Bellville Seasons- Vogue 1162

I bought this pattern quite a while ago. I liked the way it looked and thought it would be an interesting project.

I was attending a family celebration in May and decided it would be fun to finally try out this dress. But as often is the case with me, I had not bough material especially for this pattern .I had some brown organza that I had bought on sale and started to think about using it. I do not feel comfortable with brown close to my face. I therefore decided I would make the top part of it a cream color.

For the top of the dress and the sleeves I have used cream colored cotton and covered it with tulle. The roses and ruffles are made only from the tulle material.

The pattern states that this is level “difficult”. I agree, because there are many details that require both time and skill. There are also a lot of pattern pieces to cut, making it time consuming. Assembling the ruffles, roses and applying everything was a project in itself. It required time and concentration, but I did not find it was the most difficult part. For me the hardest was sewing the sleeves to the dress, making everything look balanced and straight. I have used the seam ripper a lot, this was frustrating. But finally things fell into place and I was happy!

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Because I wanted to be able to wear my “regular bra”, I added an extra ruffle in the corners of the bottom chest area (see arrow on the left photograph). This works well for me.

The pattern is excellent because of its “couture” details. Above the bust, is finished with bias tape (made from the dress material). This together with the other details gives the garment a professional, luxurious look.  It is not your regular “home made” dress.

Despite the challenges, I enjoyed working with this pattern. The instructions were clear. This dress has given me an opportunity to refine my skills, a good learning experience.  I love the details. I might even make it again, this time using red material. I love red!