V8663

Peace.

Y’all know I have million and 6 things to do with the new place. I need to wax the floors, make curtains, and really just clean and get things together. We are having a party in 2 weeks! On Friday, I did manage to claim my space in the combination sewing/computer room. The God has been nagging at me to get it done. He has been nagging at me like his side is already clean. But I digress.

A big problem that I have always had is I don’t have going “out” clothes. I have work clothes, I have weekend clothes, I have a few workout clothes (that is all I need), I have mourning dresses and a couple of all purpose suits. And that’s it. I don’t have going out clothes. Probably because I hardly ever go out. But I needed some. Some Earths asked me to go to a spoken word slam. I likes spoken word. And it was on a Saturday evening. I may be getting old, but that sounds like going “out” to me. So V8663 to the rescue!

I have been meaning to make an LBD for a long time. I wanted to find something that reflected me. Not too old, but not too young. Middle age is a trip. I don’t want to wear the same clothes my mother wears and I don’t want anything written on my ass. I tried at Thanksgiving, but that was a failure and a massive use of fabric.

I was in Decatur to renew my license, I decided to go by my fabric place and see what they have. Since I moved going to that fabric store is a 40 minute hike. I would prefer to find something in my new neighborhood. Y’all know how that is. Folks don’t sew anymore. It’s hard to find a grocery store in my new neighborhood. You know searching for a fabric store will yield miniscule results. So I picked up 3 yards of black knit with a light dusting of glitter on 1 side. The clerk said that it was cotton knit. My iron said otherwise.

Folks call V8663 a 3 hour dress. Well I spent 4 hours on it. You know why? I made mistakes. But not crucial ones, but mistakes none the less. (1) I could not find all my sewing stuff. My white pencil, my seam ripper (And I have 4 rippers, but couldn’t find 1. One was so new I hadn’t opened the package yet) are gone. Where? IDK. But their loss will require me to go to Hancocks or Joann’s to replace them. Because every store doesn’t just carry a white pencil. (2) I cut the back of the skirt incorrectly. That didn’t cause a huge problem because I just had to keep in mind to superimpose the pieces since I cut them backwards and it worked fine. (3) Without my white pencil it was difficult to line up the pleats on the bodice. But even after all that drama, I am still really happy and relieved that I finally have a black dress that I can wear “out” and satisfies my 3/4th requirement. I predict this dress will get lots of wear.

Pattern: V8663

Description: Ladies Dress

Size: I cut a 22

Did it look like the pattern envelope when you were done sewing it? Yup

Fabric: cotton jersey, though I suspect it is polyester

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn’t use them. Vogue didn’t lie when they said very easy. BUT…. There should have been more direction with regard to finishing off the collar and the armscye.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It is an age appropriate dress for a 40-something year old

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made? I lengthened the bodice 2” and I made a mistake with the back of the skirt that you can’t sea

Would you sew it again? Yes I would. If I needed to. I’m keeping the pattern because I keep all my patterns that work. But I won’t make another one of these unless something happens to this dress. I can’t see having a whole wardrobe of these.

Would you recommend it to others? Absolutely

Don't I look Happy to be going out?


Alright… Back to my curtains


Peace