I've been wanting to move my blog away from Blogspot for a while but could never be bothered to actually do it. This week was the tipping point though, and I've now fully migrated over to https://patsypoomakes.wordpress.com/ . The blogspot address will remain here but all new posts will only appear at https://patsypoomakes.wordpress.com/ . There are lots of reasons for the move but my biggest one is how hard Blogger has made it for people to subscribe to receive new posts via email. It's such a basic requirement but apparently, they think it's too much to offer. I'm basing this purely on how I myself prefer to consume this stuff. I can't be arsed with feed readers anymore and emails are easy and convenient. When I receive one, if I fancy reading it, I will click through to it and, if not, I'll just delete it. Another reason is the spat between Google (owners of Blogger) and Instagram/Facebook/Meta. I don't even know if this is still the case anymore ...
Now that I proved to myself that I can sew a decent collar, it looks like I've developed a shirtdress addiction. Which this time around is being fuelled by McCall's M6885.
I'm so glad I managed to look past the hideousness that is the pattern envelope because I really love this pattern. There are a few variations but basically it's a loose fitting shirtdress with a sort of half placket (?) on the front.
I made a view D, size 10. I omitted the ties though. I hate having a knot at my back - especially when driving. I quite like the loose look but I also have the option of wearing it with a belt if I want to.
The only real change I made was to lengthen the sides considerably. Just before cutting, I noticed that the sides seams curved quite a lot upwards at the bottom. The view I picked has quite a severely curved hem but it looked suspiciously short on the side seams.
After getting my tape measure out, I decided that it would've indeed been too short for my liking. I ended up lengthening it by a whole 3 INCHES!!! Then I blended the curve back in to match the front and back and cut it. Just FYI, I'm not even tall at 5'6" - or 1.69m in real money - so be warned.
The instructions were very good, if a little confusing around the bottom of the placket bit. But I figured it out in the end. They don't tell you to sew down the little tab at the bottom but I chose to. I didn't like it flapping around. The buttons were in my stash but I think they came from Textile Garden.
The instructions don't mention this but I french seamed the sleeves so they look nice and tidy on the outside, since they're meant to be worn rolled up. I think my next version might be a full sleeve and cuff one for winter.
I know the collar looks weird here but I don't know why it looks that way. It's actually alright.
The fabric is one of my favourites ever, as proven by this Zinnia skirt, this Hawthorn dress and on of these Sewaholic Crescent skirts... I like what I like, I guess. It's a lightweight cotton and what can I say? I really, really like it. And there's still enough left of it for a shirt, probably...
I'm very happy with this dress. I've worn it loads already. It looks great with leggings, too, so I'll be able to keep wearing it when the weather gets cold. Bonus!