once, I found some perfect buttons. Even better, my local fabric shop was selling them off cheaply! With small gold beads set into clear resin, they add the perfect touch of seventies glam.

Buttons in all their sparkly glory

The final oddness in the instructions concerns the bottom of the blouse. Instead of a hem, it should be stitched ¼" from the edge, trimmed to ⅛", and then overcast. As the blouse is shorter below the waist than modern patterns, I just overlocked the raw edge to preserve what length there is.

When I tried the finished blouse on, I was delighted to find that my various pattern adjustments had worked, and it fits perfectly. Even better, despite the fact that it is black and frilly, two things I usually avoid, I absolutely love it! Everyone I've shown it to has loved it as well - there's just something about its sheer exuberance.

With this in mind, I decided that I needed to do it justice when I photographed it. For reference, here's the picture in the Autumn 1972 Vogue Pattern Book.

Inspiration - can I get my hair that big?

And here's my take on it.

Yes, I can!

My stash management in 2022 may have been woeful, but it was lovely to end my sewing year on a high. Onward and upward into 2023!