Vogue 7640 jacket and skirt

Reviewed by:	Ann Smith	About Ann Smith CA USA Member since: 8/24/02 Reviews written: 154 Sewing skills:Advanced Favored by: 185 people patterns reviewed: 151 Bio: I love to sew for fashion, especially unusual designs. I own way too many patterns and fabric! I hav...full profile
Posted on:	2/12/03 10:58 PM
Last Updated:	10/25/04 10:42 PM
Pattern Size:	Regular
Project Photo:
Pattern Photo:	Pattern Information provided by Ann Smith
Pattern Rating:	I would definitely sew this pattern again
Update 10/25/04: Ever since I made this skirt the first time I wanted to do it again in a more pronounced stripe. I bought this fabric from Loes Hinse to make a top. She had used it for the cowl tops. But I realized I could use these colors in a skirt to go with the Sewing Workshop Salsa Blouse. After prowling through my pattern stash for a long while I remembered this one. It didn't occur to me at first because the pattern calls for linen, gabardiine,etc. But it also mentions double knit. This is thinner and stretchier than a double knit but I loved the idea of the stripes for this skirt. Once cut out it took only 45 minutes to sew up. I eliminated the darts and zipper and changed the waistband to elastic serged on. I overlocked the hem and was planning to turn and top stitch but decided, why bother.....it looked fine with the serged edge showing. Very RTW. I love this skirt. If you don't have this pattern, buy it before it disappears. It is a winner if only for the skirt. The jacket is terrific also and I plan to make it soon from a sweater knit. Original review: Pattern Description: This pattern consists of a flowing jacket, an unusual A-line skirt and pants with a contour waist. I made the jacket and skirt out of a light weight linen with a tiny stripe. Although the jacket is described as loose-fitting, I found it to be a little small across the upper back and upper arm. The back is a straight shape with very little ease. I had cut my usual size but I was able to deal with this by using a 3/8" seam in setting the sleeve. The loose part of the jacket is the front which has a lot of fabric. It falls gracefully into folds. You do have to sort of arrange these folds when you put on the jacket or else the front billows out widely. The front extends to be the collar and lapels so the wrong side shows. The skirt is quite unusual with a bias triangular piece and a flounce at the bottom. It has a contour waist and back zipper. I found the skirt to fit quite nicely with no alterations. I did not shorten the skirt at all which I usually do as I am only 5'3". You can see that it is not terribly long. The effect of the unusual piecing in the skirt would be much more striking with the use of a bolder stripe. Mine doesn't show quite as much as I would have liked as the stripe is so small. skirt Pattern Sizing: The sizes run 8-10-12, 14-16-18, 20-22-24 Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. The pattern is very easy to sew with no problems in the instructions. The beginner may need to find another reference for mitering corners as this has minimal description. As usual, Vogue doesn't mention seam finishing. Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I plan to sew this again as I think it will look quite different in different fabrics. It reminds me of some of the Issey Miyake designs, simple shapes with an unusual effect. Conclusion This pattern was very quick and easy to sew. You need to turn, press and topstitch all the edges. This was a breeze with my linen. It might be tricky with a less stable fabric. Other than that there is not much to making this and the result is a highly stylish (although very wrinkly) outfit.