one-piece wardrobe

Vogue 1102

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

As some of you know, I have the luxury of being able to travel between Portland and Germany at the moment. It sounds romantic, and there’s no denying that it is. I’m wildly ecstatic about being able to spend considerable amounts of time traveling in foreign countries with my partner, learning new languages and cultures, adding wonderful people to my life, and having the time and resources to focus on sewing and blogging. My life is seriously charmed. But, while I’m enormously grateful for the opportunity to travel, it’s not all picnics in castle courtyards with rosé. My life is becoming increasingly disjointed as time goes on and there’s a large amount of flexibility required to pull off such a nomadic lifestyle.

In some sense, it’s a process of trying to keep at least one foot on the ground at any given time. I’ve had to move entirely to freelance, which has been consistently inconsistent and a necessary challenge for the ability to get up and leave every 3 months. Other than work, I was hoping to stay grounded in Portland until I was ready to establish permanent residency in Europe. Maybe I naively expected the transition to be seamless in that way.

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

Due to unforeseeable circumstances, I’ve recently had to make the decision to move out of the space I had envisioned to have as my Portland home until I could establish residency in Europe. It’s both fortuitous and unfortunate timing; I’m leaving for Germany again in two weeks, so in addition to packing for 3 months, I’m also packing my life belongings into storage. And while I consider our home in Germany to be my true home at this point, I feel I’ve got nowhere I belong. I feel I’ve got nothing under my feet.

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

Losing one of the last bits of stability I had has done a number on my anxiety, but further, I’ve lost the time, space, and energy to really get elbow deep in sewing projects. There is always a silver lining, and I promise there is plenty here. One big positive about this move is that I’ve lined up a Portland sublet for the summer in a home with a fellow Sewcialist! She’s currently working on a Tilly and the Buttons’ Zadie dress, and I’m so excited to see how her version turns out. But this silver lining doesn’t provide me with the ability to get some real sewing time in, here and now. Which is, you know, what this blog is all about.

So, in an effort to not put blogging on hold for a full month while I make this transition, I’ve got an old make or two here to share with you. These old makes might not be so sewing-talk heavy, since it’s a bit difficult to remember all the challenges and details a year+ on, but I’ll do my best. Without further ado…

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

The Pattern: Vogue V1102 Dress
The Fabric: Japanese Ikat from Fabric Depot
The Size: 6
Adjustments: none (that I remember!)
Alterations: drafted a high-low circle skirt

This dress is special to me for a few of reasons:

  1. I made it for my 30th birthday a couple years back, wherein I celebrated with a weekend getaway at a cabin on the coast with a dozen of my closest friends. It was my first birthday with my partner, and probably my last for a while celebrating with most of the people I hold dear. I wore cat ears and we made paper masks of woodland creatures and drank cold bubbles in the hottub. It was lovely.
  2. I’ve had this pattern pinned for a while, but couldn’t really picture this dress in a fabric other than the black it’s shown in on the pattern cover. I hear this is a common problem for Sewcialists… that as far as Big 4 is concerned, it’s hard to picture a garment that is not the sample garment shown. However, the moment I saw this fabric, I knew it was meant to be with this pattern. It’s a little happy and fun, but simultaneously serious and a good reference to my heritage. And yarn dyes… swoon.
  3. This was the first garment where I fell in love with finishing techniques. Before this, I was content to leave my seams raw with the occasional indulgence in a french seam here or there. But I was using one of the last of my old batch of clothing labels on this dress and decided on a whim to finish everything cleanly. I’ve been so happy with the finished garment and with how neat every seam is that I just haven’t stopped with the finishings since then.

 

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

I paid more attention to pattern matching than I had before, and part of the product of that was actually making two bodices. The first one I made was a little off-center, so I ended up using it as the lining. The lining is hand-stitched into the skirt on the interior.

I bound the skirt seams in bias binding, and, though I debated about finishing the bottom with a contrasting color (since it would be visible with the high-low), I ended up finishing the circle skirt in black bias as well.

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

To convert the circle skirt that the pattern came with into a high-low circle skirt, I first decided how short I wanted the front to be and kept the back length the same. I halved the difference between the length of the front VS the back, and shortened the side-seams by that amount. I then graded the curve of both skirts to the new side-seam length (from the OG back length to the new side-seam length; and from the new front length to the new side-seam length) using the curve of the original circle as a guide. It wasn’t very scientific, but it worked!

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

vogue 1102 - sakijane.com

I took a much needed trip to the coast for these photos, stopping by my favorite sit-and-think spot along the way. It was super cold and abnormally sunny that day, so after about an hour of battling the sun and wind in heels on the coastal cliffs, I called it quits and headed inland to a more manageable setting. I did feel a little silly making twirls while cars whizzed by on hwy 101, and even sillier walking around between shots in this dress and jeans and fur-lined boots, but I guess this is what we do in the name of Sewing Blog, amirite? Does anyone have any tips or tricks for taking good blog photos (primarily with a tripod and remote), clothing blog “poses” or any other resources to share?

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Until next time…

 

11 Comment

    1. Thanks Eimear! When I made this dress a couple years ago, I tried finding versions online and I couldn’t find any (granted, I wasn’t a part of the sewing community like I am now and I didn’t have the same resources!). I’m happy to see other versions of this dress around now 😊

  1. How challenging to be so unsettled….. I hope your trip to Germany is wonderful! This frock is gorgeous! I find I am the opposite with big 4 patterns – I almost always ignore the artwork and only ever look at the line drawings as the fabrics they choose are either usually awful or totally obscure the design lines with foolish prints! Oh and blog photos – I’m a fan of the ‘look to the side’ position…. my husband always teases me about it!

    1. Thanks Sarah. I really love how supportive our community is, and I really appreciate your compassion. Just a few more days of unsettledness though!

      I think the Line Drawings are key! It’s what I try to save all my pattern pins as, and it gives a better idea of what the garment can be.

      Thanks for the tips on poses… I think I’m the same. Feels a bit disingenuous to be looking right at a camera that you yourself are in control of. If that makes sense?

  2. I love your dress! It’s beautiful in that ikat which I’ve been seeing everywhere. I went to a workshop last month hosted by a woman who was deeply involved in the development and import of ikat (she’s now long retired). Such a beautiful cotton! Love your big bow as well.

  3. This dress is absolutely wonderfully perfect! I love the print you chose for it. I made this dress so long ago and it was not flattering on me at all. You look divine!

    1. Ah Sophie, thanks for such high praise! I’d love to see the version you made… did you ever share it? is it on your IG?

  4. Love your version. I’ve made this a few times and really like your addition of the high low skirt! I adapted the back after my first version as I’m too shy to skip wearing a bra heehee.
    Best of luck with your housing situation. Fingers crossed for you!

    1. Thanks for such kind thoughts re: housing. Also, I love your rabbit v1102 and the raised V back you added to yours!

Leave a Reply to PsychicSewerKathleen Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.