Vintage Vogue 1137 - take one

Hello, my dear readers, I hope you are all having a lovely weekend, and it's not running away from you too quickly! I'm very excited to show you my first finished make for the vintage sewing pattern pledge! 

It's a reproduction vintage Vogue 1137, from the 1950s. I must admit that this was a pattern that has quietly sat in my pattern drawer for quite some time -- whilst I love how the drawing looks, and have seen various lovely finished versions on the blogsphere, the fact that it was reprinted in sizes 8-14 meant that it would've been a bit more work for me to grade it down to my size, so I had been putting it off and prioritising easier tasks instead... However, the pledge was just what I needed to get my arse in gear!     

My apologies if your eyes are struggling to focus. It's not you, it's me, and my fabric choice! 

This is take one, as I was going to use it as a test run for the graded size 6 pattern. What with it being a vintage production, and Vogue (don't get me wrong, I do love Vogue patterns, but you may have noticed that for some reason my go-to big 4 tends to be Simplicity, and I'm a lot less familiar with the Vogue sizing) and its V-neck, I wasn't exactly keen to cut into my beautiful Liberty wool just yet! So I found this medium weight (quilting?) cotton in the dizzying print, and had a go of it instead. 

Once I've traced a size 6, I did my usual SBA (due to the construction of the bodice, I used this method), and shortened the bodice, too. I also shortened the skirt significantly, as it was almost a mid-calf length, and I ended up cutting it above where the side vents would've been. It's a shame as I quite liked the look of the side vents, but midi skirts really aren't flattering on me, and I didn't want to compromise on the shape of the skirt to keep the vents. I didn't bother with the belt, as the shape of the dress was enough to cinch the waist in, and I was happy with the silhouette.   

One of my favourite design details on this pattern is the elegant v-neck back. The V is not as profound as at the front, but a lovely touch indeed. Speaking of the front V-neck, I love that, too! I'm not normally a keen wearer of V-neck garments, but I really liked this version as it's not too low, yet still maintaining the great pronounced V shape.   

The thing is, once I'd put it all together (it was a breeze, by the way) to test out the fit, I loved how it looked so much that I decided to finish it off as a dress. I didn't want to line it, though (or just line the bodice, as the pattern suggests), so I drafted front and back facing to finish the neckline, and did my usual single-fold bias tape facing trick for the armholes. By the way, I have now "consolidated" the tutorials (from other blogs) that I use often (in other words, can't sew without!) on the tutorials page, so that it'll be easier for me to refer to them every now and again, and also in case it would help anyone else. Trust me, they are tried and tested, and AMAZING tutorials.    

Armhole finished with navy bias binding as facing:

 The mock overlocked waist seam:

The front bodice and skirt darts at the waistline - all lined up (I think I've becoming more and more OCD these days) 

 Hand finished blind hem: 

So there you have it, my first version of Vogue 1137. And thank you, Marie, for encouraging me with your brilliant pledge idea! What do you think? I have a few other projects lined up at the minute, but I am now looking forward to making this in my Liberty wool, and even with the self-fabric belt! Watch this space!