Hello, again! I am on a roll lately!! I’m back today to share with you my completed Vogue 1353, a great pleated fit-and-flare dress with a full lining by Kay Unger. I was inspired by Margo’s recent review of this pattern (isn’t she gorgeous?!?), and bought it next time Hancock’s had a sale and started sewing almost immediately.
The pattern is the perfect silhouette for an everyday, ladylike dress. And when you make it up in a washable fabric, it works well in your day job as a pediatrician. Where, yes, sometimes you do get peed on but thankfully not often — happened for the first time in ages this week just not to this dress :)-
I made this beauty up in a great poppy print stretch cotton sateen from Sawyer Brook Fabrics.
I lined it with a creamy yellow polyester pongee from Fabric Mart Fabrics that I think I paid $1/yd for… Cotton sateen is a dream to sew with after you’ve been doing nothing but knits and silks. It actually does what you ask it to!
I started with a straight size 14 then I made a few alterations:
- 3/4″ FBA
- lowered bust dart 5/8″
- lowered bust point of princess seam 5/8″
- lengthened bodice 1/2″
- took it in a smidgen in the princess seam above the bust
- added 1/4″ under the arm at the bust front and back tapering to nothing at the waist
- 1/2″ forward shoulder adjustment
- took it in 3/4″ on each side of the zipper tapering to nothing at the waist for a gaping back neckline
- reduced the width of the pleats because my fabric wasn’t 60″ wide
I strayed from the instructions only so far as to avoid hand sewing. I lined it completely by machine, including stitching the lining to the invisible zipper by machine with my invisible zip foot. I did hand sew the hook and eye in place as I couldn’t find any way around it. 🙂
My favorite part of the dress is the hem with its facing and topstitching. I used the chainstitch function on my Juki MO-735 5-thread serger to create the textured line of stitching instead of the handstitching that is prescribed in the pattern instructions. I stitched with the hem facing up so the “wrong” side of the stitching shows on the outside of the dress, creating a nice, visible line of thread. I love finding new uses for my serger!
The pattern calls for a purchased belt and here I’ve accessorized it with a cute little aqua leather belt with a silver buckle that I picked up at Gus Mayer department store in Birmingham. I think this is probably the only thing (at $38) that I could ever afford from that store but I do love it! I have also paired the dress with a bead necklace from Kluster Shop and some Franco Sarto strappy heel sandals.
This is my new favorite dress pattern and I think there will be another one soon. Stay tuned!
Susie Homemaker, MD 