Did I mention when I made Vogue 8805 the first time that it wouldn’t be the last?  Although I took a long time to get onto this particular bandwagon, now that I’m on it I’m going to ride it hard!

This time I made the short sleeved version, and joined the body and lower pattern pieces together to make one piece below the yoke. The black pleather was picked up at Crafty Hi-jinks from the “please take it I’m not going to use it” table (which was the entire stage, actually) and the print is a “wetsuit” type knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics.

I’m very happy with the completed dress! The pleather was okay to sew, but not okay to iron – it pretty much melts when heat goes near it, so I pressed it very carefully with a dry iron on low heat and a pressing cloth inbetween. It’s a stretch fabric too – I have no idea how they make it, because it looks pretty much like leather from the right side. I used my twin needle to secure the neckline and hems, and used a strip of the main fabric to face the neckline rather than attempting to use the pleather in that spot. The back neck closes with a button and thread loop, but I can get this on and off without undoing it.

That curved seamline is very flatting and the extended sleeves seem to work very well on my narrow shoulders. I sewed this one up at size 14, the same as my last version, but wonder if I could have gone down to a 12.

If you have this pattern in your stash and haven’t made it yet, I really encourage you to get it out! Very simple to sew, but a great result. I’m thinking one in linen next.

And you have seen the main fabric before – I used it in my Lekala dress, but this dress has a far more comfortable amount of ease for my liking. Speaking of Lekala, I’ve made a few more garments from their patterns recently, and have to say that I am a huge fan of made-to-measure patterns. I love that the proportions are right for my short frame, and that they are shaped for my thick waist! And at less than $2.50 per pattern, delivered within an hour, how can I complain! Oh actually, I do complain when I am taping all those pieces of paper together, because they are pdf patterns, but it is a small sacrifice. Might even tape another one together today.