Tuesday, June 23, 2015

McCalls 7152

This past weekend, I was in need of a quick knit project.  I've been working on my Lilly Pulitzer for Target-inspired Simplicity 1609  for a while and just needed a zipper to complete it, but I was not about to head out to JoAnn's on a weekend just for that.

Enter McCalls 7152 and various knit fabrics found in the stash.  First, I decided to make a top with some blue and white striped cotton knit I bought a local fabric store Gigi's Fabric Shop*.  Then, I thought that actually a t-shirt dress would be nice.  Then, I realized I didn't have enough fabric for that plan.  Then, I remembered this pattern that I picked up this pattern on a whim a few months ago and found some white cotton knit laying around.
 This is a very straight-forward pattern.  The instructions are SUPER-detailed and are definitely written with beginners in mind.  I'm happy to think that some newer sewers could get a great result.
 I sized down from the recommendation based on my measurements fora  more fitted dress.  I should have just started with a larger size, though, because the armholes are a bit snug.  If I make this again, or use the other view, I will fix that.  Also, the darts are maybe a smidgen high.  They add great shape, though.
 This design has a yoke inside for a clean look on the outside.  Since my upper fabric is white, I changed the shape of the inside yoke to match the straight line of the outside white part.  Otherwise, the a shadow of the shape of the yoke would have shown through on the outside.  Make sense?  This wouldn't be a problem with a darker color, though.
 I found these buttons in my button jar.  I love it when stuff works out like that!  I sewed buttonholes but didn't cut them open.  I just sewed the buttons on top.  I don't need them to be functional, and now I never have to worry about them gaping open or looking sloppy.

When I started this dress, I thought it would make a nice swimsuit cover-up.  I still think that, but I loved wearing this dress all day.  I was a little worried I would be uncomfortable with the thin, t-shirt type of knit, but I was fine.  I received several compliments, too, so I'll definitely be wearing this often this summer.  So comfortable and stylish!


* For anyone local and interested - Gigi Fabric Shop has mostly quilting cottons, but there are a few knits and other garment fabrics.  I bought the cotton lawn for this skirt there.  They also have some independent sewing patterns and notions, and the owner is super sweet and helpful.



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3 comments:

  1. oh so pretty! I love it when things turn out so well. It's hard to know if a fabric is too thin because sometimes it really doesn't matter as much as feared. So many decisions while sewing :)
    Big Winner!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jenny, this is really a cute dress! You can always count on that stash to come through for you when needed!

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