Hello Friends,

This is Vogue 8847, made in a dog print cotton lawn, that I was told was ex Barbour fabric. Maybe it was the ex Barbour part which swayed me to buy it, because, honestly, I am not a pet person. But anyway, this is great quality cotton and there was something about the print which I liked. Here’s a close up.

First off, let me say I had to genetically mutate some of the little puppies on my dress. By that I mean I did not even attempt to pattern match the dog print. There are a few two headed pups/ dogs with two sets of hind legs and no head etc. That’s because the dogs on this print go in alternate rows, facing left then right and also, there are three different sizes of dog (large, medium, small), and coupled with the gathered shoulder and back yoke seams I just felt there was no point trying to get a match. I am cool with that. I did, however, match the red wavy lines. Have a look, and at the same time you can check out the shaped hem.

I finished the sleeve seams, the side seams and the setting in sleeves seam with french seams. So the insides are very neat and tidy (you will have to take my word on that; sorry no picture).

Read my full review below for all the dirt on this dress.

Pattern Review

Pattern Description:

Very loose-fitting, pullover dress has collar, self-lined yokes, side pockets, sleeves with barrel cuffs, and belt. A: cut-on crosswise grain of fabric, shaped front hemline, and narrow hem.

I made view A, but had to change the direction of some of the grainlines to account for the direction of my print.

Pattern Sizing:

8 – 24

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

This is such a great, easy to wear, pull on dress. I like the gathers at the shoulders and the shaped hem option. I might take out some of the fullness out of the back next time. I would have liked some other sleeve options perhaps.

Fabric Used:

An ex Barbour cotton lawn with dog print on it.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I cut a size smaller than normal on the bust/ shoulders. It fits fine overall….but I might make the bicep circumference approx. half inch larger next time.

I ended up grading out 3 sizes larger (than the bust) over the hips. Next time I could probably just make that two.

I added 1 inch to the length because I figured I would be more comfortable doing that if I wear this bare legged in the summer, plus I knew I would wear this belted. If I was making a non belted version (would I?) I would probably shorten the length.

Because of the direction of my print, I had to change the directions of the grainlines for the collar, sleeve band, yoke front and yoke back. I don’t know if this threw my collar out slightly, because I ended up having to shorten the length by approx. 1 inch.

I cut all my pieces in a single layer and omitted the pockets.

I french seamed the sleeve seams, the side seams and the setting in sleeve seams.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Yes. When I was doing the school run today I saw another mum wearing an almost identical shaped dress, but in an animal print georgette with a sheer black back yoke. I might have to copy….

Yes, I would recommend. No button. No zips. Perfect for a beginner.

Conclusion:

Very easy to make and wear. I would like to experiment with other fabrics with this pattern.

Until soon…..