I have been sewing for more than four hours today, and what do I have to show for it? A pair of sleeves! But not just any sleeves. These are the sleeves from Vogue 1073. They have curved darts. They have gussets. They have pintucks with hairpin bends. One thing about this pattern, they don’t save all the difficult stuff until the end.
Here’s what the dress is supposed to look like.
And here’s what I have so far. The pintucks on the front have come out a bit more pointy than Vogue’s photo, but the technical drawing of the pattern shows them as pointed so maybe it depends on your fabric. I’m not sure I could have made mine much less pointy because the fabric’s quite thick.
One thing I hadn’t appreciated when practising for the pintucks is that the curviest tuck goes right over the shoulder seam, meaning you need to deal with the bulk of the seam allowances while sewing. I ended up trimming the allowances back to about 1/4″ at the point where the tuck crosses the seam. You can just see the end of the back shoulder dart in this picture too. The pattern hides all of its darts under the tucks.
The back has curved darts but I didn’t take a picture before making the tuck over them. Funnily enough, having the darts there made it easier to sew the tuck. Even at the points where you can’t really see what’s going on, you can feel exactly where you’re meant to be sewing because the edge of dart is your stitching line.
And finally the gussets. They aren’t beautiful, but who looks at your underarms?
In actual fact the sleeves aren’t quite finished even now. There’s some faffing with a facing and a slit to be done. I think I’ll have a bit of break first. This pattern is a lot of fun, but I can feel my brain melting.
Catherine Daze's Blog 
That is some INTENSE work. I am full of admiration!
i wonder whether it would not be easier to us a twin needle for the pin tucks.
I will admit I’ve not tried that method because I don’t own a twin needle that’s wide enough for this particular fabric 🙂 Worth a try if I ever tackle this again though, thanks!
I am watching this pattern progress like who shot JR- you have me on the edge of my seat!
It’s looking really good so far. I am impressed with your sewing skills and with your patience! I can’t wait to see this on you!
Looking good! I’ve not read the instructions on this dress yet, so I’m very interested in all the little details you’re sharing…. like the darts hidden by tucks. Brilliant!
I’m glad to see someone trying this pattern. The reason why the technical drawing and the photo differ is because it is very likely that the picture is the sample from the designer, not a dress made from the instructions. They do that a lot according to my pattern making instructor who used to be a pattern checker at Vogue.
Good Luck!
Wow, it looks absolutely amazing so far. I love all the in process details you’re divulging. Keep it coming!
Dude, when this is done you will wear it like a badge that says: “I rule. Kiss my hem.”
So brave, I give you the Intergalactica Fashion Award of 2021! This is amazing, and although yes, I can hear your brain melting all the way over the Jura Mountain range, hang in, Space Cadetta! The universe will be yours!
p.s. my daughter has asked me to make your black leather insert dress after we admired your blog together. Then she left for uni. If you’re anywhere around UCL, you could fit it for me! Just joking…
This dress is an artwork. If I didn’t have so much fabric in my stash to chew through I might be tempted to sew along with you.