McCall's 6503 goes Maxi

I am going away very soon to a very hot destination, which explains why I am making summery dresses in the middle of Autumnal frosts!

I recently made the McCall's 6503 in blue and it is such a good fit and easy to wear. I was planning to make a second one in a lovely, painterly pink fabric when I had a flash of inspiration!
How hard it is to find a maxi dress that is modest and has sleeves - so - I decided to add 16" to the hem and turn this dress into a swishy, breezy summery dress for our holiday away!

McCall's 6503 as a Maxi dress!

To make it as easy and quick as possible, I decided to leave out the collar with all the interfacing and hand stitching work, and used the pattern front with the collar. This would have still required facing, and really I didn't think a collar would suit my summery breezy dress idea, so I just folded this piece back and used the straight edge for a wrap-style neckline.

So as to do away with the need for interfacing, I also decided to use bias binding around the neckline, and sewed it onto the wrong side of the fabric, so that when it folded around to the front of the fabric I could see the topstitching and be able to line it up better.

As I already had the paper pieces cut out, I only had to cut out the collared front pattern piece and all the fabric, which took about an hour. Then the actual sewing of the dress took me about 4 hours from start to finish! Except now - because the neckline has the wrap-style, I think I could easily get this on over my head, so am thinking of taking the zipper out now!

side view

McCall's 6503

I have finished it at last!  I've been doing a little bit at a time, mostly in the evenings, and am now hoping that the sun comes out so that I can justify wearing a summer dress - as you can see I've opted for the dark tights today, as it is grey and overcast again here in Scotland.

   From this...             to this!

Apart from a few alterations to the bust and the hem and a bit of "dressmakers knowhow" when it came to interpreting the sparse pattern instructions, I am pretty happy with McCall's 6503. I had earmarked this pattern to create 2 dresses but think I'll use the other floral for something else, and the next time I use this pattern it will be with a plain fabric so that the style lines are easier to see. It's a lovely pattern, and I think it will stand the test of time. Below is my full pattern review that I wrote for a Sewing Patterns website.

Pattern Sizing:

Multi sized pattern, I used the largest: 22

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

I originally tried to do view c with the ruffle, but unfortunately I sewed the staystitch too close to the edge instead of at the 5/8 mark, which meant the ruffle didn't straighten out to be long enough for the collar. So I binned it and just went with view d instead.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

No, I don't think so. At one stage, they've even left out the "stitch" instruction! The envelope says it's an easy project so I would have expected clearer and even more detailed instructions, but this was not the case unfortunately. But as long as you've sewn a few dresses or blouses I think you will manage the sparse instructions.

Fabric Used:

Rayon in a floral print

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I did view d but used the view c gathered skirt instead of the 4 pleats one.  I also added 2" to the hem, as I am 5'7" and this would have been above the knee, which is too short for me. My final alteration was the bust. It was just too low and also too much fabric in the centre, so I unpicked the part where the button band goes into the midriff band and just pulled the button neckband down about 2" down behind the midriff band. This pulled the button neckband more taut against my body and meant it wasn't as revealing.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I would sew this again, with the alterations I've made and would like to do it with a plain fabric so that the lovely style lines are more visible.

Conclusion:

Do try this dress if you're after a relaxed dress that would travel well.

Thanks so much for visiting my little Blog.

Edinburgh Shopping Trip

I have been admiring Debi's timeless sewing and wondered where she shops for all her lovely fabrics.  As her city Edinburgh isn't too far away for me I asked if she would give me a few addresses. Instead she so kindly forwarded me a list of her top 3 fabric shops, complete with public transport directions and tips about what I might find in each shop!

Fabric Goodies Purchased!

Gold medal goes to...

Edinburgh Fabrics.  "An Aladdin's Cave jam-packed with goodies." Here is what I bought there: 

Floaty floral cotton, cotton lining, zip, all for McCall's Pattern 6503.  

Silver medal goes to...

Mandors of Edinburgh... a small shop with "very nice wools" and a remnants bin to rifle through!

Here is what I got there:

50cm remnant of Liberty Tana Lawn for £4, which I am hoping will stretch to make a simple vest top, and 1/2 metre of black satin and some elastic to make pyjama shorts.

Bronze medal goes to...

Cloth Shop / Remnant Kings.  Where the "entire top floor is dressmaking fabric."  Here is what I got there:

Floaty polyester to make a different version of McCall's 6503 and a blue cotton blend to make Butterick 5747 into a sailor style dress (inspired by Roisin and andrea).

Thanks so much to Debi of My Happy Sewing Place for helping me to have such a successful shopping trip!  As you can see I am now getting closer to completing my 2012 projects list!