Completed: Vogue 1610, in Silk Jersey

All right, y’all, so back to Vogue 1610. If you recall my first make-up of this pattern, I’m happy to report that I finally got my hands on some gorgeous silk jersey and was able to do her her all fancy-like – want to see? 🙂

Yay, baby’s first ~silk jersey~ DVF 😉

I know, I know – a true 1970s DVF would be made in some ~futuristic~ polyester, but I’m a fine lady with fine tastes and I wanted silk! So silk I got. Ha!

After my first make, I was pretty confident on the sizing and adjustments I needed to do to get this dress really looking it’s best. Y’all should be proud of me – I remembered to *not* hack off the hemline to dangerously short proportions, and I remembered to remove the added length to the bodice so this hits me in the right spot. Other than that, this dress went together almost the same way as my first one – except I left the sleeves off, for a cool 70s kick. Nice, yeah?

Now let’s talk about silk jersey. After lurking the Mood Fabrics website (as well as the store last month!) for a few weeks, I came across this gorgeous this paisley silk jersey by Marc Jacobs. I was looking for something a little groovy that would look like something Diane would use to make one of her iconic dresses, and I think this fits the bills. Also: SILK. Hell, it was expensive, but it was definitely worth it!

This was my first experience working with silk jersey. The texture is quite a bit different than what I had imagined this fabric would feel like – it kind of feels like a really really high-quality ponte (this particular fabric is also a heavier weight of silk jersey; some of the lighter weight in the store, for example, almost felt like straight-up poly. So weird!). A high-quality ponte with a beautiful drape and feels like luscious silk, I might add. The colors on the fabric were SUPER saturated, and there was a nice sheen to the right side.

I say “were” because while they’re still pretty bright, the colors aren’t quite as close as they were when I originally got the piece of fabric in the mail. See, I’m of the camp that anything that cannot be safely washed in the washing machine simply does not belong in my house. For some of my older (and wool!) projects, that usually means they get a good airing out and the occasional hand wash. For everything else, it means I don’t own it. Ha! I hate the dry cleaners, I hate the chemicals, and I don’t want them anywhere near my body! I knew this dress wouldn’t get worn at all if it meant that it was a pain to clean, so I did a little research and ultimately threw the whole yardage in the washing machine and dyer to pretreat before I cut into it. Apparently, silk is a-ok as long as you treat it the same way you will treat the finished garment (in my case – wash on cold, tumble dry medium). Be warned that it will soften the silk and remove the sheen, as well as slightly dull the colors. I figured a little dull color is better than a dress that I never wear, so in the wash it went! No regrets!

Anyway, back to sewing this stuff – my particular fabric (again, like any other jersey, not all silk jerseys are the same!) was pretty stable, so it would be fine for sewing up on a regular machine. For the most part, I treated this fabric the same way I treat any other knit – the seams are constructed on my serger (again, not necessary – but hey, I have a serger and it’s there, so why not?), and I stabilized the shoulders with strips of iron-on interfacing to keep them from stretching out over time.

The few parts that I did sew on my sewing machine, I used a fine 70/10 ballpoint needle and regular polyester thread. What is different here (as opposed to how I normally sew knits) is that I included facings at the arm holes and blindstitched them down, as well as blindstitched the hem and the facing on the skirt overlap. I know, I know – it’s a knit, throw a fucking binding on it and call it a day, yeah? – but I felt like this dress deserved just a little more finesse, it being a silk jersey DVF and all. Since the silk jersey is so, well, robust, it lends nicely to blindstitching as the stitches really sink it and are completely invisible on the right side. Plus, it presses like a dream. Yay silk!

GAH, I mean – just look at that beautiful fabric!

So good.

Here’s what silk jersey looks like once you push it through the wash. Notice that the texture isn’t smooth and shiny – it a little rough, almost slubbed (I hesitate to call it pilling because I feel like this particular fabric probably doesn’t pill, but feel free to chime in if you have a long-term experience with this stuff!). Despite being silk, the end result is very relaxed and casual feeling, but it totally looks nice enough to wear to work or on a date.

Overall, I’m really pleased with how this dress turned out and I can’t wait to test those silk-breathing properties in the dead of summer. Not to mention – how about those colors, eh? Seriously, is it even possible to be unhappy while wearing this dress? 🙂

So, there you go – silk jersey wraps FTW! What do you think? Are you ready to fall in love with silk jersey yet?

Tags: completed, diane von furstenberg, dress, DVF, jersey, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, silk jersey, vogue 1610, wrap dress