Wardrobe Comp Review - Vogue V8451

Sorry, I am woefully behind in posting - I have several completed garments but I am still having daylight/weather/photographer availability issues. I hope all of these will be resolved soon. Anyway, here is a review of the cream t-shirt Vogue V8451 (now out of print) which I finished some weeks ago now!

Pattern Description:
Scoop neck t-shirt with puffed sleeves.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut a 12, my normal size and it's a nice close fit. Other reviews have said to go down a size or two but I am glad I didn't.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?Yes the picture was very accurate.


Were the instructions easy to follow?
Unlike most reviewers I did use the facing on the neck edge. This is nice strong fabric and I wanted the look of the deep topstitching with a twin needle. I interfaced the facing with a fusible knit interfacing. I am very happy with how it turned out.

I also interfaced the sleeve bands but I attached them differently to the instructions. Instead of attaching one long edge then turning in and hand sewing the other long edge, I folded the band and attached both edges at the same time then topstitched with a twin needle so that one line of stitching fell on the sleeve and the other on the band. It gives a nice look and is a lot less effort. I gathered the top and bottom edges of the sleeves on my overlocker which was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I figured machine stitches would bury into the fabric too much to pull up nicely. All I did was set the overlocker on 4-thread (which is what I sewed the seams with anyway), lengthened the stitch all the way and set the differential feed to 2.0. You have to 'crowd' the fabric a bit behind the foot but I barely needed to adjust it to fit once it was done, although it is very simply to pull the gathers up or let them out if needed.

Just a note, either I am in complete denial about having fat arms or patterns these days are designed to be circulation-inhibiting tight. These armbands are comfortable but I certainly would not want them any tighter! You might want to measure your arm and compare it to the pattern just in case.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like the shaping - it's not boxy, the puffed sleeves dress it up without looking too 'young' and the scoop neckline is flattering.

Fabric Used:
Cream ponti de roma. I don't have a lot of experience with knits and I worried this might not have very good recovery (it was really cheap!), it turned out to be great and now I am glad I bought several colours.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I made a 'sort of' sway back adjustment, which of course isn't entirely successful in a garment with no centre back seam. I also narrowed the upper back, 2.5cm at the back neck tapering to nothing at the waist.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, absolutely.

Conclusion:
The fabric was a joy to work with and the pattern is lovely. This is a lot nicer than just a t-shirt.