A black dress for spring

But first, let's get the obligatory winter photo out of the way, shall we.

I'm just grateful that, during this winter when my husband has connived to work long hours during practically every snowstorm, our son is old enough to handle the tractor himself and clear that snow. Our driveway is very long, and with luck I won't be out there again until said son leaves for college.

Spring will come eventually and I plan to be ready for it. The cozy, warm fabrics in my stash will just have to wait until next year at this point, because I've gotten wise to how it works: sewing the way I sew (slowly) for how I feel right now (cold) will only lead to poor sartorial timing.





However . . . this warm-weather dress was so quick and easy that it is done way ahead of time. Which is as it should be, since it's Very Easy Vogue 8985. I have somehow lost track of the envelope, but here's a link to the Vogue website. I see from the pattern stats on Pattern Review that this is not one of the more popular of the recent Vogue releases, but I had to get it because version B, the dress with sleeve bands, reminds me of a favorite navy silk dress I used to wear in the 1980s. Hmmm, perhaps that is where the problem lies . . .


The instructions are full of little mistakes. No mention of buttons in the list of notions, reference to nonexistent notches, steps like "Press under 5/8 inch on unnotched edge of sleeve band. Trim pressed edge to 5/8 inch." Not at all a big deal, but it seems a little sloppy. Do they want to hire me to proofread for them?

The pattern comes in sizes XS to XXL. I used the bodice length of the medium size but cut a small everywhere else, and there is clearly still plenty of room in there. If I make this again some day, I'll taper in at the waist for more definition. I thought it would work because the elastic is up around the ribcage, which happens to be my smallest part, but I'm afraid this dress does have some of that dreaded pillow-with-a-string-tied-around-the-middle look. I still like it well enough.

Oh, wait, that's a little low for bending over. I'll be right back.

Here's a grainy photo that shows the details better. It does have pockets! I forgot to put my hands in them for the photos.









In two days I'm off to Seattle and then California to help my mother celebrate a significant birthday. My next photos should be from foggy but lovely Monterey Bay.