Sunday, July 19, 2015

Vogue 1352 (again!) in blue jersey + a lesson in pre-washing

Here is the knee-length version of Vogue 1352 that I had cut out when I posted the June maxi version. I finished it up about two days after that. It really is a simple dress once you get the hugeness figured out.


The solid color shows the neckline gathers off nicely whereas they were lost somewhat in the print. And while I do love to wear solid colors, I find that I really don't like to sew with them much. Anyone else feel the same? I'm not sure why this is. Maybe my eyes get tired of looking at the same color all the time.


I made the same exact modifications to this dress as the previous one. The only change I made was to fold out a good bit of length to make it shorter.


This fabric is some sort of mystery polyester that I've had in my stash forever and have no idea where it came from. I rarely wash polyester knits because they don't shrink and I'm often too impatient to get on with the cutting out stage. So I didn't wash this fabric and went about stitching it up. It's quite a bit heavier then the ITY knit I'd used before and when completed the dress was really loose on the top and the armholes drooped. Oh brother, here we go again! I pitched it in my laundry basket thinking maybe if I washed it the neckline would tighten up. Imagine my surprise a week later when it came out of the dryer 5" shorter then it had been! The neckline sure didn't gap but the waistline was now really high on me and so was the hemline. I'll wear it as a bathing suit cover up I told myself. And just today when I went to put it on to shoot these pictures I find that it has stretched back to it's original length! In all my years of sewing I've never had this happen.

I guess it's a good thing I didn't wash it first??? Then I would have cut it out in it's shrunken state and it would have grown and grown after I'd finished the garment.

30 comments:

  1. That is weird! It looks great for the time being, though! I'd be curious to see how it holds up through a second wash. I used to buy these bargain basement knits in downtown LA but they behaved so weird, shrinking, stretching out, pilling up, etc. I had to stop. Sometimes a bargain isn't' really a bargain, I guess.

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    1. I'll know soon about the second wash since my baby spit up on me before the end of the night!

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  2. Cute dress. that is odd about the fabric. i have a rayon knit dress I have hemmed 2 more times after the original as it keeps stretching. weird! and thanks for your nice comments on my Alameda dress :)

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    1. Thank you Beth! I always thought rayon shrunk...shows how much I know.

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  3. It's ended up really pretty. Love the neckline which looks as if it would have been fiddly to sew! The fabric sounds very strange.

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    1. It would have been fiddly except that I finished it off with needle and thread, which always gives me more control in small areas. Thanks Mags!

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  4. I've had problems with fabrics, too. Trouble is, these mystery fabrics don't come with advice for washing or what their fabric composition is, so it's hard to know what to do! I have a dress I've taken up twice due to stretch and another I can't wear as it has shrunk so much. They were both prewashed. I do like me a solid colour. Hopefully you'll be able to wear it as it does look nice.

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    1. Lol, I'm sure it wasn't a mystery when I bought it. However, that was too long ago for me to remember.

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  5. This looks like the perfect little everyday dress for summer. Pretty! I hate fabrics that grow and shrink depending on the wash and day of the week, it seems. Drives me nuts.

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    1. Thanks Jenny! I do love easy everyday dresses. They make getting dressed in 2 minutes a snap. ;)

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  6. Both versions are pretty on you Amanda. You really fixed the "issues" of this pattern. I made this two years ago and have to admit I've never worn it because of the same problems you mentioned.

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    1. Well, it's an easy fix if you still want to wear your dress. Or if you still have it hanging in your closet. Thanks Diana!

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  7. Hello Amanda,

    You look great, pre-baby bod is back :-)

    I love the neckline detail.

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  8. Looks great. I love the look of solids - detailing shows up so well -- but I'm not inclined to sew it either.
    At least you know to not hang dry this dress now.

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    1. Right? Who knows what it would do then - might turn into a maxi! Thanks Kathy!

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  9. How weird!!! It definitely looks like a perfect fit now! Let's hope it keeps it's magical shrinking/re-growing to perfect proportions properties! Lovely color on you!

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    1. I like your description better then what I was calling it. Magical sounds better then crazy weird. Thank you Sallie!

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  10. Well it looks to be a nice fit in the photos. Its a really cute dress. I have a RTW tank top I purchased for running. It grew so much over time that I cut it off 10". It grew a little bit every time I washed it. Fabric can be so odd :O).

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    1. I do like the fit of it now although I have to be careful when I bend over. Wide neckline and all. Lol about your tank top! I've never had that happen with RTW.

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  11. Very cute dress, I have had some rayon knits that stretch on the hanger. Happy this one worked out for you with the shrinking and stretching issues.

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  12. Great dress! I, like you, don't often sew solids. I'm such a fanatic about pre-washing that fabrice coming into the house goes immediately into the washer and dryer!

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    1. Great idea! Then you are never surprised by forgetting. Thanks KMQ!

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  13. I bet it has some Rayon in it . In the good old days people would get caught in the rain and their dresses would shorten as they wore them !! This was in the early years of mixed man made fabrics so it could have been worse . Looks good on you.

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  14. Great dress on you! Your patience is to be admired!

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  15. Whoa, I'm glad this turned out OK in the end! Crazy! Fabric can be so unpredictable sometimes!

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  16. Love this! I just opened the new Vogue Pattern Magazine and was excited to see that you were featured! Congratulations on some well deserved recognition!

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