mccall's 6553 and sydney's sewing social

 

My garment sewing plan is slowly coming along and here is my finished McCall's 6553, a.k.a. The Tent! (Please forgive the dorky posing photos, I'm still learning how to do it right.)

I love this dress! It is so comfortable and flowing, and can be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion. My new favourite. When I first saw the pattern, I liked it, but was not 100% sure the style would suit me. But I liked it enough to give it a go, and I'm glad I did. Once this baby of mine leaves its current premises, I will also wear the dress without the belt and just let it flow in the wind.

The fabric is some polyester I bought at The Remnant Warehouse. It was the end of the bolt, so I got 3.5 m for $10.50!!! The fabric is bad to cut (slides all over the table), not too bad to sew, and terrible to press. In fact, it doesn't press at all!!! The plus side though is that it doesn't wrinkle. (And I still have 1.6 m left to make something else with it)

The pattern - well, prior to deciding which size to cut I read all the reviews I could find. All of them said the dress was too big if made in the size according to measurements. The most helpful review for me was by Sallie of Sallieoh, as she is about the same measurements as I am, but made this same dress in the smallest size. I quite liked the way it fitted her, so I did the same. Based on my measurements, I needed to make size 14. I made 6. So I hope this gives you an idea of how much ease plus 'design element' ease this pattern gives you. I also added 2.5 cm (1 inch) in length as I wanted to make sure I had enough coverage on the front due to my massive belly. I didn't do any other alterations, although I omitted the pockets, the belt and the side seam openings for the belt. Overall, the pattern is easy, instructions are fine and the dress is a winner!

I got to wear the dress for the first time on Saturday, when I went to the Sydney's Sewing Social organised by Christy of little betty sews. There was quite a big turn up of local (and interstate) seamstresses and it was lovely to meet everyone. In my blurry photo you can see myself, Lena, Maria and Janelle. (Christy has a photo of the rest of the lovely ladies and their blog addresses.) On the day we browsed through beautiful fabrics at Tessuti and The Fabric Store, and then had a chat at The Clock Hotel. I was very good and didn't buy anything. However, upon returning home I realised I wanted to look at some interfacing.. It was a lovely time and I'm looking forward to another social in a few months time.