Sunday, July 08, 2018

The Embellished Shirtdress Series - McCalls 7470 in an Embroidered Fabric

My plan was to start my May Sewcation with this shirtdress first but I made the failed B6333 shirtdress before this one. See, I was a little put off when I opened the pattern instructions and there were four pages of instructions on how to alter the pattern. While this is a good thing, it took me for a loop...probably because I was opening the pattern at 1am!


After going back to the pattern and reading the alterations, great info on those pages btw, I went with my TNT method of altering a pattern...using a garment I'd previously sewn and knew worked for my body.  I used Vogue 2090 last sewn in 2013 (before it became part of the Embellished Shirtdress series) to assist with making the alterations. 


Supply List ~
- Embroidered striped fabric purchased earlier this year from Emmaonesock
- Yellow gingham from Fabric Mart (recent purchase from Sew Camp)
- Fusible interfacing from Farmhouse Fabrics
- 12 yellow buttons from Lauren Trimming in NYC Garment District
- 1/2 yard yellow piping from Daytona Trimmings
- 1 yard of yellow bias binding from the notions stash

Pattern Alterations ~
I made considerable alterations to this pattern since the finished hip measurements were 50.5" so not my finished garment hip measurement. Also the waist/abdomen measurements were about 6" less than my own.


As I stated above, I altered the pattern pieces using my TNT pattern. Although when I reviewed the pattern, I realized that I ended up altering the front and side back pieces just like the pattern instructions suggested.  But by using my TNT pattern, I didn't have to guess at the amount of inches to add.

The other pieces that I altered was the back yoke piece and the front top yoke - just to make sure they fit the newly altered body pieces.


Construction ~
I'm one of those sewists who serge finishes all of her cut out garment pieces before I start construction but for this one I finished the seams as I sewed them. I'm trying something new and was scared the entire time that the dress wouldn't fit because I just couldn't imagine taking out the serged together edges if I needed to make some fit alterations.

Some more info:
  1. All the body seams are sewn using a 1/2" seam allowance.
  2. The fabric was difficult to sew at points because of the density of the embroidery.
  3. So I omitted all of the topstitching so it wouldn't be wonky when it hit embroidery.
  4. There's a lot of handstitching in this since I couldn't topstitch the seams...undercollar to dress and the front button bands.
  5. The handstitching let me maneuver through the dense embroidery easier but took FOREVER!
  6. The buttonholes had to be carefully placed so that I wouldn't hit any of the dense embroidery. I knew my sewing machine wouldn't like them. So I was going to take them to Jonathan's in NYC to make them instead.
  7. However, when I went to mark the buttonholes I noticed that the majority of the buttonholes were in a space that did not have embroidery.  So I gave it a try.  Some were a little challenging but my machine I got through them all!  I love my sewing machine!!!
  8. This is why this is the last garment being shared from the May Sewcation.
There were a lot of pattern pieces to this pattern so it took some time to sew. It was the perfect pattern to use during the sewcation. It allowed everything with all it's frustrations to be completed at one sewing instead of being stretched over a couple of weekends.

A few pictures ~





Conclusion ~
I will make this pattern again. It's the perfect summer shirtdress. I have fabric for a shorter length version so I need to schedule that into my sewing to do list. However, it may make an appearance in a fall edition too!

...as always more later!






27 comments:

  1. Darling and so perfectly summery!

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  2. That is the prettiest fabric and the dress so good on you. Jean

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  3. I really love this shirtdress, every aspect of it. The fabric is a winner, and I love the yellow touches which set it apart. It looks beautiful and very Summery on you. Perfect Sew!!

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  4. Gorgeous dress. It looks lovely on you.

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  5. This dress is beautiful in every way: the fit, the fabric, and the style.

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  6. Wow! Perfect for summer! I have always enjoyed a shirt dress and your sew provesvit once again. Good job on the construction of it!

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  7. This dress is fabulous--I love everything about it! You've given me some confidence in trying this pattern, which I've looked at several times but have passed over because of potential fit issues. I need to dive in and give it a try. Thanks for providing such terrific inspiration!

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    1. AJW - I think the fit instructions included with this dress are excellent and would guide anyone in getting a great fit. I don't know what size pattern you need but you should know that this pattern only goes up to a size 22 and it's a slim 22. Let me know if you have any questions.

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  8. Such a gorgeous fabric and I loveeeeee the shape of the dress.

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  9. This is a great shirtdress. Love the silhouette on you and love the extra touches you added!

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  10. That is a great dress! Esp the collar and the lovely touches . . . what a great dress from a 1 am beginning!!

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  11. Lovely dress! Very flattering fit and the fabric is gorgeous!

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  12. Carolyn, You have been in my email for over a year now. You never fail to inspire me with your careful consideration of each pattern or technique you share. You are a wonderful teacher/sharer. I also appreciate your take on current events, etc. I love your blog so much. I don't usually write fan letters, but I just had to let you know how much I look forward to your posts. Laura in SC

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    1. Laura - thank you so much! It was a nice comment to read after a long day at work and right before I start editing more posts. Sometimes it seems like you're talking to the ether (unless it's something political!) so it's wonderful to receive a comment that someone looks forward to my posts. Thanks again for brightening my evening!

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  13. Very pretty! I love the collar especially.

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  14. I love this summer dress on You and the collar trim is sweet.

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    1. Thanks Mz Neti! Also thanks for continuing to follow along on my sewing adventures!

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  15. My favorite! thanks for posting all your dresses and your construction details :-)

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  16. I love the way you add the contrasting gingham to your collars!

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    1. SingingMamaDee - I'm loving gingham right now! Simply loving it!

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  17. In a word, “gorgeous!” You made an otherwise ordinary shirt dress look stellar...the collar detaiing and matching yellow buttons...perrrrfect. Lovin’ it! And so beautiful-looking on! I like yellow but cannot wear that color. But the pale yellow used as an accent on the cool blue is something I will try!! Thank you.

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    1. Oh D Johnson - really you should try the blue/yellow combo! Blue is my favorite color and there's a lot more of it coming up on the blog!

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  18. The dress is lovely! As someone that struggles with alterations and fitting I especially appreciate how you have mastered fitting your body. I have been working toward perfecting my own TNT patterns. I wanted to comment on the political post, but I am a little late to the party. Although I may not agree with every point you make, I do so appreciate the civility you always present in making your case. I have always felt that we need to listen to other viewpoints and educate ourselves on why others feel the way they do. Before I commit to a viewpoint, I do try to hear out both sides. These days, I find myself tuning out before I get to the end of an article etc because the I find rudeness hard to endure. thanks, Diane

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  19. Love your dress. I don't know if you know the following hint,but I was afraid of ripping out serger seams as well. I now use two colors. The matching color on the two spools for the needles and a color just a little lighter for the loopers. You can see a straight stitch line of the darker color running along the bottom edge on one side and running through the middle of the other side. Just catch it with your seam ripper-dark thread only and you can pull it straight out. Then catch the darker thread on the other side and do the same. The loop threads fall right off. Happy Sewing

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    1. Talcmom - I’m afraid because I serge off part of the seam to make it smaller and to look more like RTW. 5/8” is a lot of space to play with at every seam offering a bit of space to use for alterations. So losing the space makes me nervous!

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  20. Love this creation! The style, color and your fitting suggestions. You always inspire me to "sew outside the box" and I appreciate that. Your blog is the first thing I read when I come home from work to "decompress". Thank you again for sharing all that you do.

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