One of my New Year resolutions is to come back to my beloved blog, after a long absence. So let’s start with my latest make of the year: the M6742 dress by McCall.

An easy dress to sew

Although my 18-month absence from this blog does not mean I completely stopped sewing, I have less time to commit to this hobby these days – new and bigger house, new garden, 4 teenage kids, 2 cats, more exercise and new interests I am trying to pursue. So to avoid sewing another version of yet again the same pattern, I decided to pick something straightforward.

M6742 is classified as an “Easy” pattern on the enveloppe and it truly is. There is no waist seam, meaning that you are dealing with less pattern pieces than usual – 5 in total (which you use for both the dress itself and its lining), and large ones so no fiddling about.

Beware adjustments! – a toile is a must!

That said, the pattern does not have bust cup options, so if you are not a standard B cup I would strongly advise you make a quick toile, to check the fit. This really does not have to be complicated, I used a cheap cotton fabric and I cut my pieces just below the waist and cut the front piece in 2 – this way, no closure is needed at the back, you pin the front and you can make all your adjustments much more easily.

For me, the main adjustment was to add ease at the bust (I am an E cup). I am not particularly good at doing this with princess seams, so I basically made my sewing allowance smaller accross the bust. Not an exact science but it somewhat did the trick.

Dress specifics

• Fabric: I have been obsessed with the green colour lately (which frankly is a shock to my pink and blue self) and stumbled upon this gorgeous brocade from Sew Me Sunshine (sold out I’m afraid). It is the perfect weight for a dress, not stiff but heavy enough for the winter. I never wear cotton or silk in the English winter (too cold!!) and I hate polyester, soI find brocade a good alternative to wool.
• Sizing and adjustments: I cut a size 10, my usual in McCall, and appart from the bust adjustment just discussed it fitted well.
• Modifications to the pattern: I added sleeves to the dress, using another McCall pattern; and I lenghtened slighly. I also lowered the front neckline, as it was really unpleasantly positionned initially.
• Likes and dislikes: on the positive side, I really like the perfect fit and flare shape, the fact that there is no interruption at the waist (not easy to find for this shape) and the easy nature of this project. On the negative side, I wish there had been bust cup options to save me the trouble!

Conclusion

Very pleased with this dress, and a second one has already been sewn so see you soon….

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• Welcome to my new sewing room