Red Vogue 1352 Knit Maxi Dress

Over Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to sew an easy project.  The overdress for the Dior ensemble featured in last week's post is not easy so I put it aside.  Vogue has several nice new designs for summer, so I made a knit maxi dress from Vogue 1352 which is a Rebecca Taylor designer pattern.

Whoops, I forgot to remove my slippers and wear real shoes for the photo!

The wrap front detail with the narrow neckline binding is a flattering design for many figures.  For me this is a casual dress but I could see the design worn as evening wear.  The fabric is red bamboo/spandex available at http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/Bamboo-Fabric/.  I am fortunate to be able to drive to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, Illinois, to select nice fabrics.  You can purchase their fabrics online as well as through the bimonthly swatch club.  The fabric is $14.99 per yard so it is not a budget fabric.  I think the fabric is well worth the price as it drapes well, and looks and feels luxurious.  The design required 2 5/8 yards of 60" fabric.

The pattern is well designed and I like the instructions.  The sleeve seam is a bit odd; you wrap the seam allowances over each other rather than stitching right sides together and pressing open.  Bulk is reduced and the seam is hidden under the arm, so I'm fine with that.  The sleeve is short so if you don't like the sewing technique, you would need to redesign the sleeve pattern and make it longer to avoid the technique.

underarm sleeve seam

I like a firm hem on a long dress, even if it is a casual garment.  I fused 1 1/4" bias tape to the hem allowance, serged the raw edge, then turned up the hem allowance to the inside and stitched in place with a twin needle.

I added side seam pockets which are not part of the pattern.  The best construction method I know for successfully stitching side seam pockets in a knit dress is included in the sewing instructions for Vogue 1194 (I posted an article about this pattern on 3/11/13).

As a side note, I had my makeup done while wearing the red dress. Every year or two I go to Sofia at the Nordstrom Lancome counter at Woodfield and have an update on products and application techniques.  A "master makeup artist" was visiting the store and placed trendy teal products on my eyes. 

I like the result for evening and perhaps with a black or gray dress rather than red.  After the makeup was applied I had additional errands to run.  I was a bit embarrassed to be wearing evening makeup at our local grocery store and public library so I wore sunglasses inside those places!  At home, my teenage sons said nothing because they noticed nothing.  My husband immediately said "where did you go today?"  Very fun.