McCall’s 6355
I've been sewing my behind off lol. It's been a busy couple of weeks and I'm way behind on reviews. I made this one last week. I've also made like 3 maxi dresses, a swimsuit, a tunic and something else lol. Hopefully I'll get to post them this week, if not it'll be in a couple weeks.
I'm getting all this summer stuff out of my system, but I'm trying to use colors that will transition well into the fall. Think maxi dress, cardigan and a cute boot lol. It stays hot for SO long here in Alabama, I'm gonna make this work lol.
**Does anyone have any tips on matching stripes????? The other side matches fine, but the side you see does NOT. They didn't match until the bottom O_o. Any tips would be greatly appreciated**
Pattern Description: Semi-fitted top, dress have optional front and back vertical darts, self-neck binding and optional invisible side seam zipper. A, B: Self armhole binding.
Pattern Sizing: 16-22 (This dress REALLY fits. I didn't want it tight, I wanted it to skim my body so I cut the 16 and graded out to an 18 at the hips. Had I made the 14 it would have looked like a 1995 Body Dress. Remember those?? O-O
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Pretty much, I just made it maxi length.
Were the instructions easy to follow?I didn't even use them.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved the style of this dress. I've been seeing tank dresses everywhere.
Fabric Used: Cotton Jersery
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made it maxi length and I used FOE instead of self fabric binding.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?I might sew this style again. It's a great way to use up some extra fabric.
Conclusion: Great pattern. Very quick and easy. I've been seeing stripes everywhere and this was a great way to add a simple dress to my wardrobe.
Here's a quick cell phone pic of the FOE I used:
Myra/ 24.07.2011
This is absolutely too cute!!! Love the way your binding is contrasting!! Beautiful! Ok, I give up…what the heck is FOE??
Faye Lewis/ 24.07.2011
Mine is probably not a scientific method or explanation, BUT it works for me EVERYTIME. I sent in an email.
Victoria Baylor/ 24.07.2011
Cute dress! I swear we are channeling each other. I have a 2 of these planned (green & blue stripes since I couldn’t find B/w) and with the same pattern. You know what they say about great minds:) I’ve held off on making these because I wanted to get the right binding. What is FOE? I may need to borrow your idea because your results are great:)
Michelle B/ 24.07.2011
That is really cute! I love maxi dresses but have held off making them, because I don’t know if I’d wear them! (I did make and wear one to a wedding a couple weeks ago) I’ve been on a sundress kick as of late!
Nadine in NC/ 24.07.2011
The best way to match stripes on washable fabric is to use a regular washable gluestick. Now is a great time to buy them since school supplies are on sale. I stock up and store them in a ziploc bag. I prefer the clear ones, but they *must* be washable. Even the store brands work fine. I love, love using them for hemming knits as they stabilze as well as hold. The downside is that you have to let them dry first, but in my opinion it is so worth it.
BTW, I really love your blog! Your willingness to share your faith is so encouraging. Thank you.
Susan - Knitters Delight/ 24.07.2011
Fabulous dress. I have yet to match stripes myself. lol
I think the fold-over-elastic worked great for this dress. You reminded me I have some in my stash I can dig out to use.
Jenny/ 24.07.2011
Very pretty! I’ve seen dresses like this in stores for lots of money. I love the simplicity of it. My only stripe matching tip is lots of pins. 🙂 If they don’t match up all the way to the bottom, one piece was somehow cut longer than the other, and you can trim it off.
Erica B./ 24.07.2011
Cute dress. Loving maxis right now. I use pins to hold together the fabric at the stripes. I just stretch to make sure that they match.
Jada/ 24.07.2011
Cute maxi! Loving how you match it with the blue jean jacket.I have trouble also with stripes so I have nothing for you.
Sheila/ 24.07.2011
Cute maxi.
Candice/ 24.07.2011
Cute maxi and very trendy right now!
Monique/ 25.07.2011
Cute!I love this one. I’ll have to make sure I pick up this pattern.
Kisha/ 25.07.2011
Cute dress! Now you have me totally afraid of my mini stripes. And what’s a FOE? Guess I need to get back to reading my book for that one.
Regina/ 25.07.2011
Great dress!
monique/ 25.07.2011
OMGoodness! I’m currently working on a dress that’s going to look very much like this. I just posted about it today. I won’t say how long I’ve been working on it. But the plan is to have it finished tomorrow. I even planed on wearing it with a white jean jacket that I have. Mine isn’t cropped (perfect choice). I’m inspired all over again after seeing your dress! Let me get busy!
kim/ 25.07.2011
It’s so cute! I wish i knew how to sew. I want to make my bridesmaid dresses.
Shannon/ 26.07.2011
Striped dresses are so fun for the summer. Love this one! I know when I work with stripes I don’t worry about the grain, especially in a knit. I usually try to lay the pattern out to match the stripe, even if that means the grain is off a little bit. Also, it may have already been mentioned, but don’t cut striped fabric on the fold. Trace a second piece and cut the fabric out in one piece flat. That way you can see if the stripes are the landing in the same spot along both side seams. And last but not least, sometimes the stripes are not perfectly horizontal in your fabric, and there is not much I have found to be able to correct that other than to try to stretch the fabric to match the stripes, if the stretch is not so much as to cause puckering.
Sheri D. Maple/ 26.07.2011
That is a fun looking dress, and it is a really good time to sew it with this 100+ degree weather.
Roz/ 02.08.2011
You received some great advise on matching stripes. The only one I can add is use a walking foot.
Monique/ 10.10.2011
I finally got my dress finished! I wanted to share it with you since they are soooo much alike!
http://stitchesandstrings.blogspot.com/2011/10/finallystriped-maxi-dress.html