9.01.2016

Vogue 9053: Easy is a four letter word.

oonaballoona | by marcy harriell | sewing vogue 9053

Hello, silk cotton, you shifty, drapey, aggravating beast of a fabric. Earlier in the week, over at the Mood Sewing Network, I praised your beauty. Actually...yeah, you're awesome. I'm a fickle thing. I don't know why I'm calling you names. Probably because I look at these pictures and still remember every irritating second of sewing you up.

oonaballoona | by marcy harriell | sewing vogue 9053

It wasn't your fault. The blames lies (partly) with my constant need to force fabric into situations it doesn't want to be in. I imagined this yardage as a flowing, ground sweeping maxi dress. On my first crack, I went with Burdastyle's Tie neck maxi dress, which is not as simple as it sounds-- it's listed as an intermediate pattern, mainly because of the great angled yoke and skirt insets. Really cool pattern! But after the bodice turned out like this... I abandoned ship.


Yeah, that's 100% my bad. WARNING, CIVILIANS: MAJOR SEW SPEAK AHEAD. The silk cotton was far too lightweight for the drape of the top, so I lined the bodice in a fluid rayon poly, but I should have underlined it instead. Then I cut the yoke off-grain in a pre coffee haze. Here, I tried to salvage the hack job by cutting up the center line of the yoke, thinking I'd travel to Godet Town, Population: Crazy. Simply put, I took an intermediate pattern and tried to cut corners, in the end, making triple the work for myself. 

This is a rare occasion where I paused, looked at the mess I'd created, and made myself JUST. STOP.


For the second go, I decided to give myself a break: I was obviously in a simple mood, I should go with a simple pattern! And here's where the blame lies (mostly) with the pattern. Y'all. I've got a beef with patterns that introduce themselves as Very Easy. In this case, Very Easy Vogue. VEV 9053 walked up and shook my hand with a breezy smile, promising an easy, plunging V neck maxi dress. VEV, that minx, told me her suitable fabrics included both wovens and jersey, which, VEV. WHY ARE YOU PLAYING BOTH SIDES OF THE FIELD

No worries, I never really pay attention to suitable fabrics anyways. However, after botch job #1, I was in a mood to pay attention to the instructions. Clear? Yes. Easy? Yes. Complete? Not really.


In my mind, easy shouldn't mean quick. (And if it does, throw the word "quick" in the description, so that I can run like hell if the pattern is anything more than a tank top or A line skirt.) What makes this pattern easy is what is left out, which is also what makes this pattern quick. Ultimately, if followed as is, it's also what would make this pattern Not Fit. 

The worst omission in this pattern is the fact that the great plunging neckline is not staystitched, ever. Well, it's not staystitched as per VEV's instructions, but I staystitched that jammy the second it was cut, and then went on to add seam tape to keep that V from growing over time. Which, listen, was not quick, but it wasn't hard. 


(What is hard: managing to place cockeyed stamens in the general vicinity of both bust points. One of those used to be a perfect fleshy shade of pink, which I corrected with fabric markers. Me versus Me. Go Me. KIND OF.)

The point of the V is a CF & CB seam. The CB seam houses the invisible zip, but the CF seam, which mirrors the grainline, is a head scratcher. I guess you need it because as per instructions, you break stitching at the point of the V on the CF seam, instead of pivoting. I suppose this is to make things easier, by avoiding the extra steps of marking the seamline, shortening the stitch length at the V, pivoting at the point, clipping to that point-- but listen, that's easy too. Like the song says, you just have to take your time and do it right. 

I followed VEV's quicker path here, against my better judgement (which, listen, I was understandably dubious of, after the hackery I produced on that Burdastyle bodice). But in the end, following the quick path meant that there was no option to check the fit as-you-sew. Yes, here's an argument for making a muslin-- but are you really going to make a muslin for a "very easy" pattern? 


Though I realize this is not a resounding recommendation for this pattern, if, after reading this, you're of a mind to try 9053 out, know that I lost the bodice waist gathers in favor of a dart, and draped the skirt myself. And, I'm not knocking Vogue as a whole. I love me some Vogue Patterns! What I'm really knocking are "Easy" patterns in general. Sewing is time consuming, construction can be tricky, but if you don't cut corners, you'll be so much happier with not only the process, but the result. 

Today marks the start of National Sewing Month. If you've been wary of a garment because of its perceived difficulty, why not give it a try? Or look at that pattern next up in the queue-- what can you do to take it up a notch? 

(Notch. Ha ha. Sorry, civilians, sewist joke.)

this dress was eventually made possible by my monthly fabric allowance, as part of the mood sewing network. and it will eventually be worn, after a nice long time out.

30 comments:

  1. Also known as the post where word "listen" is used.... more then once!
    How come you look so dreamy in all those flowing dresses?!
    Taking things up a notch... Guess I could sew something out of all those lovely slippery silky fabrics I've been hoarding. But then I'd loose my hoard so...decisions decisions

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    1. listen, i can't help how i look in flowy dresses! I JUST CAN'T HELP IT.

      couldn't you lose one of the hoard??? listen. i want to see some maimu in some silk.

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  2. I completely agree about the "easy" patterns! They are NOT beginner friendly. Usually, they are simple in terms of pattern pieces and the instructions are simplified to a point that is dangerous for a beginner to attempt. "Easy" patterns should be marketed to the experienced sewer who doesn't have a lot of time but knows what the heck they are doing and how to make some smart sewing decisions.

