Vogue 1086 Tracy Reese Dress

 
 
 
 






















Pattern Description: Misses' dress designed by Tracy Reese is a slightly flared dress, mid-knee, has princess seams, very loose-fitting bodice with yokes, forming cap sleeves, above waist midriff and left side zipper opening.  This pattern is rated average in sewing ability. 

Pattern Sizing:
8-24.  I made this for DD1 and we started with a size 14 but with so many alterations in the bodice, I have to say we ended up with more of a 8 or 10 in the bodice. 



















Fabric Used:
I love the fabric we used.  It is 100% cotton I purchased on clearance from Fabric Mart.   If I remember correctly, this cost less than 5 bucks a yard.  Total cost for this dress was less than $20. 

Time to Make:
I made 2 muslins in order to get this dress to fit my daughter the way she wanted it to fit.  I would say I spent about 12 hours on this dress.  The construction isn't terribly complicated, it is just all the fitting it took to get it so she'd wear it. 

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I love the style of the dress and so does DD1.  There are enough designer details to make this dress super cute and stylish. 

Would you sew it again or recommend it to others? 

I won't sew it for myself, but it looks great on my daughter.  It is pretty distinct, but in a variety of fabrics and colors it will look different.  I do recommend it to others provided you take the time to make a muslin and see how you want it to fit.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Well, yes actually it looks quite a bit like the envelope--which I don't necessarily get as the description states it is very loose-fitting bodice which is what we had when we made the muslin.  To me the envelope doesn't look very-loose fitting at all. 

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Instructions were just fine.  I didn't have any issues with them.  I will caution everyone to carefully mark all the dots/squares/circles you need clearly on the fabric for reference points.  You'll need them. 

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
We took in many parts of the bodice numerous times.  In total, I am not sure how many inches although you can see in the photo the new sewing lines I drew on the muslin I made. 
As for design changes, none--DD loved the style so we left that alone.  What you can't see in the photo is a pair of darts she took in at the bodice area to help with the loose-fitting area.  I thought I had the dress completed, sent it to her at +1600 miles away.  It was still looser than she wanted so she took off the sleeve facings, took it in and when I arrived, I reattached the sleeve facings and ta-da!  A new dress! 

Conclusion
This is a fun summer dress pattern.  DD and I started this a year ago and finally finished it when I was visiting her in sunny California last week.  I am glad we completed this and I hope she loves wearing it as much as I enjoyed making it with her.  I would make sure you create a muslin or two in order to get it to fit how you want.  With our first muslin it was ridiculously huge and totally unwearable.  Now it is fun and great for summer parties, work, and everything else!