Third Time's the Charm

I have been trying to make this dress for a very long time. 

It's a cute dress, and I like the layout and fit. But making it has not been a successful process. 

Finally did it!

I started making this back when I lived in the apartment -- so at least four years -- and I'm pretty sure that the initial version wasn't that long after I started getting comfortable with sleeves, but before I was fully comfortable with zippers. 

I know the first version was before I could handle zippers, because I took out the zippers, since I was using a wool jersey. A wool jersey would normally work well for this, but the weight of it was so thin that it would rip if I looked at it wrong. I didn't even get to the point of putting in the sleeves before I threw it out in disgust.. 

Dress: 1
Me: 0

Version two would have been an awesome dress. It was in a jersey knit (because seriously, I wanted a knit dress), and all was going well until we got to the finishing work. Then, something went very, very wrong, and the zipper refused to close all the way because it was getting caught on thread -- despite having been fine when it was basted and then sewn in. I kept meaning to try again to fix it, but then I realized that OK, at my current size, it would be massively big anyway, so off to the WIP graveyard it went. 

Dress: 2
Me: 0

Pattern: Vogue 8442 (out of print)

The severely out of print status is the first indication of how long I've been trying. 

In general, I like this pattern. As the name suggests, it's easy -- but I don't know that it's as easy as the other Very Easy Vogues that I've done. By no means is the pattern any part of the reason why the dress took three attempts. 

One modification on this one: I didn't want to fuss with finding buttons I liked, so I sewed the sleeves straight and didn't add the cuffs. 

The size 14 was a little big, but as it was out of print, and I am cheap and didn't want to buy a new pattern for a dress I wasn't sure I could actually finish, I went with that. 

Fabric: Who knows

I had this fabric in stash, but have no idea what it was bought for -- a skirt, maybe? -- or even where I got it. I'm 90 percent sure it wasn't from Mood, so I think it was Joann. Maybe the clearance rack? Maybe regular. 

At any rate, it's a microsuede with embroidery. A very thick, dense fabric. Using an embroidery needle to baste in the zipper was an arduous task, and I broke several sewing machine needles trying to sew over seams and hems. 

If I get up the courage to make this dress again, I'd do it in a lighter fabric with a gentler drape. This is fine for fall and winter, but I'm not super thrilled with the denseness. 

Dress: 2
Me: 1