The thoughts, sewing projects, and fabric oglings of a dedicated sewist.

The Return of Personal Sewing: Vogue 8593

1/7/13
In my efforts to complete client projects for the holidays, I broke my rule of sewing for myself on the weekends for the last six weeks or so of the year.  Now that I'm getting back on track, I decided it was time to re-institute that rule.  I love this rule!

I've had Vogue 8593 in my queue for a while now.  I bought the fabric and zipper at The Economy Shop for $1.75, and the thread, hook and eye were from my stash, leftover from other projects.  I think the top took me 4-5 hours to sew, but if I did it again (using my altered pattern) I bet I could do it in about 2.5 hours.

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Vogue 8593

And I'll likely do it again.  I had to choose between longer length or sleeves due to the amount of fabric I had on hand.  I choose long sleeves because it's getting cold here in the Chicago area and as much as I love dresses, I won't really be wearing them on a regular basis until April.  The competition at Pattern Review this month is One Pattern, Many Looks and I'm thinking about doing a couple more versions of this top and putting myself in the mix.  Gotta up the ante when you can!

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In reading reviews for this pattern, I found that the only problem was with the facings - with all those pleats at the center front, the facings wouldn't lay flat.  Ann at GorgeousFabrics.com solved this problem with binding at the neck, and all I had to do was to copy her excellent instructions.  I cut a size 12 (one size down from what my measurements dictated) and thought I might have to take it in based on the garment measurements, but the opposite was true - I had to let the side seams out all the way to a 1/4" seam allowance because this knit has almost NO stretch.  I added an inch to the arm length (and I'll add another inch the next time I make this) and slanted the shoulder slope from a size 12 to a size 10 (I don't know why this adjustment works or what it's called, but if I don't do it, I end up with extra fabric at the bust) and shaved a bit off the sleeve cap.

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I decided to try an exposed zipper on this one, using the tutorial that Threads ran in Issue No, 162.  I didn't like this look at first, but after seeing some cool versions of it online, I decided to give it a go.  Not that big of a risk when you remember that the materials for this top came to less than $2!  I think I like it.

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I serged the sleeve and top hems and then left them as is partly because I needed the length, and partly because I thought it looked right with the exposed zipper.

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Please ignore the threads I forgot to clean up - oops!
I've got a question for my fellow bloggers: What do you do when you fill up your blogger photo account?  I just hit my limit and I couldn't upload photos for this post.  I tried copying from my flickr stream and that didn't work, so I ended up pinning these photos to a pinterest board and then copying them from there - too many damn steps.  I'd appreciate any solutions you have!

11 comments on "The Return of Personal Sewing: Vogue 8593"
  1. I(schnui)have just commented on Burda and I didn't look at your blog first. I happen to like this dress pattern and I have been considering it. What a great idea to use this dress pattern as a beautiful top. Makes the cost of the pattern go down!!!

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    1. Hi Marjorie! I'd love to see what you come up with if you try it as a dress or a top!

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  2. Love the lilac colour of this top, and the stripey effect in the fabric. Great make up of the top - you will get a lot of wear out of it.
    And sorry, can't help with the tech question - beyond me. But someone will have the answer for you...

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    1. Thanks, Judith! I think I'm going to try it with color blocking next - maybe a horizontal division under the bust and a vertical division in the sleeve. I'm hoping I have enough ponte remnants to pull it off!

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  3. Hi Lisa.. Nice top :) I love the pleats at the neckline.. If your photos are less than 700MB then it is not considered to take up your storage limit.. So from now on you can try uploading pics which are scaled down to 700MB. Or if you have patience you can scale down the existing pics of your blog and re link them up to some post (This will be tedious..)Hope it helps.

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    1. Thanks, Diya! I thought that was the case, but now blogger doesn't even give me the option of uploading pictures when I try to add them. Maybe I need to resize some of the earlier ones first.

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  4. Pretty color! And I like the exposed zipper. I just pay for extra storage. Costs me a whopping 3 dollars a month. I figure that's worth the hassle of resizing everything.

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    1. Thanks for the help, Liza Jane. While I'd rather spend the $36 a year on something else (like fabric!), the time it will take me to do it is probably worth the $3. I don't need more obstacles in the way of working on my blog!

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  5. This is beautiful! I'm just getting into cloths making - which sewing machine do you use? Any recommendations? I'm just curious if something like this simple Janome machine can produce the same quality results as what you made. I'm just looking for a basic machine that can do quality work. I'd appreciate any advice you can offer!

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    1. Hi Anon! Thanks for checking out my blog. I use a Pfaff 1222se that I inherited from my husband's grandmother. I love my machine. I also have a Brother 1134D Serger (less that $200) and a Babylock Serger (super expensive) that I use for knit/jersey fabrics and for finishing edges. I don't know a lot about Janome machines, but Gail at Today's Agenda (http://gksagenda.blogspot.com/) drives a Janome and loves it (not sure which model it is). You might also want to check out the yahoo group SewItsForSale (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SewItsForSale/) - it's a great place to buy second-hand machines and lots of other sewing supplies. Good luck with your sewing and feel free to ask questions along the way!

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