This princess bodice dress was made from the pattern V9265 from the Very Easy Vogue collection. It isn’t available for purchase anymore. I got this pattern as a Discard from Fabricville, it was highly discounted. I got this pattern when I was a still a beginner sewist and I didn’t really know how the sizing works for patterns. It’s way too big for me and before I started this project I knew it would require a lot of adjustments.
The first adjustments were made on the bodice. I created a mock up from the original pattern to see which areas were problematic. Once the bodice was validated, the challenge was to adjust the sleeves to fit onto the new armhole size. The technique to adjust a sleeve pattern is to bring the top of the curve (the top of the shoulder) lower. It was my first time using this technique, I must say, it worked quite well!
Then came the skirt. I decided not to do as the instructions say. They suggest making a 4 pannels skirt (2 pannels back and 2 front). In my opinion it is unnecessary and not as pretty as having a single pannel for the front of the skirt. So I decided cut the front skirt pattern on the foldline and supressed 1.5cm (it’s the included seam allowance). Something else I found problematic about the skirt is that the arrow for the grainline is in the center of the pattern piece, this means that the center back is cut on the bias making it slightly stretchy. After the zip is stitched in place, the fabric is puling down around the zip creating folds.
I chose the fabric from the deadstock at Abakhan. It is quite heavy and also drappy. I don’t remember the exact composition of it, I believe cotton and wool. The lining was made with a soft cotton, also purchased at Abakhan.
My boyfriend surprised me with tickets to the Nutcracker that very same night. I could wear my new dress. There is a dresscode for the ballet and opera evenings, everybody was quite elegant!
Cloe sews stuff 