Well, this wasn’t a complete disaster because I learned a few things. However, the dress as it turned out is nearly unwearable. I will explain.
First, this is the artist’s conception of how it should look (yes, I know to ignore the idealized Barbie waist):
You can see that it’s meant to be fitted.
This is how mine turned out, after deconstructing it somewhat and taking in what excess fabric I could:
[photos removed]
I was planning to have Father take photos but he wasn’t available and this dress didn’t merit anything better than rough selfies anyway. Sigh.
So, the fit. I followed the size chart to see what size I needed. I know that vintage sizes are different from modern sizes and run smaller so I wasn’t surprised to see my measurements best fit a size 18. I knew it would be a little too big in the bust but I had to make sure I wasn’t cut in half at the waist.
Nowhere on the envelope is found any measurement of the finished garment other than the back length (fairly unimportant). It never occurred to me that the designers would feel it necessary to build in over three inches of positive ease into the dress. This, frankly, is insane. This means that I did not need a size 18, but a size 10.
Talk about a massive waste of time, energy, and money. I’m very frustrated. If anyone from Vogue reads this (doubtful) you should either drastically revise your size chart or print clearly on the package “garment designed to have X inches positive ease”. Of course no one wants that much ease in a fitted dress so it’s ridiculous. I had to go get another envelope because the size difference meant I was in an entirely different pattern, an additional cost of $19.
Hopefully I will have a much better outcome for Take 2.
Praying With My Feet 
So here’s the thing about sewing. (And it is frustrating, especially if you are on a budget). It takes a fair bit of trial and error to get it right, particularly in the beginning. If you can chalk this dress up to a good experience (I’m sure there are some skills you learned or brushed up on along the way!) perhaps that will help you think about it more calmly. If you have the patience for it, you could totally deconstruct the dress and recut it smaller with the new pattern (using it as a kind of muslin for fitting–who knows, you might get lucky and it ends up wearable!) I had tons of fails in my first few years of sewing for myself, and even more things that kind of worked, but not really. I still have plenty failures–some are so spectacularly bad that I can’t even bring myself to show them on the blog.
Hopefully you can find your TNT (tried and true) patterns that will fit the way you love and you can make again and again! The pattern is very cute, and I think once you get the fit right, it will be lovely on you!!
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Haha, great minds. 😉 In my reply to your email I proposed deconstructing this dress and cutting it down. I think I wouldn’t be so frustrated if I didn’t feel like I’d been set up to fail. I fully expected to have to make adjustments to this pattern but not by so many sizes!
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And yes, I felt (and feel) like this pattern has potential to be a go-to for me.
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I am so sorry! Take 2 has to be better.
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Let us hope!! 😀
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I can see that it would look really nice on you! do try again and maybe what Mat Juliana said will work! here’s hoping! I am sorry though, what a bummer!!!! My goodness! Keep at it! it’s lovely fabric too! a HUG!
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Thank you! Cutting out the new pattern now.
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Its the top really, where you can see how extra big it is for you. Kuddos for buying another size and trying again.
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It seriously hangs on me! The next one should do the trick.
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