The dress that almost got the better of me

Pattern Review: McCalls 6744

Do you ever have one of those projects where everything seems to go wrong from the start? This was McCalls 6744 for me. I originally was going to sew up view C with the long skirt but you can see that this didn't happen. 



Firstly I cut the the skirt out incorrectly, cutting two left sides. As the shapes are similar I figured it would be salvageable. That was before I inadvertently thought that one of the skirt pieces was a scrap and cut into it as a tester piece, so I had to trim down the other skirt pieces. Somehow I managed to cut the most uneven hem, and as it was so short already I couldn't re-cut it. 

Seriously? I have no idea what was wrong with me. Part of me wants to use the excuse that I was recovering from a tummy bug when I was sewing this, but I know that alot of these mistakes were down to my sillyness. I am just glad that I managed to salvage it in the end. 


Anyway enough of me being an idiot, let's talk about the dress. I had read in pattern reviews that the bodice comes up quite big. Therefore I went down a size and cut a small on the bodice and medium on the skirt. The bodice fits perfectly and there is no over-exposure on the wrap which is great. The medium on the skirt fits fine, but when I make this again I will probably grade out to a large on the hips for a looser fit. 


The fabric is another ITY knit from Windmil Fabrics in Boston, priced at $4.98 per yard. Like my previous dress it was really easy to work with and washed great. Despite my carelessness the instructions for the dress are simple and to be honest it came together pretty quickly including my mistakes. Initially I wasn't sure how much I would like the ruched sleeves, but know the dress is finished I really like them as a design feature and they are something new to add to the my wardrobe. 

You can see my Pattern Review here.


Most of the pictures above are taken on the V&A in Cape Town. I tried taking some snaps in Melbourne but it was just a little bit too sunny. However, I thought I would throw in this pic of my friend's dog photo-bombing the shot for laughs. 

Have you ever had a project that seems to be sabotaged from the start? 
Other than lots of deep breaths what techniques do you have to finish it? 

Happy Sewing!

Comments

  1. Faye Lewis26 December 2014 at 17:26

    Nice job.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barbarags27 December 2014 at 09:26

    You choose such great prints for your makes. The ruches on the sleeves gives the dress an extra bit of elan.
    As for projects that go wrong! Best not ask me about that as I am still wondering what to do about one I started before Christmas and that seemed to be going well so that I would finish it in time for a specific pre-Christmas occasion until !!*!! - good job I had something else to wear instead.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovenicky27 December 2014 at 11:49

    A beautiful dress with a beautiful print again! I don't think you need to grade the hips bigger. This size looks great on you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tomasa27 December 2014 at 19:35

    Well, you did a great job saving this dress. Beautiful job!

    ReplyDelete

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