Tuesday, July 10, 2012

McCall's 6397: Modeled and Nitpicked

So here it is. I just finished hemming it, but I'm not done with it yet. The seams where the pocket panels join the skirt need more reinforcement. There's too much bias going on there (read below) and they'll want to bag out, especially since there's no way I'll be able to keep my hands OUT of them.


Overall, the dress is OK. But it kind of feels like I'm wearing a full-body girdle. But that's due to the fabric. I think I would like this better with a NON-stretch woven. I also think I used the wrong cup size. I automatically went for the D and it's actually a little bit baggy. Not so much that it looks bad, but I think I could do with less room. That's a first. Hah. Or maybe a 14 with the D Cup for the upper bodice instead of a 16.


Speaking of bias, I thought I would be "creative" and cut the side panels on the bias so the motifs would change direction. A nice thought, but it hardly shows. Except the nap (what there is) does lay a little differently so it does provide some slimming shadowing. I'll take it. There should be more of the effect, but I'm getting ahead of myself.


This is the same rear view from the other night because I forgot to turn around when I had the tripod out. Just keeping all the views together.


I wussed out on making my own bias strips and used what I had on hand, which was black. But it doesn't show and got me done a lot faster. The zipper is one of my purse zippers but it actually works with this very well, both for color and length. Fancy zipper application, eh? That's what you get when you omit the lining.


Now on to the nitpicking. You can see the pocket/panel seam above, and the underbust dart.


And here they are from the right side.


Do they line up as in the line drawing above? Here, let me answer that. NO, THEY DO NOT.

It's not due to any dart manipulation on my part or combining sizes. I got the pattern pieces out and checked them. I even checked the untouched smaller bust pieces and the problem is there too. It's simply a drafting error on the two pieces that make up the front of the skirt section. When sewn together, the seam doesn't align with the underbust dart. Which sucks, because that's one of the features of the pattern that I really liked. Plus, if the pieces were drafted correctly, there would be more of a slimming effect (which is WHY I liked it). Losing that illusion really ticks me off.

It's not the end of the world for this dress. It stopped me from topstitching up through the dart as I had intended, but no one who doesn't know better will know better. And I suppose I *can* fix it if I make it again. But I shouldn't have to.

21 comments:

  1. I can see why you are peeved with the pattern, but this dress does still looks fabulous on you. The bias side panels are subtle but work well.

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  2. Too bad about the pattern. It had such great lines. If I still wore dresses, I'd have been very tempted by this one too.

    Still it does look really good on you. Can't get past that.

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  3. It's a wonderful dress - great fabric and I like the results. But I can see why you are miffed and I would be too! g

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  4. You DID contact McCalls and shared this little tidbit with them, right? They need to know!

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  5. You made me laugh with "feels like a girdle". I like the dress; it's cute and figure flattering.

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  6. I'm going to keep the bust dart lines in mind when I eventually make this up.
    This dress does work well on you and your ideas were a bonus.

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  7. I have the fabric and pattern for this one lined up, so was very interested to see how your version went. It looks great but I would be miffed too about the darts.

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  8. Despite pattern niggles, you look great! This dress is very slimming. You have nice smooth lines in it.

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  9. Your dress looks so much better than the one on the pattern front. I looked at the pattern and thought there was too much going on in the middle, that it looked like a corset. You improved the pattern, made it look good for someone other than a twig.

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  10. Isn't that's terrible? Don't they test the patterns? Well your dress looks very nice none the less and is very attractive on you.

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  11. This looks very different from your usual style, which is a good thing, we must remain flexible :-). But I hear what you're saying about wearing a girdle. Maybe not the best for Florida summer, eh?

    Really stinks about the dart placement though. Harumph. I've come to the conclusion that I don't need to buy bad patterns, I can draft them myself at least that bad.

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  12. I think the dress looks great on you. I wouldn't even notice the flaws that you point out. Neither will anyone else, unless they are snooping up real close.

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  13. Patterns are notorious for errors. Makes me wonder who is testing them. It won't be noticeable in this dress though, because of the print. It looks very nice. I'm thinking that dress would color-block very well, with the side panels different from the front/back.

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  14. Do they even test them? If it's a designer dress they show the rtw version and the pattern is not the same. Or the pattern tester didn't bother to look back at the drawing? Who knows. It's a cute dress and you shouldn't have to redraft to make it look like the drawing.

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  15. I really love this- I've waffled over the pattern, but seeing yours done up, I really want one! My waffling was due to a Mccalls patern that came out at the same time and was completely impossible construction-wise with a similiar bodice- I was afeared!

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  16. You got a great result, but yes, I understand why you are upset. I bought the pattern expecting the same design lines. Thank you for the Red alert!

    Rose in SV

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  17. You have been very busy! I like that color on you, even if it does feel like a girdle!

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  18. I think you did a very nice job.

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  19. How frustrating the darts don't line up! Well, at least the dress still is flattering on you. And you can always move the darts to line up if you use this pattern again.

    About the pockets bagging out... Have you ever tried sewing narrow (like 1/8 inch if its available in your area, 1/4 inch if not)twill tape into the seam that joins the garment edge to the pocket edge? I find this very helpful in keeping pockets opeingings from getting stretched out. (If you're worried about bulk, I think you're going to be surprised how little this twill tape adds.)

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  20. Oops! I meant to add that the cotton twill tape that comes on the big (100 yards, maybe) spool at the fabric store is the best type.

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  21. The dress looks great on you and your fabric choice is spot on, love it.

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Thank you for each and every comment. I appreciate them all, but I have to be honest and let you know that I'm usually bad about answering questions. I hope you understand that there just isn't enough time in the day to do everything I want to do.

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