Vogue 1247 - Don't worry I'm wearing a vest

"Its, err, quite low cut" said Mr B *.

"Hmm, yes, definitely a vest required"

I think I'm a bit behind with making Vogue 1247, now out of print, so far in fact that I had to buy it off ebay. I knew I had discounted it when I first saw it but wasn't sure why.  I really like Rachel Comey patterns as they usually have interesting details and the instructions for finishing given with the pattern are great, this one has french seams throughout.

I realised when I came to cut out why I might have passed this one by at first, its one of very few vogue patterns not recommended for pear shaped people.  Now I don't usually hold with the idea that certain shaped people have to wear certain clothes but it does make sense when you start to look at the finished dimensions.

My measurements put me at a size 12 bust (just), 14 waist and 16 hip but I usually go for at least a size, if not two or even three, smaller at the bust (I'm not sure why Vogue insist on putting massive amounts of ease at the top and hardly any at the bottom of their patterns, as a Mathematician I suspect its due to them sticking with absolute rather than relative ease which means garments will be more closely fitting as you move up the size range - is this true?).

I ended up, after measuring a loose fitting top that I already own, cutting a size 6 at the top (43" at the bust - 9 inches of ease for my size 12 bust!) grading out to a 12 at the bottom.  It involved a bit of fudging at the side seams as the front top and lower side front pieces didn't seem to match (I checked the pattern pieces and I'm not convinced the notches and small circles would line up anyway).

Its not noticeable on my version but the lower front pieces are cut on the bias, I'm not sure if there is any particular reason for doing this, and they don't hang very well for me but its not a major issue. The major issue is the deepness of the v-neck, which if I had read some reviews first I would have known about, and the lowness of the bust but this is easily solved by a) wearing it pulled back on the shoulders and b) wearing a vest.  If I made it again I would shorten it by one or two inches above the bust and add some extra length near the bottom.

I do like it though, the fabric is very soft and drapes well and it sewed up really nicely.

Mr B took me to Washington Old Hall this afternoon so he could practice taking pictures of me but I think its my posing that needs practice!

* Mr B isn't necessarily against low cut tops but he knows that I wouldn't like to be flashing my bra entire torso if I needed to bend down lean forward move.