THE ULTIMATE SEWING MAGAZINE
50+
GREAT LOOKS FOR
FALL!
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014
MASTER INSTRUCTION:
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Vogue Patterns October/November 2014
FEATURES
18 Souvenir Sewing, Part 2 From the outdoor market stalls to the sewing machine. How to create a stylish memento from local fashions. by Kathryn Brenne
22 Body Double Once used almost exclusively by tailors and clothing designers, dress forms are now readily available to home sewers. Here’s a look at your options. by Beth Baumgartel
30 Master Instruction: Patchwork Couture From the streets of New York to designers’ runways, it’s a look that’s gaining popularity, and a great way to express your creativity. by Kathryn Brenne
ON THE COVER A classic ruffled-cuff blouse in a silky bird-print crepe. V9029, Misses’ 8-24. Necklace and ring: Extasia. Hair and makeup by Joseph Boggess.
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FASHION
IN EVERY ISSUE
38 Black & White
6 Editor’s Letter
Timeless classics for work, play, or formal wear.
52 Fall’s Fashion Formula Five coordinated pieces mix and match to multiply your wardrobe.
8 What Are You Sewing? 10 Must-Haves 12 Star Blogger 14 Web Watch RESOURCES
56 Sandra Betzina’s Creative License See how she changes up her own designs with new fabrics and trims.
62 Graphic Impact Make a bold statement with dresses that bend the rules.
66 Coats A great-looking coat is your best defense against the cold.
84 Guide to Pattern and Fabric Requirements 89 Body Measurement Charts 90 Shop & Sew Marketplace 96 Fabric and Accessory Guide
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70 Shades of Autumn Our picks for the hues that signal the season.
74 Bold Print The newest looks from Katherine Tilton.
80 Peak Interest The latest edition of menswear-inspired caps from Patricia Underwood.
82 The Vogue Man Now is the perfect time for our newest menswear designs.
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STAR BLOGGER
BLOG ALERT! Do you think you—or someone you know— have what it takes to be featured as our Star Blogger? Write to us and tell us why, and give us a link to your—or your nominee’s—blog, so we can see for ourselves. Send submissions to editor@ voguepatterns.com and include “Star Blogger” in the subject line.
Debbie Iles Lily Sage & Co
F Above: The most recent version of V8805 in white linen and cotton lace. Left and below: The Liberty of London dropped waist version of V8805 with solid knit yoke and sleeves.
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or someone who only began sewing in 2010, Debbie Iles has come a long way. She began her journey by making bibs, bags, and baby clothes for her two very young daughters, and even tried selling a few things at local markets and online. She soon realized that while she loved sewing, she didn’t love having to make anything more than once, or having to make things for others. A sentiment most of us can agree with. In 2012, inspired by the idea of entering the annual design and dressmaking competition sponsored by Tessuti Fabrics, Iles began sewing clothing for herself. Without any formal sewing education she faced quite a few mistakes and fitting problems in the beginning, but this didn’t deter her. She took each obstacle as a learning experience, and with the help of online tutorials and advice from sewing bloggers, she forged ahead. Over the next year Iles became passionate about sewing, built up her skills, and in 2013 took home the third place Tessuti Award in the Black Dress category. Not bad for a self-taught sewist. Today she dabbles in design and makes nearly all of her and her daughters’ clothing (a third daughter was born since she began sewing), and a fair number of business shirts for her husband too! Wanting to share all that she had learned, and to inspire others to sew, Iles began a blog about a year ago. That’s where we found this talented young woman and decided to share some of her accomplishments with our readers. What really caught our attention were Iles’s cre-
ative interpretations of V8805, which never follow the pattern exactly. This Very Easy Vogue dress has three horizontal sections—yoke/sleeve, body, lower edge—that are great for color blocking. But Iles took things a few steps further by using these three pieces to create completely new looks. First up was her Liberty of London version, which was born from her love of dropped-waist dresses with flounced skirts. Iles took the lower section, doubled the width, and gathered it to the body of the dress to create a flounce. She also made a few other small tweaks, and the result is a sweet little dress that looks fun to wear. Next up was her Fit and Flare version, which strays the furthest from the original pattern. The first thing you’ll notice is the extra long zipper down the center front. She also made the body much narrower and added fish-eye darts in the back to make the dress truly fitted. She repeated the flounce on the lower section, but instead of gathering it like the Liberty of London dress, she pleated it to the body. The sleeves were extended to full length, slimmed down, and finished with a ruffle at the wrist. Made in a combination of gray and navy wool knits, it’s the perfect cool weather dress. In an attempt to use up scraps of a very expensive Italian viscose from another project, and pare down her fabric stash before making a big move from Australia to the US, she created yet another version of V8805. This time the dress closely resembled the original pattern, except shorter in the body and lower section. But Iles still had more scraps of this precious fabric that she couldn’t stand to part with, so she made a matching dress for her middle daughter. And there were still more scraps! So she made a matching dress for her youngest. Thus, the collection was dubbed The Family Uniform. Very cute at every age and size! Iles’s most recent version of the dress is perhaps the most sophisticated so far. Made from white linen and contrasted with cotton lace, it’s a simple yet comfortable and cool summer dress. This time Iles lengthened and widened the sleeves and used the scallop edge of the lace to its best advantage for a little drama. The body of the dress was lengthened, the lower section eliminated, and the hem shaped to be longer in the back. Her daughter says she looks like an angel in it, and we agree. These are just a handful of the garments Iles has made and posted about in the first year of her blog, which also includes a few tutorials and free patterns of her own design. We’d say that’s quite an output! We can’t wait to see what she does next, and if she’ll be making any more versions of V8805. You can check out what she’s doing at lilysageandco.blogspot.com. ✂
Above: The Fit and Flare version of V8805. Right: Mom’s dress made with scraps from a previous project. Below: Daughters’ dresses made from scraps of mom’s dress. Frugal and fashionable!
