Sunday, December 2, 2007

McCalls 5466

Yippee, I finished another fall/winter dress! I was immediately drawn to McCalls 5466 View B when it first came out earlier this fall. I've seen several beautiful versions of View A (the pencil skirt) but I'm a sucker for flowy skirts.

I'm not really quite sure how to describe the fabric I used. It's some sort of spongy brown tweed. I found it at G Street Fabrics in their remnants section for two dollars a yard. At that price, how could I not buy it? I did a burn test and concluded that it's made of polyester fibers. Whatever it is, it's incredibly soft, comfortable and has lovely drape.

I don't normally make muslins but for some reason I did with this dress. I'm glad I did! This pattern did not fit me right out of the envelope. I had to make several alterations to the bodice. First, the pattern as drafted is very narrow at the waist. I added about an inch at the waist so I could breath when it was zipped up. Next, I lowered the dart point so it ended three fourths of an inch below my bust point rather than right at it.

I also made several sleeve alterations. The sleeve as drafted has about three inches of ease and is very tight around the arm. I read in Power Sewing that most RTW garments only have an inch and a half of ease in the sleeve cap. With that in mind (and also because I stink at easing in sleeves) I took out an inch and a half from the sleeve cap and added an inch and a half to the arm band.

I think these simple alterations resulted in a great fitted garment. I am very happy with how this dress turned out. It's perfect for work paired with a cardigan and because of the short sleeves I'll be able to wear this into the spring. I'd recommend this pattern to others but I'd stress making a muslin first. I think I'm going to make muslins more often now!

15 comments:

  1. that dress is adorable and it fits you so well! It looks like the perfect addition to a fall/winter wardrobe. I've always wanted to sew clothes, but I'm a little lacking in the follow directions to a t category, so I always botch something up along the way.

    I love the colors that you've used in your granny squares up in your banner!

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  2. Hi, I'm coming out of the woodwork to tell you how I love your dress. That view was my favorite also. Your sleeve alteration came out perfect! You could add any color you want to accessorize with, that is so fun with a dress like this!

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  3. that looks amazing! I am so impressed!! I really need to learn how to make some nice dresses!!

    which g street?? I went to the one in rockville and I thought it was really overpriced. They had some flea market fancy for $9.99 a yard!

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  4. I really like your choice of fabric. Oh, now I really want to make this pattern!

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  5. Nice dress. I made the pencil version. For some reason no matter how much I eased I still got a slight puff. I have to try your technique next time.

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  6. Great job! I've been planning on making myself some clothes, but it's been about a year now and I'm still procrastinating...

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  7. Great job with this dress! I made the mistake of not making a muslin first, so my first attempt actually became my muslin because I couldn't zip it up at the waist. I also added about an inch to the waist, and with the sleeves I made a box pleat at the top instead of easing (you can see a similar one on another dress at http://kathleens-sewing.blogspot.com/2007/10/vogue-8145.html) - I find I'm doing box pleats at all my sleeve tops now - it just seems to sit flater and be quicker than trying to ease.

    Anyway, well done - looks fantastic.

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  8. I love this dress and your fabric choice! I am working on this pattern right now - and I did have a sneaking suspicion that the sleeves will be too tight - arghh! I tissue fit the skirt and bodice, and also ran into all sorts of issues with the bodice. Unfortunately, I didn't tissue fit the sleeves. Hopefully I can make it work - I don't think I have enough fabric left to recut.

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  9. Oh, that's very cute. Thanks for the heads up on the muslin.

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  10. SO amazing! Your projects are truly inspirational. You've given me so many great ideas that I can't wait to try out!

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  11. wow! another great dress! this is adorable and looks like the muslin was a great idea with this perfect fit! -kb

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  12. this is incredible-- thanks for detailing your alterations. Very helpful. I recently made the view with the pencil skirt and short sleeves. I am going to do a review on the sewing patterns website if you're interested in seeing...

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  13. I really like your work on this dress. It turned out very well and the fit looks great! I need to get over feeling too chicken to make pattern alterations.
    Thanks for sharing,
    Betsy

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