Vogue 1821 Dress Review: My Experience with Fitting, Fabric, and Construction

In this review of the Vogue 1821 sewing pattern, I’m sharing my experience making this dress, including the challenges and successes along the way. I discuss the construction process, the fabrics I chose, and how they affected the final fit and look of the dress. Whether you’re considering this pattern or just love hearing about real sewing projects, this post covers all the details of the fun and learning that came with making Vogue 1821!

Also, here is a YouTube short of the finished dress. I had so much fun making the video!!!

Transcript

Hi everyone! My name is Teria from Peace and Make, and today I’m reviewing this blue corduroy dress I just finished. I’ll be going over the details of the Vogue V1821 pattern, some challenges I faced, lessons learned, and whether or not I’ll be making this dress again in the future.

First, the fabric. I used a dark stretch corduroy, specifically a pinwale corduroy, which has thinner stripes compared to the wider horizontal lines you usually see. I got this fabric from Measure Fabrics about a year ago. I’m really glad I finally used it because it’s been sitting in my stash for a while.

Some features of this dress include:

• A loose fit (as you can see, it’s very loose!)
• A bias-cut neckline binding
• Dropped shoulders
• 3/4-length sleeves with real button cuffs
• A continuous lap opening on the cuffs
• Pockets (which some people skipped, but I included them)
• A frayed hem (although I finished mine with a typical surge and fold instead)

The back has gathering at the center, which you’ll see in the pictures and video.

Now, onto the challenges I faced while making the dress. I started working on it last December and just finished in April. I sew in spurts, so it took longer than expected, especially with all the adjustments I made. Some challenges I didn’t even remember until I sat down to write this review, but I’m glad I stuck with it.

The biggest challenge was the sleeves. The cuff opening didn’t line up as expected. The pattern called for a shorter cuff opening, which left the sleeve too short once I sewed it together. So, I had to take the sleeve off, adjust the cuff length, and then resew it. Going forward, I’ll make the cuff longer from the start, especially when making button-up shirts or dresses with cuffs. I seem to consistently need more length than the pattern suggests.

Another issue with the sleeves was the 3/4-length sleeve – I initially made it too long, but after adjusting, it’s the right length now.

I also made the front and back pieces longer than the pattern intended because I wanted the dress to fall above my knee. I adjusted the back to be longer than the front so that it wouldn’t ride up when I bend over. However, the pattern is asymmetrical, so it was tricky adjusting the fit properly. After some testing and adjustments with my muslin, it worked out fine.

One other detail that gave me trouble was the bias-cut neckline. The pattern instructed me to cut it from the same fabric, but I didn’t want to use up precious fabric. A friend suggested using a different fabric, so I used cotton for the bias strip and hand-stitched it in place. This was one of several places I did hand sewing on this dress.

Speaking of hand sewing, I had to go back and fix the inside of the cuffs because I hadn’t caught the lining in one spot. I was so excited to finish the dress that I left it, but I’ll definitely go back and correct it.

Another issue was that the sleeve cuffs were accidentally sewn on the wrong side. I didn’t realize it until the dress was on the mannequin, and the sleeves just didn’t hang right. Once I switched them around, they laid naturally. I don’t mind though – I actually like the look of the buttons being visible from the front instead of hidden.

As for the pockets, I know some people skipped them, but I really wanted them! However, the way the front of the dress is constructed made the pockets not sit quite right. I had to do some hand stitching to get them to lay flat. One of the pockets went in beautifully, but the other was a little tricky, so I had to adjust it.

Another funny mishap – my serger broke while I was finishing the hem. I couldn’t use it to finish the seams, so I ended up having to fix it myself. It was a bit of a panic moment, but I was able to troubleshoot and repair it with new needles. It saved me the cost of taking it to a shop!

Lessons learned:

1. Make the cuff length longer from the start, especially for button-up shirts or dresses.
2. Use a fabric I don’t mind cutting for bias strips, instead of my good fabric.
3. Be cautious with buttons – the sparkly ones I used are not machine washable, but I’m okay with them for now. I’ll just switch them out if they wear out.
4. Hand sewing is sometimes necessary to get everything right (and worth the extra time).

So, would I make this dress again? Yes! I definitely would, although not right away. I probably won’t use this corduroy fabric again, but I’d love to try it with a heavier-weight cotton or even quilting cotton for a different look. Now that I’ve worked through the pattern’s quirks, the next one will be much faster. Plus, I’ve already adjusted the pattern to fit me perfectly, so no more time spent making muslins.

I hope you enjoyed this review of the Vouge V1821 dress. Thank you so much to my subscribers for supporting the channel! I’m excited to share more detailed content with you. I love diving deep into the sewing process, so if you’re into that, make sure to subscribe, like this video, and click the notification bell so you don’t miss any updates.

Also, head over to my Instagram (@peaceandmake) for more details and pictures of this dress in a beautiful lakeside setting. Your support there means a lot to me!

Thank you again, and I’ll see you next time. Bye!