5th Times a Charm, Right?

I don't know about you but some patterns just speak to me. Okay, no I don't hear voices - I'm not crazy (innocent until proven guilty right?). But what I mean is that some patterns have a way of pushing me beyond the bounds of the technical drawings that dictate to us what the pattern ought to be. So is the case with this vintage McCall's dress pattern (m8043). I can across this pattern initially when I couldn't find any vintage Laura Ashley patterns with this specific waistline that were in my size. This had the waistline I was looking - which is called an Antebellum waistline btw - a long puff sleeve which is currently a must for all my makes AND it was available in my size (sz. 18) so all missions were a go! To date I have made this pattern 5 times, 4 of those 5 were successful. See the different versions of the dress I've made below!

Can you guess which version was unsuccessful? Leave a comment below with your guess!

The most recent rendition of this pattern is by far my favorite! The inspiration behind this one was the Selkie Puff Dress - but make it holiday! I wanted the bandeau top, giant puffy sleeves with a long, preferably, tiered skirt. The skirt was supposed to have maximum poofyness through gathering together multiple panels but some things did not quite go to plan (i.e - I didn't buy enough fabric). Do they ever?

What I ended up with isn't too shabby though. This version of the dress features; an empire waistline with a gathering detail at the bust, puff 3/4 sleeves with shirred cuffs, a midi length half circle skirt and an invisible zip closure. And of course - it has pockets! When I shortened the bodice it began to gape which is weird because it doesn't gape on any of the other dress I've made using this pattern. To fix this I simply pinched the excess fabric in the center, pinned and sewed it together with a single stitch across. Although it bugs not knowing why this happens but the pinching detail adds something to the dress that I really like.

In order to achieve this look I made the following changes to the pattern:

- Squared the neckline of the bodice (eliminating the sweetheart neckline)

- Shortend the bodice by 5 inches & eliminated the antebellum waist.

* Tip if you're interested in doing this measure up from the bottom of your pattern piece, NOT top down. Also, use your lining piece as a muslin to check the fit of your bodice.

- Added 4 inches of height to the sleeve head and took 5 inches from the bottom

- Shirred the bottom of the sleeve to create a gathered 'cuff'

- Added about 12 - 15 inches of length to the skirt

It will never cease to amaze me how such subtle changes can have a massive impact on the overall look of the garment. Holding this dress up against the others I've made - it looks like it was created using a completely different pattern & that my friends, is the magic of sewing.

What didn't go quite as planned:

The skirt is not nearly as poofy as I would like it to be but I ran out of fabric as I didn't account for the added length when deciding how much fabric to buy. The skirt is also not tiered. This was disappointing initially but in the end I actually like it more this way - it feel more womanly and less girly (don't get me wrong, I still love a girly dress). I also wouldn't hate it if the top was literally an inch longer - this is an adjustment I will make on the next version of this dress because yes, there will be a next version of this dress.

Until next time! Stay creative and make what you love!