Very Easy Vogue

I've already mentioned that my friend, Martha, has jumped into sewing with both feet. When I was visiting her place a couple of weeks ago, she showed me a super cute dress she's finishing up. It was a Vogue. Very Easy Vogue 9022, to be precise.

Very Easy is how I like to roll, so when she offered to lend me the pattern, I took her up on it.

I really like how these pockets are constructed.

Vogue suggested I use wool flannel, crepe, linen, or ponte knit.My initial plan was to use a slightly beefy jersey that I've had in stash for a while. It is Knits Month for the Stashbusting Sewalong, after all. Then, while pawing through the fabric closet, I found this remnant of a cotton woven that I got years ago at Findings in Carmel. I thought I might have just enough left to squeeze out this dress.

You know how laying out your pattern for cutting can be a bit like working a jigsaw puzzle? Once I start, I have a hard time stopping until I can make the darn thing fit. This pattern acutally uses more fabric than you might think because of the kimono sleeves. Those things stretch all the way across the width of a 45 inch piece of yardage.

So I ended up shortening them to the "lengthen or shorten here" line. Which, on me, ended up looking like the length of View A in the line drawing. I shortened them by 4 inches, but I used a pretty narrow hem.

I normally wear things a little more fitteed than this dress, which I'd call more of a shift than a sheath, but this pattern includes enough shaping in the side seams that it skims your body nicely. Especially when you move.

Vogue suggests you use a hook and eye to close the neck at the back.  I used a vintage button and a thread loop. The neck is roomy enough that I can pull the dress on and off without unbuttoning, but that little slit in the back adds a nice degree of extra breeziness. I like it.

I finished the dress on a sunny afternoon. The Man took these photos and then we headed off to Kelly's Cafe to sip a cappucino in the sun. This style feels like just the thing for a hot summer day. We're going to be heading up to Sutter Creek for the weekend, expecting temperatures in the 90s. I'm planning to don this dress, move slow, sit in the shade, and sip plenty of chilled prosecco.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.