Party Dress + Pattern Review | Vogue 8630

Our church had a holiday party this past weekend. Attire was formal. I've known about it for several months now. I purchased fabric back in October. Oh how plans change.

I originally planned to make Vogue 2237. This pattern is quite a few years old but is still in print.

I found several reviews on PatternReview.com. I loved the simplicity of the dress and the shape of the neckline. I wanted to get an early start because I've never sewn a dress with a foundation and boning. We were travelling to visit my Dad for Thanksgiving. So my plan was to complete as much machine sewing as possible and then take it with me to do any hand-sewing that was needed because once we returned from our trip, the party was the following weekend.

Well I guess plans are made to be broken. It wasn't even a matter of not completing enough machine sewing before we left. I didn't even have it cut out. That probably was a blessing in disguise because my waistline expanded a bit over the holidays and this is a very body-conscious dress. So I took to my patterns and looked for Plan B.

I decided to look for something with a relatively simple bodice and then do a circle skirt for the bottom. This is something I've been wanting to do for a while (make a circle skirt. SUCCESSFULLY). I've read quite a few tutorials and watched a couple of videos and managed to combine all the information I gathered into a working plan. I will share the resources in a later post.

I had pulled several patterns out of the stash as potentials but as soon as I came across Vogue 8630 I knew this was the one.

 

 

At this point, I'm now into the week of the party so I really didn't want to spend time doing a muslin. Instead I started with the lining. I cut out the bodice lining and tried it on for size. It fit so I cut out the fashion fabric and constructed the bodice. I believe I initially purchased 5  yards of fabric. It may have been 5 1/2. As soon as I cut my fabric for the skirt, I realized I had made a very important mistake. I needed to have DOUBLE the length of fabric for the length of my skirt to make a full skirt. Either way, I didn't have enough fabric and at this  point the store was closed. I went online to check inventory at my local Joann's and it showed that they had 10 yards in stock so I went ahead and made a 1/2 circle. The next day I purchased 3 more yards and made another 1/2 circle and then combined the 2 skirt pieces together. I really dislike having a seam down my front if I can avoid it. Luckily the fullness of the skirt concealed the seam for the most part.

Probably the most difficult part was hemming the skirt. I wanted my dress to skim the floor with my heels on so I put on my shoes I intended to wear before measuring waist-to-floor. Once I had the dress completed, I put on my heels and stood in front of the mirror for AT LEAST 2 hours and pinned and repinned. It got late and I had to work the next day so I had to give it a rest. lucky for me, I found another blog post while at work the next day which said that you should let a circle skirt hang before you hem it because the skirt is cut on the bias and the fabric will stretch. Sure enough when I got home and put it on, I had to make some adjustments.

So anyway, the big reveal. Here is the completed dress. I LITERALLY completed it in just enough time to shower and get dressed and arrive at the party only 15 minutes late.

 

One of these days I will remember to take pics of my accessories. And maybe one day I'll post 11 pics of the same dress like the  fashion bloggers do lol. But for now, this is it. My friend recommended wearing a brooch on the collar and I have to say that was a very good recommendation. It's hard to see from this picture but it really was a nice touch.

 

Here is a pattern review for fellow sewers...

 

Pattern Description:
MISSES' DRESS: Lined dresses A, B are sleeveless or with three-quarter length lined sleeves, front and back darts, collar, back zipper and back slit, mid-knee length. Purchased belt. Separate pattern pieces provided for A, B, C, D cup sizes.

Pattern Sizing:
6-12. I cut size 12.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes the instructions that I followed were very easy. I only made the bodice.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I LOVED the collar on the dress. It turned out so much more amazing than I imagined.
Fabric Used:
Crepe back satin from Joann in 'Platinum'.
Crepe for the bodice lining. (I didn't line the skirt).
Collar/Cuff interfacing for the collar.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I shortened the bodice by 1 inch.
I attached a circle skirt rather than using the pattern skirt.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I may sew it again and use the pattern skirt. I would definitely recommend it to others.

Conclusion:
I wore this dress to our church's holiday party and received lots of compliments. The dress turned out better than I ever would have imagined. There are a couple of things I might change if I had a do-over but it was a learning experience for me and I am quite pleased with the outcome.