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Projects & Patterns

Pattern Review: Vogue 1638

Threads, Issue #210, Aug./Sept. 2020
Vogue 1638 view B in wool suiting from MoodFabrics.com.

Vogue 1638

Are you searching for an unconventional skirt pattern? Look no further than this unlined A-line skirt. It ends below the knee, with an asymmetrical side drape extending slightly lower. The raised waistline is finished with a facing and a center-back zipper closure. The eye-catching flounce detail is created by cutting a horizontal slit at the right side of the skirt’s front and back. These slits are opened to insert curved panels, which create cascades at the left front and back.

  • It is vital to cut the pattern pieces correctly; each one is cut as a single layer on the fabric’s right side.
  • Take extra care to mark all match points, as it is easy to make mistakes due to the unconventional seaming.
  • The tester’s advice for inserting the flounce is to begin at the small corner dot and sew outward toward the side seam. Then return to the dot and sew the vertical seam in the opposite direction.
  • Sewing the flounce seam precisely gives the skirt a better drape.

Our seamstress found mistakes in the instructions and illustrations. Step 3 recommends placing reinforcement fabric squares on the outside of the skirt pieces, but the illustration shows the squares on the wrong side of the pieces. Step 8 instructs you to sew the front and back flounce pieces together, but the notched edge of the back flounce is shown free, when it should be sewn into the seam. The seamstress says she wished the pattern had included more information about pressing and how to handle seam allowances. The pattern suggests suiting-weight wool, but a fabric with some stretch would provide wearing ease. Pair this skirt with a jacket for a business setting or make it in a fun fabric for a party ensemble.

(Sized Misses’ 6–22 for hips 32.5–46 in.)

VoguePatterns.com

—Tested by Sandi Barrett, Marlborough, Massachusetts, and Sarah McFarland, Threads editorial director

Vogue 1638 illustration

Style Tip: Add contrast topstitching at the hem and along structural details, such as the darts and flounce insertion seam.

This review was originally published in Threads #210, August/September 2020. Have you made this pattern? If so, be sure to share pictures in our Readers Closet gallery.

Illustrations by Steven Fleck.

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  1. User avater
    jonmason25 | | #1

    Awesome Collection

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