OOP McCalls 6117

This will be the beginning of a series of new summer dresses.  This year instead of planning and going on a trip, I opted to take 4 weeks off.  One for every month this summer - one in June, one in July, one in August and one in September. I pledged that I would sew for some of those days.  During the last 2 vacations, I've made 7 new dresses.

My daily schedule was to wake up and sew, stop to cook and eat dinner and then read the evening away.  For the June week - I fiddled around with my Cashmerette t-shirt dress pattern and ended up with three very different t-shirt dresses.  They have yet to be photographed.  But that week I did pattern fittings, handled the fabric, cut and sewed the dresses.  That's why there were only three completed.

For the July vacation, I cut out six garments the week before I went on vacation. It made all the difference in the world.  I was able to just sew a dress from start to finish.  Well I did that with 2 dresses.  The third dress was a little more involved and took 2 days to finish.

Anyway, this post is about the first dress that I completed during the July break.  This out of print McCalls 6117. It was originally distributed in 2010 so I'm reaching back in my pattern stash.  

However, I wanted to make this dress because July has been hot as hades here.  I wanted a pretty, loose fitting dress that was comfortable to wear to work when the temps were in the 90s+.  This pattern achieved that look.

Some details:

Pattern -

McCalls 6117 in a size 24W because this is a very slim fitting straight dress. 

Fabric -

Purchased from fabric dot com back before they went out of business.  Actually have six yards of this fabric because at one point it was going to be a layered maxi dress. Y'all know those dresses were fabric hogs!

Notions -

1 - 22" invisible zipper

1 yard blue satin ribbon

4 beads

26" of 3/8" elastic

Pattern Alterations & Construction:

Pattern alterations needed to be made because  The finished hip measurement was my measurement. The dress needed some wearing ease.  To get it:

• I added 1" to the front side seam blending from below the bust dart down to the hemline.
• A pivot and slide was done to the dress front piece to give me an additional 1.5" at the hipline.
• One inch was added to the dress back side seam.
• One inch was added to the center back of the dress - blending from the waistline down.

My fabric was a 3 yard piece so the very wide sleeve pattern piece did not fit on the fabric.  No matter how I tetris'd it.  I ended up slimming the pattern piece down 2-3" inches on both sides to make it work. I even consulted the cutting guide, which I rarely do, before folding the pattern piece on the sides to make the sleeve work. So, my finished sleeves are not as voluminous as the pattern's photos are.

The other change I made was to add a center back invisible zipper.  While the pattern seems to be wide enough to slip over your head, I'm 67 years old. I like stepping into dresses not battling for my life trying to get it on over my head.

The back facing was also changed from a cut on fold to 2 single pieces that I added a 5/8" seam allowance at the back center seam.

Finally, I hand hemmed the dress because I just didn't want that line of stitching to ruin the dress' finish.

Some photos of the finished dress...

(look at those wrinkles from sitting on the train!)

I cut my hair a little shorter than normal this summer.

This was a simple sew. I was able to finish it in a couple of hours. The blue satin ribbon and beads were added after I finished the dress.  I tried it on and it kept slipping past my bra strap.  So, I added the blue ribbon at the neckline and tied a bow.  Problem solved.

Wearability Report - 

Wearing it all day, I fiddled with the dress constantly pulling on the shoulder seams to cover my bra straps. That was annoying.  The linen also grew with my body warmth so it appeared looser than it did when I initially tried it on. I wanted to make at least one more version of this dress, now I'm not so sure. I have loads of patterns that can be used instead.  I will wear it again - maybe add some bra strap holders that will keep my bra straps in place.

My work colleague took these photos.  I will be at work with her three more days so more finished dresses are coming.

...as always more later!