Pattern Review McCalls 6561

Posted on May 12, 2013 | 4 comments

 A table fit for Mother’s Day

When we went into Joann’s fabric store to look at patterns I had this funny feeling.  As we sat and perused the pages of the McCall’s pattern catalog, I watched her scanning, looking for that perfect…unique dress and when I saw her zero in on it, I knew right then that I had my work cut out for me.  My daughter chose McCall’s 6561.  Don’t misunderstand me.  I have nothing against the pattern, they definitely had a cool idea in mind but… 10 pieces just to make the bodice?  Just saying.

 McCall’s 6561

Needless to say, she had her heart set on it and so I said yes!  So the first thing I did was make a muslin.  Remember those 10 pieces!  We tried it on her and I had an “Oh Crap” moment.  I made the muslin up in a size 4 but my daughter is like trying to dress a pencil!

She is lovely, healthy and the eating machine in my household.  How she gets away with it I have no idea.  Her brothers harbor a little resentment since they have to count their calories, as do I.  Somehow she manages to maintain a 24″ waist!  We’ll see just how many years this lasts.  (that sounds evil huh)

Well… anyways, besides the fact that my daughter is a pencil and size 4 was too large, she was still fuller busted than the pattern allowed for so I had to do some major pattern changes to all 10 pieces!  It took me two muslins before I got it right!

While it doesn’t say it on the envelope, if you look at it on McCall’s website, it is considered  “easy”!  Well yeah…it’s easy to understand how to sew it; the instructions are pretty clear.  But it’s a  “sewer beware” pattern.   I think most of the difficulty lies in the fitting but for new sewers, I think constructing the bodice is not a cake walk.  If any of you readers are new to sewing and have already taken on this challenge and did it, I have two words to say to you.. You ROCK!!

Anyways, with the fitting out of the way, we were ready to choose fabric.  It was a unanimous vote, white with a splash of red.  The fabric is white embroidered cotton and the lining which Calley chose is a white silk cotton.  We found some beautiful  red satin trim but my concern here was whether it would bleed onto the white fabric when it’s laundered so several pieces had to undergo testing.  Cold water brought out red making the water pink, but hot water was worse.  I decided to wash the trim in my washing machine on gentle cycle, hang to dry and press it before applying to the dress.  (Heavy sigh; more work)

After pre-shrinking all the fabric, I was ready to start construction.  Assembling the bodice wasn’t too bad though like I mentioned earlier, there were several pivots in the top and bottom of the front pieces that took me a bit but eventually I got them.

I took this close-up picture so you could get a good look at the bottom pivot on the center front.  I fussed with this one the most.

The main bodice is sewn to a gathered skirt and then there is a bodice lining that is sewn to a second or contrast gathered skirt.   Suffice it to say, there was a whole lot of gathering going on!  It wasn’t hard, just time consuming.

I decided to hand sew the red trim around the waist after the dress was constructed.  I did try top-stitching it on first but I didn’t like the look.

To break up the layers, I sewed red satin trim on the top skirt.

And here it is being worn by my daughter.

The back of the dress…

And a just because picture!

The dress was a success, especially because it’s what Calley wanted but I am not real keen on making a 2nd or 3rd one.  Unfortunately I think she wants more of them and since she let me make her something versus buying it, how can I say no?  I’ll make 10 if I have to. 🙂  I truly love being her and her two brothers mom, and sewing for them is such an honor to me.  You can expect to see more of my family creations in the future.

With that, I think I will now go and enjoy Mother’s Day with my children.  If you are a mother, a child who has a mother, or know someone who is like a mother to you, take advantage of the opportunity today to give your love.  We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but today is here, so live it to it’s fullest.  That being said, I’m now signing off to go and enjoy a glass, or two, of champagne!

Salute!  Jessica

Butterick See and Sew 5741

Posted on May 4, 2013 | 1 comment

When you look at the above picture, you are suppose to think I am draping but I actually have absolutely no idea what I am doing!  However, hopefully I will know when I finish with the draping classes I registered for a little over a month ago.  I’m so excited!  There is not a definition for draping in my 1978 Webster dictionary though under drape it reads “arrangement in or of folds.  Then there is the on-line Merriam Webster version that says that “draping is a present participle of drape”.  I guess this means that soon I will be “present participel-ing” fabric into a garment!  I can’t wait.

I received a student supply list when I registered, so I have been rounding up all the things I am required to have.  Of course I was gong to need something to put all of it in and that’s when I remembered a pattern I had, Butterick See and Sew 5741.

I bought this pattern about a year ago thinking that I would do a sew-along with my kids for something cool to do.  It’s a good thing I never got around to doing that because I would have probably ruined our wonderful relationships!  I don’t think the construction of the bag is quite as easy as the Butterick designers claim it to be.

The fabric I chose is Home Decor…

I fell in love with the purple because it made me think of my blog site (what a dork huh!) and I thought the stripes would be a complementing contrast for the lining and the variations I was planning. (I can never leave a pattern design alone, I’m always messing with it, I don’t know why?)

The bag instructions are easy to understand, but the further into the project you get, the more challenging it seems to become.  Admittedly, part of the difficulty might have been my doing.  One of the materials called for is hair canvas.  I have felt it once in a store 40 miles from where I live, but I couldn’t remember how stiff it was so I opted to head to the local Joann’s  and see what they had.  I ended up buying Pellon Peltrex 70 Ultra-firm stabilizer.  (It sounds like something dangerous!)   It turns out it was.  My headache really started once I had to assemble the pieces.  The worse was when I was nearing the end and still had to do the top stitching on the handles and around the top edges.  Words were flying along with spools of thread and various other objects that happened to be to close to my working space.

As to those variations I was talking about…I decided to change the fabric of  one of the end pockets from the main fabric to the fabric I used as lining  (Piece #5).  I did this too for the band that goes across two of the sides (Piece #3 that is barely printed on the tissue).

That narrow band incidentally, was a b…. bear to sew!  You had to stitch across 4 layers of home decor fabric which is rather heavy.

Well this is it… I was after firmness and boy did I get it.  The handles hold themselves up!

My #5 pocket that is the same fabric as the lining…

And that nasty little band…

I’m really happy with how it turned out despite the Peltex 70 accident!  It is an awesome “TOTE” bag.  Mind you, nowhere on the envelope did I see the word “tote” bag.  I did read that the finished size was 12 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ x 9″ and I did look at a ruler and contemplate this.  A “tote” bag caution sign never started flashing before my eyes so I didn’t give it another thought.  I just hit the “see and sew” road and never looked back!

Now I am all ready to go to my draping class…

I got to thinking though…  it sure would be a bodacious “tote” bag for carrying all the french-ness accessories I would need for a picnic or meal!

Well… that was it and now I am ready for dinner! Oh… and yes, I made the dress.  It’s another one of those patterns I have that’s out of print.  It’s Simplicity 4224.  I am thinking that maybe I should make another one like this.  I love the dropped waist.

À tout à l’heure!  In English, see you soon!  Now it’s time to prepare my French cuisine but first… an apéritif.  I think I will start with a refreshing glass of Chardonnay. 🙂

Salut!  Jessica