Vogue 8645 dress

The choice behind this pattern was very simple: The opportunity to make a dress that has three bows?! 😍 Done & done! Held my breath, added to the cart and didn’t even bother checking the price !! (that’s usually how it goes…)

Size:

To start, I’d like to list my rather unusual measurements:

Bust: 32″, waist: 25.5″ and hips: 38″

So that meant with regards to bust and waist I was size 10 but my hips fell under size 14 (story of my life). I ended up cutting a size 10 as the form of this dress was fitted on the upper body, but looking back I would have done a size 8 since at the end I had to heavily modify the size by adding 4 darts (2 front and 2 back) and narrowing the size seams to make this more fitted. Mind you, I wear a lot of bodycon, fitted dresses so I am not a huge fan of flare dresses to begin with (told ya, I got this just for the bows 😁).

Fabrics:

The fabrics I chose were an animal print Cotton blend voile (70% cotton, 30% silk) and a Bemberg lining (100% cupro). Both purchased from Darrell Thomas Textiles. The print fabric was very transparent (& breathable!🙌) so you definitely need a lining if you go with a similar fabric.

Instructions review:

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The instructions for cutting the pattern was straightforward for the most part but I feel like it could have been more precise when it got to the attachment of the lining to the dress. Truth be told, I had never lined a dress previously so I ended up making a mock up (out of paper) to try it out first before realizing a few keywords were missing from the steps (that would have made it more intuitive for me). Other than than, yes, I confirm that it was “very easy” 🙂

Mods:

• Added 2 waist darts to the front and 2 darts at the back for a more flare vs straight look
• Made the shoulder and belt straps twice as long so I could make full bows vs knots

What I will do differently for the next dress:

• Select a thicker fabric that doesn’t require a lining and is more of a linen based (a lot of my fabulous followers recommended linen for this pattern but I had my heart set on a silky, drapey look). I am absolutely obsessed with how this dress turned out but the only reason I would like to stay away from a lining is that I think it added some extra volume to the already flared dress, which made it look a bit puffier and larger around the waist and bust (do you also see that or am I too used to the fitted dresses I wear?). Anyhow, the material itself was lovely to touch though.
• Cut the smallest size (8) and adjust the pocket height and width of the shoulder straps to my liking. I keep forgetting that I am petite and unless specified on a pattern, most of them are designed for regular sizes.
• Do dress fitting right in the beginning to add darts ! I have this extra self confidence (that I don’t know where I get from) that makes me think I can eyeball everything perfectly! So it wasn’t until the very last minute that I realized I needed to add darts in order to differentiate this from a maternity dress on me. ☺️

Overall, this was so much fun to make and a fantastic learning experience for a lined dress! The bows turned out super cute and I am thinking a black belt with a gold buckle/ring design would also look so good with this! Not to mention a bold blazer 😍 Oh the possibilities!

xxx

A