Vogue 1203 - Tracy Reese skirt!

It seems that everything I sew at the moment is turning into a near disaster! However, I am really glad that I persevered with this Tracy Reese skirt – I absolutely love the finished product.

This is the pattern I used, Vogue 1203.


Before I show you the really nice thing about this skirt, let me mention my difficulties. This skirt has a raised waist so the waistband is shaped to conform to the body. It is cut so that the seam between the waistband and the skirt sits right on the waist and the waistband then becomes wider as it goes upwards towards the bust. Now, I have no doubt that the problem lies with my particular shape rather than the pattern, but once I had attached the waistband to the skirt and tried it on for fit, to my dismay, it was quite obvious that it just wasn’t going to work. Instead of following my shape, the waistband flared outwards like a kind of frill, there was no way that it was going to sit close to my body.

So, I ripped it off and threw it away. Instead I cut a new waistband but this time I made it a straight waistband, cut quite tightly to my waist measurement, which fits me much better but still keeps the raised waist style.

Anyway, the really nice design element of this pattern -



It has an exposed zipper at the back. This was my first time attaching an exposed zipper so I followed the pattern instructions exactly and, whilst I won’t try and tell you that I did it perfectly, it hasn’t turned out too badly.

I don’t know what to tell you about the fabric because I am not quite certain what it is. It is definitely wool of some kind but it has a strange shiny backing which makes it a bit tricky to iron but does give the fabric body and stops it from getting too creased. The print is rather crazy bold and being short I shouldn’t really wear such large prints but I don’t care because I like it. I used a bemberg rayon for the lining.

I think that Tracy Reese is a brilliant designer, I love her RTW collections, and although this skirt is a relatively simple style it is very well cut – the princess seams curve around the hips nicely and then flare out just the right amount. For me, wearing a high waisted skirt does take a bit of getting used to, I usually wear my skirts cut below the waist and then they can be a bit more forgiving ease-wise. With this style you need to wear it so that it is a little snug. So, deep breath, stomach in ….

I won’t be eating too many donuts while wearing this skirt. Probably not a bad thing!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Vogue 1086 - TRACY REESE DESIGNED DRESS

I loved this dress as soon as I saw the picture in the Vogue patterns magazine. I've visited Tracy Reese's lovely boutique, in the meatpacking district of Manhattan, several times and am the happy owner of a really nice skirt and a cardigan bought in there. So I was very attracted by the idea that I could make a Tracy Reese dress for myself - one that would actually be tailor-made to fit me.

On a styling note, I'm wearing it here with a really pretty pair of pink Marc Jacobs shoes that I bought many years ago - his shoes never seem to date!



This pattern is graded "Average" difficulty- so, for me, it was quite an ambitious project - my previous dresses have been made from "Easy" patterns and this one had so many different pieces. But, no pain, no gain and, you know what, once I had got the muslin fitted, it really wasn't too anxious making.

As is so often the case with me, it was the fitting that took up so much time. I had to make two muslins of the bodice - I started by cutting a straight size 12 but the shoulders and neckline were so loose-fitting that I decided to re-cut the bodice pieces to a size 10, grading up to a size 12 from under the armholes down to the midriff.

In the end I still had to take a couple of inches out of the centre front seam to stop the neckline gaping and to prevent it from looking too blousy.

I bought the fabric from http://www.chrysalisfabrics.co.uk/ - it's a linen/viscose mix and, although it's a little heavier than the fabrics recommended for this pattern, I chose it because it hangs really nicely but has enough body of its own so that I didn't have to line it. Added bonus is that it goes in the washing machine. Because the fabric wasn't as lightweight as the recommended fabrics I decided not to follow the pattern instructions to use french seams - I didn't want to add any extra bulk or stiffness - instead I used regular seams finished with my serger.


In the end I'm really pleased with this dress and it's one of those happy garments that you can wear on a summer day but also looks good as evening wear. I've worn it to a couple of parties already and it came on a trip to New York with me and was worn out to dinner three times (I think our hotel reception staff and doorman must have thought that this was the only dress I own!).