Vogue 8663 has been in my queue for a long time. This polyester knit from Fashionista Fabrics has been in my stash also for a long time. I love the lines of this particular pattern and I love the density and the pattern on this fabric that one day it hit me that they would be a perfect match for each other.
I wish I could say that this was a quick little sew, but the bodice took me a while to fit. I was really unsure about the pleats…that’s not a feature I typically go for because I think they can be broadening on a full bust. But these pleats looked a great deal more like darts to me and the pleats didn’t seem to be adding any bulk upstairs on anyone who has reviewed this pattern on PR.
In my muslin, the pleats really confused me. At first I didn’t stitch them down, so they gaped and did all kinds of weird things that led me to believe that I needed to do an FBA. I’ve said it before that FBAs create more problems for me than they help. I have a small ribcage and a small waist, and FBAs add too much to the waist when usually because of my small ribcage I can just add a tiny bit just under the armscye to cover my bust. I was really puzzled why this really common fix for me wasn’t working on this pattern…I even slashed across my bust point and figured that I needed 3/4″. After tracing and retracing no less than 3 times and having zero luck coming up with a way to do an FBA without seriously distorting the bodice, it occurred to me that I hadn’t tried my muslin on with the pleats stitched down. I zigzagged across my slash points and tried on the bodice one last time. I’m so glad I thought to do that because it fit perfectly and saved me the headache of an FBA. I did add 1/2″ to the bottom of the bodice in line with my bust point that I tapered back to the side seam and CF because the waist seam was riding up right there. The 1/2″ of extra length fixed that issue.
I lined the skirt with some poly knit that I had that I’ve been using for knit muslins. I had bought several yards of it at Denver Fabrics one day for 99 cents/yd. It has the same stretch as my print fabric and it oddly was a good match colorwise. The skirt was just a hair droopy without a lining, and my only slip is too big on me, so lining it was a quick solution. I just sewed the lining and the outer skirt directly into the waist seam.
The only thing that I don’t like about this dress is that I can’t nurse in it. I’m so used to nursing in whatever I’m wearing that I forget that there are actual physical limitations that have to be recognized. As such, this dress will be left to be worn out with the girls (like the wine and dessert night I’m going to tonight at a friend’s) or on dates with my husband. Whenever I’m done with this stage in my life, I’m wearing this dress into the ground.
My full review of this dress is here.
~E Made This! 
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