#VintagePledge - Vogue 2401 finished

From initial post to finished item in one week! It's a long time since I've managed that. There is an explanation for this burst of creativity. Yes I'd bought some silk with no idea when I might wear a silk dress, but then in a moment of, "Buy it, and it will come", (a worrying precedent, given my weakness for buying fabric!) a reason came along.

My friend Suzanne Iuppa, for whom I made a costume last year, was organizing Chester Writers' contribution to this year's Chester Literature Festival; a series of readings on the theme of 'Gothic'. I ended up reading two excepts from classic novels, and dress of blood-red silk seemed not just suitable for this event, but almost entirely necessary.

Backstage at 'Gothic'

As this was the third time I'd made up the bodice, it was as time-consuming as ever, but not difficult. I did make a further small change however; reinforcing the back darts and then snipping them open at the widest point, to make the bodice back lie better.

I hadn't made the skirt for the mock-ups, but it was straightforward. There was of course one change. Whether it's a simple day dress or a fancy frock, I'm on a pocket-adding roll at present. (Although I must admit that the shape of this dress makes the pockets oddly far back, but never mind.) Usually the skirts of Vogue patterns are far too long on me, but this one was just right.

Like my version of Simplicity 1777, the skirts are laid over the bodice and top-stitched, proving that this construction method persisted until at least 1952. I finished the completed waist seams with bias binding, as the fabric frays a lot.

Interior shot, showing bound seam and clipped darts

The silk is very heavy and stiff, more so than the quality of the weave would suggest, so I suspect it has been heavily treated to give it more body. This gives the dress quite a sculptural quality; as though there is a separate flared coat over a straight dress.Certainly it didn't need a net petticoat to hold it out.

The dress on Nancy

One thing I did discover, as I made my way to the event, is that it's not an ideal dress for someone who walks everywhere. I had to clutch the fronts together, and even then I was grateful for the long slip I'd worn underneath. I think that I need to make this alteration before I wear it again.

Whenever that may be, at least I've had a reason to make the dress and wear it once. I love it, and it was perfect for the Gothic look which Suzanne wanted. Hopefully I'll have some more photographs to post soon.

23/10/16 - As the images from the event don't really show the dress, here's a standard back-yard shot instead. It's also a better representation of the colour.

Vogue 2401

I’ve had this pattern on my ‘To make’ list for a long time. Then on my last trip to Goldhawk Road I found myself in Fabrix, which sells a silks in a mind-boggling array of weights and colours. Trying not to drool over the fabric, I decided that I really fancied pushing the boat out and making a silk dress (while wilfully ignoring the minor detail that I have absolutely no reason to ever wear a silk dress!).

After a lot of deliberation, I eventually decided on a deep red heavy dupion, and decided that this was finally time to break out Vogue 2401. It’s only taken me four months to get round to starting it, which is quite good going for me.

Pattern and fabric

The pattern is defined as ‘average’ (or in French, rather wonderfully, as ‘less easy’). At first glance, it doesn’t look it. Like Vogue 2859, it has some oddly-shaped pieces.

Pattern piece shapes

I couldn’t work out how all of these would fit together, much less how to apply my usual Vogue alterations of shortening the bodice above and below the bustline. The easiest solution seemed to be to make a toile of the bodice with no alterations, work them out on the toile, and then transfer them back to the pattern.

I made the toile in woven gingham as this makes it easy to identify the grainline. As ever, I tailor tacked small circles, big circles and squares in different colours of thread; this turned out to be invaluable when making the bodice up.

Actually, the pattern isn’t that complicated, so long as you follow the instructions carefully. Like the famous Walkaway Dress, it has no zip or buttons. Instead the front panel fastens at the back with a grosgrain belt, and the backs wrap over it to tie at the front. As a result, making it up seems very odd until the final stages, when it all magically comes together.

Once made, I had a fitting session with Mum. The good (and unusual) news was that the bust points were in exactly the right place, so no above-bust alterations were needed. The bad news was that this was the only good news. Alterations were as follows:

• Front (consisting of actual front and the underbodice side fronts) - shorten by ½" at centre, extending to 1½" at sides
• Back (consisting of back and bodice side fronts, which are attached to back at side seam) - shorten by 2" all the way across, which also involves shortening the ties
• Sleeves - make narrower at wrist
• Narrow both front and back across shoulders, tapering to nothing at the waist.

The toile with the shortening alterations tacked in place

On top of that, I changed the ties. The tie is made by folding the bodice side front piece so that the end is double, but this would be far too bulky in the heavy dupion. So instead I redrew the piece without the folded section.

Tie piece, with fold line marked

After so many changes, I decided that a second toile was needed, to check everything before I started cutting out in silk. It was perfect, so now it’s time for the ‘real thing’!