Simone Cowl

From Spring 2010, DKNY's knit dress with a cowl neck that sold for $160 on Saksfifthavenue.com.

Now you can make your own DKNY dress with similar styling for less using Vogue 1250, currently a very popular pattern in PR:

Pattern Description: Close-fitting knit dress with cowl neck and cap sleeves. Vogue's simple description: "Close-fitting dress"

Pattern Sizing:
Misses' 6-14.  I used an "8" at the the shoulders, and a"12" elsewhere. I experienced an unexpected challenge of discerning my size's "hip dart" amidst the intertwinement of dotted lines representing all of the given sizes.  I nearly cut into the stitch lines! It helps to highlight the correct hip dart lines to be cut with one color and the stitch lines with another color.  

Fabric Used:
Poly textured knit in a "chain-link" print from EOS.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it did, even to the "wrinkles" at the bust and tummy.

Were the instructions easy to follow?For just a 2 piece dress, I thought they with the diagrams were superb, even for beginners. I had original reservations about the large piece that looks like almost the entire dress that includes the front and back skirt as one piece to be joined at a center seam. After one scan of the directions, things made more sense to me now.

 

The reinforced and clipped notches at the cowl front determine the location of junctions of the shoulder seams and neckline. The diagram shows the position of the cowl turned to the back neckline and sewn to the upper back piece forming the shoulder seams. One flip of the cowl to the front reveals the shoulder seam with no visible raw edges.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Being a fan of draped cowl necks on knit tops and dresses and after seeing the successes of fellow PR'ers with this pattern, I decided to hop on the DKNY 1250 bandwagon and join in on the fun.
Although I am not a fan of facings on knits, the strip for finishing the back neckline (a rectangular piece folded in half lengththwise, turned over and topstitched after sewing its raw edge along the edge of the back neckline) works well with the cowl neck.


My only dismay about this dress is that the front emphasizes my front pouch which I do not feel comfortable to be in full display. Although I like the pencil silhouette of the skirt, it just does not work for me in a knit. Vogue suggests a two-way knit which I did not use.


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I performed my usual petite alteration at the front and back waist.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes! I hope to find a more suitable knit in my fabric stash. I can see why this pattern received many favorable reviews: you get a fashionable dress in a short amount of time!

 

 

Conclusion:
As evident from the 40 number of pattern reviews, this DKNY is a winner!