Vogue 1258 - Vena Cava Dress

NB: I wrote this entire post in June but never got around to taking the 'after' pic. I finally have the 'after' pic, so I'm just gonna post it holus bolus.


I 'finished' this dress late last year but there were certain things that I knew had to be fixed if I ever intended to wear it. After much stalking research, I finally determined that maybe a size 12 (even though Vogue thinks I should take a much bigger size) would do the job and set about making a muslin from the bazillion yards of this pale blue knit that I have. Why do I have all of this pale blue knit? I don't wear pale colours and don't particularly like them on me - it is yet another of my stash mysteries. Anyway, clearly I wasn't going to throw too much of a tantrum if I managed to stuff it up completely.  The thing with this knit? It's very stretchy, quite soft but thick and heavy at the same time, I also seem to have a knack for choosing knits that wrinkle more than some linens I have - what a handy characteristic to have in a knit (no, really, it isn't!). Ever tried ironing this dress? NOT FUN.

Without further ado, here is what I ended up with.

Vogue 1258 Vena Cava - Before (sad & droopy)

Obviously I didn't add the proposed extension to the tie, I also raised that neckline.

The sheer weight of this dress at the front where all of the gathers come together was an tear/rip waiting to happen, I ended up hand stitching (and stitching and stitching) the hole closed so that it was more secure. It will now be the absolute last thing to give way on this garment - those securing stitches probably added another half a kilo to the weight of the dress.

See those stupid sleeve extensions? I've folded one under because clearly the intended way looks daft. (Didn't bother with all of the top stitching lines - I had a feeling it would be wasted time.) The instructions for that part were convoluted but I went against the grain and followed them for one of the extension - hmmmm, I ended up with a raw edge. Well, Vogue, you're not getting me again, I'll muddle through with the way I think it should be done on the next one.

Nice wrinkling on the back there.

Now, as much as I love the pockets idea, they weren't working, they sagged down and puffed things out just at the right place to emphasise the saddle bags - strangely enough that's not a feature I've been looking for in a garment.

My Mother's take on it? "Well, it certainly brings attention to your rear and we don't really have the type of rear that should have attention brought to it." Mum always likes to point out that we have the same body shape - "Our arms are too fat to wear sleeveless garments." (This, at a time when I went to the gym regularly and had quite defined arms.) "We have short fat necks and can't wear raised necklines or dangly earrings." (I love turtlenecks and wore large hoop earrings for years - without them resting on my shoulders.) The list goes on .............. I learned a long time ago to disregard most of it - this is one of the functions of mothers isn't it, to toughen you up towards criticism and teach you to sort the wheat from the chaff. In this instance though, I can't say that I find this rear view flattering - maybe if it wasn't a light colour? Not sure.

The back skirt looks kind of tight but actually it's not even stretched - odd, I think that effect is caused by the weight of the fabric.

The entire front looks kind of like it's drooping too.

This dress is also a magnet for pinchy fingers on the tush if tigerboy is around - he says it makes my bum look soooo good - I choose to leave him to his delusions. Of course in his mind this solidifies the fact that this dress should remain a house dress only (only when he's not in the house, if I want to have bruise free buttocks!).


Yes, clearly it needed to languish in the sewing room for half a year soaking up more creases before I could determine once and for all whether it would be worth making it out of a fabric that was more 'me' than uber wrinkly, thick, heavy, baby blue cotton knit.

So, here we are six months later and I've added a WIP list to the blog sidebar which is kind of long and I realise that something has to be done about it. Let the fun begin!

Vogue 1258 Vena Cava - After

I got rid of some of the sway back wrinkling by increasing the sa on the top back piece in the centre and graduating down to normal at the sides.

I turned those silly sleeve extensions under and sewed them down. Yes, I should have cut them off etc. but this fabric is so smooshy that the stitches sink in and unpicking was just too difficult. Quick and dirty was the answer (this dress won't be seen in public anyway, it's more of a proof of concept).

Removed the pockets and while I was at it stole some of the front skirt fabric to put more into the sa's and alleviate some of that drooping.

Raised the centre front to try to get rid of yet more drooping.

The hem seems to be going up at the back - that would need to be fixed.

It looks better, but as yet I'm not convinced of it's actual wearability, even in a darker or patterned fabric. Another six months and I might come up with a conclusion.

EDIT: (Current time) Now that I see the after pics, it looks much better, so I'm thinking maybe a bigger size for the back skirt and a smaller size for the front portion? Will it work? Maybe in this fabric?

Hey, I'm mid 40's, I should have some bling going on right?