Let's start this post off by first defining a shift dress vs. sheath dress:  Shift and sheath are oftentimes used interchangeably, but they are completely different. They are both uncomplicated dresses with hemlines falling somewhere near the knee. The difference is a shift tends to be less fitted around the waist and the hips. If it's a good draft, it will still have bust darts. Whereas a sheath is fitted because it either has front and back waist darts or is cut with princess seams.

I'm saying all of this to say, that this is the first thing I noticed about Vogue 8945. You should already know by now that I picked it because of these sleeves. BTW, I've made this before as a top.

I cut the size 12 from the top and graded to the 14 at the waist and hips. I lengthened the dress by 2 inches because I wanted it to fall above the knee, but I didn't want a mini dress.

The back of the dress has waist darts. And the front only has horizontal bust darts. So in my opinion, this dress wanted to be a shift in the front and sheath in the back. On my frame, this created a fit issue. I had A LOT of fabric pooling under the bust and above the hips. While the dress was somewhat fitted at the back, the excess fabric in the front created an almost blousing effect. Since I lean towards sheath dresses anyway, I took in the sides -- right below the armholes to the top of the hips.

With my fabric, this beautiful Baja Blue Stretch Poly-Rayon Crepe from Mood Fabrics.com, which unfortunately has sold out,  these alterations worked out great. This stretch poly-rayon crepe looks like wool crepe, but it wears like a ponte with its crosswise stretch. I see why it went fast. Amazing stretch wovens don't last long.

The neckline is finished with a facing.

The insides are finished with serged, pressed open seams. And in lieu of a hook & eye, I used a rouleau loop and button.

The star of this design is the triple sleeve flounces. With my fabric, this makes my dress a little heavy. Heavy as in, I'm very much aware of the sleeves while wearing this. 

Even though I absolutely love my fabric, I feel this dress would completely float into a room if done in a silk crepe. Who knows? Maybe the next version...

Folks, these sleeves are like crack! I'm completely addicted. It is truly all about the sleeves this season and I can't stop!

For this top, I was inspired by the...

Roksanda Truffant Bell-Sleeve Top, and here's mine:

I used Simplicity 8061 for my base pattern. This pattern had the perfect boxy-shape and the horizontal underarm dart. 

My fabric is this beautiful rayon crepe from Mood Fabrics.com. 

The sleeves are the main ingredient detail that make this top special.  

I've captured this look before. I've admired Roksanda Ilincic for a few years. I made my purple version of the famous lantern sleeve dress about 3 years ago. And here is a black version I made also.

For the modifications, I lengthened the sleeve pattern to right above the elbow. I created the sleeve ruffle which is basically just a rectangle. It's about 10 inches long and 38 inches wide. The width is calculated 3 times the sleeve opening for fullness. I've been admiring the Roksanda sleeve for years and I've yet to discover what gives their sleeve its poufiness. So I had to work this out on my own.

I knew that the sleeve ruffle would need to be treated in the same way as I would if I were making a poufy set-in sleeve -- it needed support, a sleeve head so to speak. Since the way the sleeve hangs and it's unlined, I needed to go with something that would barely show. I used nylon netting. You can find this with the tulle fabric. I don't remember how long I cut it, but it's 4" wide and folded in half. I made it it significantly longer than the sleeve opening so that I could pleat it for the fullness.

It's sewn onto the seam where the ruffle and the sleeve met.

And to give it even more structure, I folded the seam allowance over and stitched it down. 

I'm not saying this is the "right" way, but this basically achieved the look I wanted. And next time, for even more structure and poufiness, I'll underline the ruffle with silk organza.

My insides are serged and the neckline is finished with a facing.

And I used a 22" metal exposed zipper.

For my pants, I wanted a slim-fitting cigarette style with a front ankle slit since these sleeves are serving up a huge amount of volume on their own. I went with McCall's 7098. But they would need some work for the silhouette I was shooting for.

My inspiration is the Tibi Slit-detailed Woven Pants.

My fabric is a Black Stretch Cotton Sateen. I cut the size 14 in view F. But these pants are drafted with an overly generous amount of ease. And they are in no way as tapered as the envelope would lead you to believe. In a way, I guess that's a good thing so that you can customize the fit on the side front and side back seams. I made a 3" length adjustment. My goal was a 32" inseam.

I put the pants on inside out and commenced to pin fitting on myself. I compared the leg opening to other slim fitting pants I own so I knew how wide I wanted the leg opening. I had to take the pants in a lot. What the pattern does not tell you is that these pants are high-waist. My waist is 12.5 inches smaller than my hip measurement. So I should've cut the waist in the size 12. But I worked it all out, with a lot more work than I've put into a pair of pants in a long time.

The pants have a mock fly and I always interface the zipper area. And for the pocket, I underline it even though the instructions skip advising you to.

Here is the waistband open...

and closed.

And the front ankle slit.

This is the detail that drew me to this pattern originally.

I absolutely adore my top. But I wouldn't sew this pants pattern again if my life depended on it. No pattern that I have to work on that hard is worth my time. I've yet to find the Holy Grail tapered pants pattern. But when I do, y'all will be the first to know!

Last night, I attended a blogger event to "Celebrate Fall Fashion with Brahmin" at our local Birmingham Brahmin store. It's always so much fun to attend these types of events and hang out with my favorite local bloggers! And it was an opportunity to wear my newly sewn Vogue 9204 black & sheer blouse.

I cut a size 14 and sewed this straight out of the envelepe. I used a poly georgette from Joann's. 

For a poly, this fabric cut, sewed and pressed exceptionally well.

Notice how the necktie is made onto the neck of the blouse. I thought that was a cute detail.

One of my favorite details of any shirt is a yoke.

I made sure my seam allowances were neatly trimmed down since they unavoidably would show. I thought about doing French seams, but honestly I wanted to finish and move on. And since this is a very trendy top, I went with very narrow serged seams and nice narrow hems. 

I paired my blouse with my white Vogue 9032 pants. And this gorgeous wrislet I was gifted from Brahmin.

Debra Melbourne. This would make a great Christmas gift!

Let me show you some of the fabulousness that's in our beautiful Birmingham Brahmin store:

Aren't these bags gorgeous? And they also offer monogramming for only an additional $10!