A Tale of Two Cowls - Part Two - Vogue 1250

Ok, I know it's been said before, but surely I'm the last sewing blogger to make & write about Vogue 1250!

Vogue 1250

This very loved pattern is from DKNY for Vogue and was one of Pattern Review's Best Patterns of the year in 2011.
Almost everyone has made it and raved about it and when Vogue (finally) had $5 patterns late last year, I bought it (and a few others...).

In the interests of reviewing it for me - and also that I've not sewn any modern Vogue's since I started really paying attention to fit, I read & measured the finished garment measurements & chose to start with a size 10 bust, grading out to 12 for my waist & hips.
Once again, fabric choice is a key to the drape & fit.

I chose a thin, drapey knit (again, from the never-ending Clegs Sale stockup) which provides the glorious draping neckline that I wanted. It is clingy and not to be seen in public on the skirt section ;) It does however make an excellent slip for under wrap skirts - and since I have a few of them... it's perfect ;)

Other sewists have made this up in more stable knits which give a lovely fitted dress with less bodice drape - an option that I'll try for winter.

This however, is a Tale of Two Cowls and they are both magnificent - a thin knit will provide that ;)
I placed the two patterns over one another with the CF fold lining up and they looked similar, the same neck width and height for the fold of cowl for both the XL and the 10. The V1250 was snugger around the waist and the armholes/sleeves are clearly different. I then arranged them so that the shoulder angles lined up.....

Red is V1250 size 10 (it has a shoulder dart/tuck) and Black is DD1 #1 in XL

For any of you who've not yet experienced the frustration of a woven draped neckline - I've found that even if the fabric is fine, it still doesn't give the same luscious drape that the knits do - and if it has any stiffness, then even cut on the bias, it tends to stick out rather than bend.
As a teaser, my next post will be for the MadMen3 Challenge and it has a very drapey woven fabric aspect included ;)

And the first time I realised the joy of a perfectly drapey cowl (and the associated clingy too thin skirt), was the Eva Dress from Your Style Rocks - another free download - isn't the sewing community fabulous!

YSR Eva Dress as top

And in summary, I love the bodice of the V1250 - and this version has been well worn already, with almost every skirt in my wardrobe ;)