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    1. this is the perfect description of these easy patterns, and the perfect way to market them. like a fill-in-the-blank take home test for the experienced stitcher. one could even grade oneself afterwards. LOVE IT.

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  3. Beautiful save! I've heard that Vogue assigns their entry-level patternmakers to the Very Easy patterns (this info is coming via my fashion designer friend via his patternmaking instructor with industry knowledge, btw, so... grain of salt.) Either way, while I use a ton of Vogue and McCall's patterns, I think a well-done indie pattern with explicit finishing instructions would be better for a beginner!

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    1. that's fascinating...so, if true, i wonder why they leave info out? or is it a case of the beginner patternmaker leading the beginner sewist?

      maybe we should come up with a list of great beginner patterns!

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  4. This dress looks amazing! Good decision to abandon the first attempt, would have been a shame to waste such beautiful fabric!

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    1. thanks girl! it's hard for me to abandon ship, but there was no saving that first try ;)

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  5. Your dress is beautiful and you look amazing in it. I used to work at a knit shop, where we referred to Vogue Knitting (pattern magazine) as "Vague Knitting" because of the things left out of the instructions, especially the "Very Easy, Very Vogue" patterns.

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    1. this. is. hilarious. i hear it's pretty obvious, too, when a knitting pattern has issues! (which reminds me of the first--and last-- sweater i ever knitted for rob. it was linebacker sized. i'm pretty sure i mapped it out all by myself, on graph paper.)

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  6. Gorgeous dress my friend! When did you grow up sewing wise? Momma is so proud of you!

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  7. This dress looks so lovely it's a shame it caused so many headaches. Maybe if we contacted the pattern company every time we encounteted a badly written set of instructions it would help newbies be more successful. The more of us who sew the better!

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  8. Gah, this dress is FABULOUS! I'm so glad you plowed through, because this lovely deserves to be shared with the world. 😍 I've had a couple of similar experiences with "very easy" patterns. It's extra unfortunate, because beginners gravitate towards those, then get suboptimal results which can make them discouraged about sewing. Which makes my eye twitch. It's so unnecessary!

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  9. So pretty! Sometimes those 'easy' patterns are nothing but trouble. Shortcuts sometimes just end up looking like shortcuts.

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  10. I don't know, I'd say you're the queen of reinventing things that aren't working out! It's soooo hard to do and I think it's one of the reasons your creations are A++ -- you actually LISTEN to the fabric while some of us (just me?) are plugging ours ears and going "lalalalala" as we power through with something that makes no sense!! So yeah. Great reinvention. Reinvent on, master.

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  11. So called "easy" patterns always take me 5000x's longer than I think they will, or think they should, and somehow longer than their more "advanced" brethren. Which always leads me to question my skills as a sewist, and, really, overall intellect.

    But you took this easy pattern and showed it who's boss. You. You are the boss. This is freaking beautiful.

    AND I hope you haven't given up on that burda pattern forever. Because now I want to make it. And I want to be twinnzzzzzz.

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  12. OMG! I haven't laughed this hard in too long! Thank you for articulating frustration with "VEV" sewing pattens so well!
    PLUS.... the dress is gorgeous! Well done, You!

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  13. Well, whatever troubles you had along the way it turned out gorgeous. Personally, I rarely read pattern instructions - at least not all the instructions. Bad habit of mine but it usually works out fine.

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  14. Well, whatever troubles you had along the way it turned out gorgeous. Personally, I rarely read pattern instructions - at least not all the instructions. Bad habit of mine but it usually works out fine.

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  15. Well, whatever troubles you had along the way it turned out gorgeous. Personally, I rarely read pattern instructions - at least not all the instructions. Bad habit of mine but it usually works out fine.

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  16. I seem to remember reading something many years ago about how Vogue labeled patterns and it had to do with the number if pattern pieces, not the ease of sewing. I think if it is six pieces or less then it's classified as easy. I must have read it because there's no way in my wildest dreams that I would use pieces as a determining factor so it must be their idea! Lol! I think(my own idea, not Vogue) that all Issey Miyake patterns were marked advanced no matter how many pieces...what masterful puzzles those are!

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  17. It is a beautiful dress and you look lovely in it.

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  18. I have both this fabric and this pattern, and would NEVER have thought to put them together. But, you did and it's glorious! Now I'm swimming with more swishy skirted ideas :)

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  19. Well, it looks beautiful but yes, no sewing is ever easy......unless you've already made the muslin and made fit adjustments on the previous 19480317 versions of the same pattern. (Also, suggested fabrics are the worst! I am much like you in that I dislike "traditional" and suggestions, but unlike you it ends up in the "drink-thinking" pile WAY more than the wicked amazing beauty of a garment)

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  20. Super dress, you can rock a maxi better than anyone!

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  21. From Creative Hormone Rush: Now THAT is a spectacular dress! The silhouette looks lovely on you and the fabric's explosion of bright colors is so happy, happy. Definitely worth every last second of hard and thoughtful work you put into it.

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  22. That dress is fantastic and so is that hair! Beautiful!

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  23. Even after read all that... I still covet the SHIT out of this fabric.

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!