Vogue 1220

Pattern Description:
Loose-fitting, mid-knee length dress has shawl pleated collar, partial waistline seam, pleats, side slant pockets, princess seams in bodice back, back darts, short sleeves turn back cuffs, stitched hem facing, right fly front button closure and tie belt.
Pattern Sizing:
8-22. I cut a 16 through the neck and shoulders gradually out to size 20 at the hips.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
I think it does. Do you?

Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions were pretty good but steps 12-14 totally confused me. I made it work but thank goodness I my belt covered it up.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I didn't have any dislikes with the style. I love the pockets and the shawl collar.
Fabric Used:
I think it's a stretch twill
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I'm not sure I needed to but I didn't want to use the design ease in lieu of an FBA so I made a 1" FBA. Doing so was quite tricky.
I cut the pattern apart at the underarm mark to add a sideseam and a dart. I divided the dart between the sideseam and the collar and making four pleats instead of three. Then added an extra pleat to the waist making three instead of two.

I also made a 3/4" wide back adjustment.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I'd love to sew this again in denim.

Conclusion:
All-in-all this dress went together quite easily and any issues I had were operator error!
BTW the dress looks a little rumpled because these pictures were taken after a long day at work!

Cheetah on the prowl

Finally. Pictures of Vogue 8685. I only had 1 yard of the ITY cheetah print and wanted to save it for just the right project. Was this the right project or what? The black is Ponte from JoAnns. I thought I might need a cheetah print purse to pull off this look but actually, I think this bag makes the outfit really pop.

Initally I underlined the bodice only, as I thought the weight of the skirt would necessitiate it. Wrong. The skirt needed it to. Having already attached the unlined skirt to the bodice, I laid the midriff, yoke and skirt pieced together and cut out a lining. Then I slip stitched the lining to the bodice/midriff seam. Next I stitched over the previous top stitching and voila`.

I didn't have enough of the nude colored lining; I had to settle for the off white. I like the lining because it gives the dress a more covered feel. In a dress as form-fitting as this one, it is easy to feel as if all of your imperfections will be seen. The husband absolutely loves this dress and I think with a black cardigan, this  could be a year-round dress.

A few bra photos

I'm sure you thought you were going to see me sans clothes...no such luck. I didn't want anybody to go blind. Here's a few photos of my finished bra on a mannequin.

BTW these are the pictures of the bra I drafted!