This year’s Easter Spring Dress challenge was a great excuse to revisit an old favorite, Vintage Vogue V8789
My sewing has changed quite a lot in the two years since I originally made this pattern, and my techniques have evolved as I’ve been more focused on this blog.
The old dress I had made no longer fit and I knew it was time to tackle this 1950s sewing pattern again with fresh eyes.
How can you look with fresh eyes at a vintage sewing pattern?
First of all, you update the color and fabric choice for the project overall.
With this version of vintage vogue V8789, I decided to use a lovely light- to midweight linen I picked off of the Britex Fabrics website in a shockingly gorgeous Starfish Coral color.
I knew this fabric would be perfect for this project for the following reasons:
- The linen was going to be top notch. The less nubs a linen has, the higher quality it is (longer fiber staples)– and this linen is literally like butter.
- Linen is super breathable and this piece will transition from early Spring to late Summer with no issues.
- Easy to wash, especially for hot days.
- Light care issues. A good hand washing in some cold water is more than enough.
- The color is super fashionable right now and its a color I already rock well- there are a lot of things in my closet that match.
My tips for this vintage dress start with remembering the basics.
My first tip comes down to one of the biggest stabilizing tips I have… of all time!
Don’t skip out on taking care of the neckline!
Nearly every neckline that can be worn is cut on some sort of bias and that bias will stretch the more you wear your garment. Cutting that process down is insanely important.
For my Vogue V8789, I used a lightweight interfacing as well as organza strips sewn into the seam allowance to keep that edge as stable as possible.
Paying attention to your darts makes dresses like this possible.
My next tip is to curve your darts to you body, especially if you happen to be ample-FBA-ed as I am. The curvature of the dart will cup the dart to your body, giving a more flattering silhouette.
To learn how to fit this pattern, click here watch my fitting video of Vintage Vogue V8789.
Grosgrain ribbon is a Vintage Girl’s best friend.
Familiarizing yourself with grosgrain ribbon isn’t difficult- and its always a treat to be able to pull it out to work with. The ribbon I purchased directly from the SF Britex Fabrics location, and is also available on their website.
For my version of vintage vogue v8789, I went ahead and used it absolutely everywhere.
And by everywhere, I mean everywhere.
I stabilized the shoulders by sewing the ribbon to the shoulder seams.
I added the ribbon to the vertical bodice seam lines to counteract the gravity pulling on the bias bodice.
I also used the grosgrain ribbon to the waist stay, hugging the skirt to my body to reduce the pull of it against the garment overall.
The only downside to Vintage Vogue V8789, is the cummerbund not necessarily counteracting the weight of the skirt.
The skirt pieces are pretty heavy and really drag and pull the bodice and waist line an insane amount. The cummerbund is acting to nip in the waist. It should ideally also hide the lowered bodice, which it really doesn’t. I ended up fighting with the cummerbund for all the photos.
In the end, though, everything else about this pattern is amazing. I’ll probably be redrafting a new cummerbund and attaching boning to keep it stable and sturdy over this dress. Also, unless your waist is 29″, the bias stretch of the cummerbund may not be enough for it to even fit comfortably.
My tip for the cummerbund is simply: redraft!
Don’t Forget to Check out the Fitting Video for this Sewing Pattern!
Thank you, Britex Fabrics, for making this post and video possible!
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Thanks for the video on the adjustments you made for fit. Super helpful and makes the process less intimidating.
Sorry for responding so late- but thank you so much for watching the video! I know the adjustments can be super intimidating, so glad it helps!
Beautiful dress! I love your blog posts and videos. I always learn something and just really enjoy your enthusiasm and the patterns/fabrics you choose. I was born in 1953 so remember my mother wearing dresses like some of the ones you sew and now I can wear them too using some of the tips you provide for sewing these old patterns. Who’d have known that vintage would take hold so much in this modern day and age. Love it!
Thanks for the time it takes you to do these posts.
Margo
Hello Margo! Thank you so much for commenting- it definitely means a lot to me that the videos are inspiring you to wear these styles yourself! I know the throwback isn’t for everyone, but the styles are so timeless and classic that they’re so hard to resist! Thank you for taking the time to watch my videos and read my posts :)
Your dress is so beautiful and fits you so well! I love the fabric and the cummerbund, too.
I hope you get well soon! <3
Thank you! I’m feeling so much better now- lots of tea and lots of rest!
Hello Bianca,
Your dress is gorgeous. I love the bold black white and red, and when the weather improves and you feel better it will be such a pleasure to wear.
Get well soon!
Love from England,
Muv
Thank you so much for your kind words!
The weather in San Francisco is getting better and I all ready feel 1000x better than when I originally put up the post. I can’t wait to wander around the city with this new dress.
Thanks for commenting.