Vogue V9251 is a smash hit among the internet sewists. The Instagram hashtag is filled with beautiful creations by sewists all around the world. I’ve never had much luck with wrap dresses, but I don’t know how hard I really looked for one that worked for me. Given the success everyone has had with this pattern, I decided to give it a shot.

Honestly, I made this dress for Valentine’s Day. I’ve made other dresses for a particular occasion and never worn them again. I hate realizing it because I spend so much time working on each project and then wear it once. That’s why I’ve tried to start making things I know I’ll wear more often. And when I make special occasion outfits, I’m making an effort to wear them more than once. So, when Easter rolled around, it seemed like the perfect occasion to break it out again!

I used a beautifully soft, flowy rayon challis I bought as a pre-cut from Fabric Mart. I’m pretty sure I paid $6.40 for 4 yards, so it was a steal! I love their pre-cuts section! It, like other rayon challis fabrics I’ve worked with, is very wrinkle-prone. I feel like I’m ironing it all the time. But, it’s very fun to wear and so soft. The sleeves blow up in the wind, and it always throws me off, but in a fun way.

Fit

I based my sizing choice on finished measurements on the V9251 pattern pieces, and cut a size smaller than my measurements call for. It fits comfortably ay the waist, though I could probably stand to move the waistline up a bit if I make this again. I wasn’t worried about my hips since this skirt is so flowy.

I will say that the bodice top/neckline feels big. To fix this version, I may add a pleat to the top and topstitch it down to keep it on my shoulders better. I also added a snap at the front center, and probably should have interfaced that area. I wore this without a cami for Valentine’s Day, but I felt I needed a cami underneath for church. It’s comfortable either way, but the pleat will probably help a lot. I completely forgot to take a picture of the back, but if I make any changes, I’ll take before and after pictures and post an update 🙂

Finishing

I was in a bit of a rush, but I decided to do French seams throughout to make it pretty on the inside. Since a flowy wrap dress is more likely to be seen inside than most things I wear, I wanted it to look nice. I was particularly worried about the skirt seams but once I started doing these French seams I couldn’t stop. And I can’t stop showing them off to everyone I know, which is weird, but whatever. For the inside bodice, I used a button to keep it closed instead of another tie.

Sizing & Info

Pattern: Vogue V9251

My measurements: 37″/29″/42″

Size made: 12, based of finished measurements

Conclusions

I love this dress. It gets me a lot of complements. Except from a guy, who asked “Why are you wearing a dress?” Pfft, boys. I think I’d like to make another, and I’ve been considering ways to modify it into a shirt. I may try the other sleeves, and I’ll work on the bodice length and fit. Overall, a great pattern and one I’m glad I made!