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4.27.2013

KCW Dress 2: McCall's M6497

Last month, Indigo and I were in Hobby Lobby picking out ribbon for this dress when one of the ladies in the sewing department informed us that all of the McCall's patterns were $0.99.  Indigo and I spent the next 45 minutes giddily perusing their pattern books.  We walked out with 11 patterns and a whole lot of inspiration.

One of the patterns was McCall's M6497.  

1A2A0565
front


McCall's M6497
back

It's funky, kind of Matilda Jane-ish which is especially darling on preschool-aged girls, if you ask me.

McCall's M6497

This pattern is drafted as a top, not a dress.  Evie loves to wear dresses.  So I added three inches to the length of the skirt to make it a dress.  I wish it were a little longer, in fact, I'll likely make a pair of matching shorts for her to wear underneath as she grows.  But for now, this works.

McCall's M6497

I made the skirt and ruffle less full than the pattern pieces instructed.  I took about 10 inches off of the width of the skirt (per piece).  I cut two ruffle pieces selvage to selvage, rather than four.  There was still plenty of gathering to be done, in fact, it took me almost an hour to gather it all!

McCall's M6497


It took me another hour to turn the 80 inch belt right side out.  If I were to make this dress again I would press the edges in by 1/2" and then fold lengthwise and press, matching the edges that had been turned under.  Then I would edgestitch the belt rather than stitching it right sides together and turning the whole thing and then edge stitching it.  Live and learn.

McCall's M6497

I chose fabrics from Lotta Jansdotter's Glimma collection.  Like the fabric I used on this dress, the flower columns on this print run perpendicular to the selvage edge.  Just something to be aware of...

I've been trying to be more cognizant of the way I place the pattern onto the fabric before I cut it.  I want to be better about matching patterns or stripes.  But this, this I did not plan.

McCall's M6497

That was serendipitous - and completely delighted me!

McCall's M6497

All in all, I felt this was a great pattern and a really fun, sweet dress.  Evie loved it, too, and that's what matters most!  :)

I had planned to make a dress for Indigo this week, but I made a mistake while cutting out the pattern and had to order more fabric.  I have yet to receive it (unless it's in my mailbox as I type this).   So that may have to wait until next week.  


13 comments:

  1. Oh i LOVE your fabric choices for this - perfect!

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  2. adorable fabric and love the photos-just gorgeous!

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  3. Love the dress and the fabric is gorgeous - as for the matching stripes :-)

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  4. Cute dress--and I love the shoes! That first pic of Evie: the dimples... oh my GOODness!

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  5. Such a cute dress! Love all the changes you made to the pattern! She looks absolutely lovely in it!

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  6. All of your personal touches to this pattern are perfect and it is a great design with this fabric.

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  7. Oh, this is just adorable - I love your choice of fabrics! The yellow one reminds me of wood grain ... And Evie, of course, is just so lovely, she'd look smashing in ANYTHING, but something like this just sends the cute-o-meter off the charts! :-)

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  8. This is just so beautiful, I was inspired to go out and buy my own pattern copy! I love your version so much - Lotta Jansdotter fabric plus adorable girl = success! One question about pattern sizing: did you find that the pattern ran large? My daughter is five years old, but the sizes on the envelope would put her at a size 3 dress. Did you sew the same size pattern as your daughter's age? And thanks for all the details about how you changed the pattern - super helpful!!!
    Funny you mentioned it looking Matilda Jane-ish. Check out this link!
    http://www.matildajaneclothing.com/viewproduct.php?ID=3852

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    1. wow, thank you so much! i'm glad you like it! :) i was a little puzzled on the sizing myself. i measured my daughter and she was measuring in the size 2 range (she's 4). i went with the size 3, but then i added some length to make it a dress instead of a tunic. she is on the small side for 4 and i think this was a perfect fit!

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    2. Thanks so much for your helpful response! It's always a huge help to hear from others who have already made the pattern. I was thinking of sewing a size 4 and adding length, as you did. Now I will be more confident in doing so - thanks again!

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    3. awesome! glad i could help and i would l o v e to see a photo when you're done, if you're so inclined. :)

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    4. Hi Rachel:) FINALLY made my own version of the pattern . . . you can find it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24761454@N00/9222628117/
      I agree with your comment about how much work the gathering is - wowza! Did you have a problem with the bodice being too wide? I sized down one size for my daughter, and it swims on her. Wish I'd gone even smaller. Hopefully she will grow into it:) Thanks for the inspiration! Still love your version to pieces!

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    5. Aww man, that's such a bummer! I found that the fit was good sizing one size down. The belt, though, definitely pulls both the waist and body in quite a lot. I didn't feel it was too big in the shoulders or anything. I guess the good thing about too big is that they do grow into it, like you said. And if you live in a cooler part of the US, i think this dress would be super cute as a tunic + leggings, right?

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