Continuing my series of "the clothes with no one inside," I present McCall's 6884. My daughter is wearing it for an in-service today, but I have no pictures of it on her. She told me this morning that it does fit and is "very comfortable." I thought it looked great on the dress form.
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| McCall's 6884 Front |
This is another piece to add to Stephanie's "business" travel wardrobe. We bought the pattern at least a year ago, and the fabric was from my stash. It is a viscose crepe jersey originally purchased for a prom dress. It's a vibrant red, and very cozy.
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| McCall's 6884 Back |
It was quick to cut and sew after minimal pattern work: a nip for swayback, about 2.5" in additional hem length and what I would call a "lazy man's" FBA, which I think I saw on Marcy Tilton's blog some time ago. I added 1 1/4" to the front length in the vicinity of the bust points, and eased the surplus into the side seam. I admit that it was a lot of fabric to ease in a small amount of space, but the fabric was very stretchy, so it worked. On a more stable knit, I may have to do things differently.
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| McCall's 6884 Neckline Band |
I recall seeing some reviews complaining the neckline was too low cut, so I added a little height when I expanded the bust. When I draped it on the dress form after sewing the fronts to the backs, I still worried that it was too low, so instead of the narrow hem as in the pattern instructions, I added a neckline band (cut on the cross-grain). It was stretched while sewn, so it should also help keep the neckline from drooping or gaping.
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| McCall's 6884 sleeve band |
Another change included adding a band at the sleeve. After cutting the 3/4-length sleeve, it just seemed too short. It was also baggy, even though I cut the smallest size sleeve. Since Stephanie wasn't around to fit, I added 2" in length with a band cut on the cross-grain. It should be just tight enough to push up or down her forearm. You can see in the shots above and below that the sleeve was eased quite a bit when sewn to the band.
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| McCall's 6884 |
The sleeve and neckline bands add some sporty touches to it, so I hope it doesn't look too casual for Stephanie's purposes.
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| It is truly flattering on anyone! |
I look forward to making this one again.
So glad she loved it! It does look fantastic!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It is nice to finish a piece knowing it will be worn.
DeleteBeautiful dress in a stunning colour! You mentioned the neckline band was stretched while sewn and I want to do the same for my next wrap dress. How much shorter than the neckline would you say the band ended up?
ReplyDeleteThanks Marianne!
DeleteI am always looking for a good formula, and have seen a few different theories for this one:
1) 90% of the neck length, which in my case was 42".
2) Subtract 2" from the finished length, which was 44.25".
I split the difference and went with 43". I probably would have been fine with 42", because my fabric was very stretchy. Measure the neck length on the paper pattern, subtracting SA.
Stretch more on the curved areas and chest and just a tiny bit on the back neck.
The finished dress looks so well made and the color is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I love the color, too.
DeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa!
DeleteOh, these are such stylish sewing patterns! I have some fabric that I think might be perfect for it
ReplyDelete