I’m behind on my blogging. It seems that “stuff” keeps getting in the way of my fashion photographer and I taking the time for a photo session. I’m finally here with McCall’s 6696. This pattern was included in the Best Patterns of 2015 AND 2017 on Pattern Review.com. I’m a little late to the party on this one but this is definitely a case of better late than never.

I bought this cotton eyelet at Fabrix in San Francisco with McCall’s 6696 in mind. The pattern included a slip which I chose to make. I made the collar slightly narrower. I removed about 3/8″ from the points tapering to nothing at the center back. I did not have to lengthen the bodice which is something I normally have to do. I added one button at the bottom of the dress to prevent the slip from peeking out. I also omitted the pockets because I didn’t want them showing through the eyelet.

I love a shirt dress! This pattern lived up to its reputation. I have some fabric purchased in Copenhagen lined up for another one.

Back to Top

There have been some great versions of this top made by sewists out there. Some have even turned the pattern into a dress. I’ve admired them from a distance until my friend Jennifer made a cute top with with this pattern a month ago. Fortunately Jo-Ann’s had Vogue patterns on sale that week.

I made View A with an Italian cotton voile that I purchased from Britex a few years ago.

I made View B with a polyester print from Hancock’s that I had purchased for another project that never got sewn. The pattern calls for purchased bias tape but I made my own. I thought the purchased tape might be too stiff for these two fabrics.

I haven’t seen the last of this pattern. These tops are quick to sew and are perfect for summer.

Back to Top

When a pattern has served you as well as this out of print DKNY Vogue pattern it deserves to be called “friend.” I’ve made this pattern over 20 times in the past 21 years and have never been disappointed.

This time I made view C without the front fish eye darts. I didn’t want to break up the print of this scuba knit. I made this dress once before without the front and back darts and liked the look of it.

For this dress I sewed the back darts. The scuba knit looked better with a little shaping. I added 1 inch to the length.  This is the first time I use a knit for this pattern. The dress is fully lined with swimsuit lining. I often use this when lining knit dresses.

Below is the version I made 3 years ago without the front and back fish eye darts. It turns the dress from a sheath to a shift. I shortened the pattern by 3 inches and added a 4 inch band.

I’m sorry that I don’t have any pictures of most of the dresses I’ve sewn with this pattern. Below are a few pictures of some cotton versions I’ve made.

I modified the neckline on the floral dress below. For the polka dot pique dress pictured below, I cut the pattern in two and added a contrasting band. Fellow sewing blogger Goodbye Valentino recently posted a gorgeous version of View B from this pattern on her blog. The front trim Sarah added is a great detail and beautifully executed.

This pattern sometimes comes up for sale online. If you like this style of dress I highly recommend tracking down the pattern. You will not be disappointed.

Back to Top

I had this eyelet in my stash waiting for a fun summer top pattern to come along. Butterick 6562 caught my attention because it offered some interesting options. The top is described as being fitted. I didn’t think it looked fitted on the pattern envelope but I was pleased to find out that it was.

The shaped hemline is another detail that attracted me to this pattern. I lengthened the top by 1″ which is a common adjustment for me to make.

I repositioned the buttons because there was going to be gaping at my bust between two buttons. I also wanted to add a button right below the band. Without it I was fearful that the band would sag at the middle front. I have a ready-to-wear top that has a button right under a band like this and I’ve always liked the way it looks.

This was a fun top to sew and I’m glad I’ve added this top to my summer wardrobe. Now if it would only warm up on the Central Coast of California so I can wear it.

Back to Top

I bought this stripe knit at Tissus Mode De L’Orme in Granby, QC last summer while on vacation. I pictured a very simple dress from this fabric. While looking through my Burda Style magazines I came across the dress pictured below and knew this was perfect for my fabric. I love the back cut-out.

Making the ruching shown here required the pattern pieces to be quite long and I didn’t have enough fabric. Also, I wasn’t interested in the center back seam.  It has ruching as well.

I traced the Burda Style pattern and pulled out McCall’s 6886. It is my go-to knit dress pattern. The pattern never lets me down. I used the neckline from the Burda Style pattern and traced the back pieces onto the back piece of the McCall’s pattern.

The dress was quick to sew and turned out exactly as I had pictured it.

Back to Top

That’s what it was like taking pictures for this blog post. Let me start by saying that my fabric has enough stretch that I can move (and breathe) in this dress. It’s just that the dress is a nudge more form fitting than I am comfortable with. If I had paid closer attention to the pattern picture I would have noticed this.

My fabric has more stretch than the patterns calls for but the negative ease in this pattern makes for a dress that shows off my curves more than I like. I love the style of this dress but would have preferred it “looser”. As it is, I sewed it with 1/4″ seams once I saw where this was going.

The pattern calls for the dress to be fully lined, which I always like. If I were to sew this pattern again I would sew the lining as one piece instead of using the same pattern pieces as the dress. I don’t like that the seams for the insets show through. I sewed my usual size 8 and besides sewing 1/4″ seams, I added 1″ to the length of the skirt. The dress was not complicated to sew and came together very well.

Though I read a few reviews for this pattern before starting, I went back and read more when I realized how this was going to fit me. I found a blogpost mentioning the fact that this dress fits like a second skin. That pretty much sums it up for me. Though some people feel comfortable in “second skin” clothes, I’m not one of them.

Back to Top

Another year of Me Made May has come and gone. Every day is pretty much me-made for me since I make most of my clothes. I like Me Made May because I enjoy documenting my outfit of the day on Instagram as well as seeing what other sewists are sewing/wearing. I’ve said this before; going through my wardrobe choosing something I made to wear makes me realize that I keep my clothes much longer than most people.

Many of my me-mades have stories. Some stories are fabric related i.e. bought while on vacation or the challenge of trying to fit a particular pattern on a piece of fabric. Some stories are of victory over a particular challenge or of recovery from a mistake. My closet is full of stories and I love that about sewing my own clothes.

Butterick 5950

Simplicity 8014

Vogue 8379

Presto Popover Top

Burda Style 02-2013-116

Simplicity 2614

Jalie 2794

Burda Style 02-2012-112

McCall’s 7243

Vogue 9201

McCall’s 6571

Burda 6847

Jalie 2806

Butterick 6488

Burda STyle 10-2014-111

Jalie 3352

Vogue 9243

McCall’s 6571

Sewaholic Minoru Jacket

Burda Style 12-2012-126

Vogue 8815

McCall’s 6886

Simplicity 1917

McCall’s 6650

Style Arc Issy Top

Vogue 1531

Vogue 8925

McCall’s 6886

Butterick 5672

Style Arc Top

New Look 6150

Back to Top