If you’re after a really quick and easy ‘throw over the head’ Summer dress project then read on…
I was very lucky to be given the choice of a couple of McCall sewing patterns recently as a prize from the lovely Kate and Rachel at The Fold Line. Thank you so much guys! If you haven’t already I would definitely take a look at their website. It’s a great place where all aspects of the sewing community are covered. New pattern releases, sewing news, meet-ups and pattern reviews and photos are available to browse through, and I would recommend signing up to their newsletters, they will certainly keep you on top of what’s happening in the sewing world!
One of my pattern choices was this very simple dress which has an elasticated waist. Probably not the most exciting design but my reasons for choosing it is that it is a style that I reach for on sunny days when I want to wear a dress but don’t want to look too formal. As you might expect there are several variations – sleeveless, short sleeved, long sleeved and maxi length.
I chose to use a fabric which I bought from Adam Ross Fabrics on a recent fabric meet-up with lots of sewing friends in Birmingham (#FMBHAM). I think it is a polyester, and I love the colour, maybe not one that I would usually choose for a Summer dress, but I have so many florals in my wardrobe at the moment, it was good to have a change.
Cutting out and the dress construction was easy peasy, you could almost do it with your eyes closed! There are no darts, zips or buttons so this would be a perfect dress for an absolute beginner. Setting in the sleeves and the elasticated waist are the only challenges and these are very well explained by McCall’s with excellent written instructions and illustrations.
The fit was good for me. Maybe the bodice of the dress was a little roomy, but I quite like this and it suits the design of the dress. Overall I feel it came up pretty true to size, often I end up taking more off the hem due to my height (or lack of it)! but this shows the true length of this skirt on a 5’2″ height. I did feel that it looked a little too plain on it’s own so added a belt and feel that this just gives it that little extra that I was looking for.
I used one of these ‘elastic glides’ to help me thread my elastic at the waistband. So much quicker and easier than my previous method of using a safety pin attached to the end of the elastic!
Obviously, I would have preferred the dress to have had pockets, you know me, so next time I will pop some in to the side seams of the skirt pieces, easy enough to do – I don’t know why I didn’t do it this time!
So overall, a very quick satisfying dress make, and I am pleased with the outcome. I will make more of these for the Summer as I know it is a style that I enjoy for everyday wear. I rather like the idea of the sleeveless maxi dress option … how cute would that be with flat sandals on a sunny day!
I do like using McCall patterns, I am always pleased with how they turn out. I really enjoyed sewing this up, and I have other McCall’s that I am planning to make soon, so will tell you all about them when they are done!
If you enjoyed this, you may be interested in my thoughts on another McCall dress pattern, the M7381, and you can read about that here.
Hope you have enjoyed reading my thoughts on this pattern.
Take care, and I’ll be back soon,
Kathy x
I love this dress- looking at yours just made me buy the pattern. Thanks for your pattern reviews.
Wow Jennifer, thank you for your lovely comment. I hope you love this dress too! I would love to see your version x
Thanks for this review, Kathy. Your dress looks lovely. I am in the middle of making this – my first-ever sleeves! They are coming out quite gathered – did you find the same?
Rosie
Hi Rosie, yes the sleeves are a little gathered on this dress. Often sleeves are ‘eased’ into place so that they are smooth and avoids gathers, but not in this case. I think the gathers on the sleeves are quite pretty on this dress. I do hope you like how it turns out – it’s a really good first dress choice. I would also recommend McCalls M7313 which I wrote a post on last month for a first dress using a jersey knit fabric, nice and simple with just a little elastic at the waist like this one. So lovely to have your comment, have a lovely weekend, K x
Thank you so much, Kathy! Although I am still pretty much a beginner, I have made several sleeveless dresses. So helpful to have your confirmation on the sleeves before I sew them – really reassuring! I have a feeling the bigger sleeves won’t suit my figure – but we’ll see 😉
Thanks for the tip on the jersey dress. However, I was scared off jersey by a dress I tried to make a few months back (didn’t even get to attaching sleeves): New Look 6449 – disaster with neckband!
Thought I’d accidentally deleted that reply but must have hit ‘send’! Just wanted to say a big thank you – it makes such a difference to have confirmation I am on the right track.
Rosie