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014 13
TAKE FIVE BASIC PIECES, MAKE THEM IN COORDINATING FABRICS, AND MULTIPLY YOUR WARDROBE OPTIONS. Here are the pieces. This page: The textured knit turtleneck dress (V8939, Misses’ 4–20) with the tted vest in ocked denim (V8931, Misses’ 6–22). Earrings: Extasia. Next page, top left: An Aztec jacquard skirt unites all the colors. V8916, Misses’ 6–22. Worn with a purchased top. Necklace: Annie Hammer. Below: The turtleneck dress (V8939) on its own. Necklace: Annie Hammer. Right: Matching Aztec jacquard jacket from the same pattern as the skirt (V8916), with ocked denim pants (Very Easy Vogue V8961, Misses’ 8–24). Necklace: Extasia.
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WWW.VOGUEPATTERNS.COM
HAIR AND MAKEUP: JOSEPH BOGGESS
The vertical seams on the front and back are piped with a silky, twisted bi-color home dec cording.
The front closure was changed from snaps to an exposed zipper. Zippers were also added to the top of the pockets.
Faux fur was used for portions of the pieced cuffs and the collar.
Sandra’s
Sandra Betzina takes her own designs and changes them up with new fabrics, trims, and notions.
CREATIVE LICENSE 56
TODAY’S
FIT
BY SANDRA BETZINA
A
Because of the design of the fabric, no trim was added to the collar.
V1036
ALL SIZES INCLUDED TOUTE LES TAILLES
PATTERN/ PATRON
B
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The geometric motif was used horizontally on the yoke and sleeve, and vertically in the body of the jacket.
Previous page: Sandra says, “This jacket is so attering, and the vertical seams are a great place to add piping. It was originally conceived as a new version of a classic denim jacket, but with a change of fabric, like this boiled wool, it can become luxurious. And, since it’s unlined, it acts more like a sweater than a jacket. The faux fur gives it a punch without being overpowering.” V1036, Today’s Fit sizes A–J. Earrings and ring: Rivka Friedman. Another version of this jacket is on page 43.
TODAY’S
FIT
BY SANDRA BETZINA
B
V1319
HAIR AND MAKEUP: JOSEPH BOGGESS WWW.VOGUEPATTERNS.COM
ALL SIZES INCLUDED TOUTE LES TAILLES
B
A
A
VOGUE PATTERNS
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“This coat is very sophisticated, and I decided to give it a more casual, fun look with this fabric I bought on one of my tours of Vietnam. I think it was meant to be a bed covering,” Sandra laughs. The geometric pattern is used both horizontally and vertically, and worked perfectly into the welt pocket design. V1319, Today’s Fit sizes A–J. Earrings and bracelet: Carolina Designs. Another version of this coat can be seen in Kathryn Brenne’s article, Patchwork Couture, on page 31.
The coat was shortened to mid-thigh for a casual look.
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All the angles. This page: Pattern blocking with classic pinstripes and a houndstooth plaid on this tted dress with a partial peplum and an angled skirt seam with slit. V9024, Misses’ 6–22. Earrings and bracelet: Zenzii. Next page: A new version of Marcy Tilton’s shingle dress. We chose to stitch the panels without layering to avoid showthrough from the bold stripe. V8904, Misses’ 6–14. Earrings and bracelet: Anne Koplik.
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HAIR AND MAKEUP: JOSEPH BOGGESS WWW.VOGUEPATTERNS.COM
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. WHY FOLLOW THE CROWD WHEN YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN BOLD STATEMENT?
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EDITOR’S LETTER
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I
t’s finally here! You’ve been asking for it, we’ve been working on it, and now it’s reality—a digital version of Vogue Patterns for iPad. For those of you who have a subscription to the print version, you will be able to access the digital version for free. Simply download the free Vogue Patterns app from the Apple Newsstand and sign in using your email address and the account number from your mailing label. It’s that easy. If you’re not a subscriber to the print version, download the free Vogue Patterns app and subscribe to the digital-only version for $15.99 a year, or buy a single copy for $3.99. It’s a great value, and it has all the same great fashions, articles, and resources as the print version, plus a few nice extras like direct links to patterns and products, with more enhancements planned for the future. We’ve been working on a few other things as well, all of them aimed at communicating with you, our customer. We want to hear from you and know what you’re thinking. What
you like, and what you want to see in the future. And we want to tell you what we’re up to too by bringing you up-to-theminute pattern news, showing you how to get the look of popular ready-to-wear styles using our patterns, and spotlighting your creations with our patterns. We’re even digging into our archives to show you some fun looks at the past. We’ve expanded our social media presence with enhanced posting on Facebook, and launched pages on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. If you haven’t visited them yet, stop by and say “Hi.” Finally, we’re really excited to announce our new blog, which you can find at blog.mccall.com. We will be using it to give you more in-depth information on trends, tips, and techniques, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at who we are and how we make our patterns, plus sewalongs, highlights of readers’ creations, and much more. We hope you’ll take the opportunity to read, share, like, tweet, pin, and chat with us. We really want to get to know you better, and for you to get to know us.
editor@voguepatterns.com
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