Sunday, June 3, 2012

McCall's 6279: The Trench Dress

I finally finished M6279.  And it's only taken me a month to complete it.


This is view C, the version with the full collar, elbow length puffed sleeves, and the self fabric belt from view A/B.


I used a dark wash denim with a bit of stretch that I was lucky enough to find at my local Walmart.  All the topstitching was done with khaki thread, and the buttons are antique "brass."
 

I cut a size 14 through the shoulders and eased out to a 16 at the bust. 

Pattern adjustments included: 
     5/8" princess FBA
     1 and 1/8" of length added at waist
     3" of length added to skirt
     1" of length removed from sleeve
     1/2" of length removed from cuff
     3/4" added to cuff circumference


I'm pretty pleased with the final results.  The dress fits well, seems comfortable, and is office appropriate.  I went ahead and made the belt to go with it, but I plan to shop for something else.  I pictured it all along with a leather, or woven belt, I just haven't found what I had in mind yet.


The sleeves on this dress are pretty puffy.  Normally I don't mind a puffed sleeve- I like to draw attention to my shoulders and above, but these are pushing it.  Especially in the denim fabric, which has a lot of body.  I ended up pressing the gathers down, and they are still rather "boisterous" as you can see in the photos.

I also shortened the sleeves a total of 1.5 inches.  I think it would have looked better if I'd removed about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch more.  The bottom of the cuff hits me just below the bend of my elbow and tends to get bent up when I bend my arm.

I added 3/4" to the cuff circumference so they wouldn't bind.  They look like they are plenty wide enough in the photos, in fact they look downright loose.  But my arms are quite heavy and I promise, the cuffs just fit at the top where they are attached to the sleeves.


All in all, I'm happy with this project.  The pattern was drafted well, the instructions were good, and the dress turned out quite nice.  I might even make this again.  I'd love to try view A with the stand-up collar and epaulets.  I think I'd substitute a plain, short sleeve, and maybe even add some pockets in the side seams.  As it is, this dress should work nicely for summer and right on into fall.


Now that this project is done, it's back to work on the Burda sheath dress. 


How is your summer sewing going?

16 comments:

Debbie Cook said...

Wonderful dress, and nice photography too!

Kyle said...

WOW, it looks amazing! Well worth the time and effort!

Anonymous said...

I really love this. Nicely done!

Linda L said...

Great looking dress! You did a fantastic job with this!

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

This is very pretty on you and it fits you so well! You did a great job on this and I can't wait to see your next project.

Mary Nanna said...

This looks amazing - I keep looking at it and thinking how incredibly flattering it is. Beautiful job.

gwensews said...

That's a cute dress. Denim is so versatile and never, ever goes out of style. Nice sewing.

HeathersSphere said...

Breathtakingly chic! You look fabulous in your dress. Very nice work.

Virginie said...

Beautiful from every angle! Great job!

LinB said...

Yay! This style and fabric and color will work well for many years. Were I you, I'd pick off the cuffs and make them about half as deep as they are now -- it is very annoying to have to keep pushing them out of your elbow. The proportion will still be fine, and this fix is no more difficult than removing the cuff, shortening the sleeve, and re-attaching. Yes, it's a PITA, but not a terrible amount of time to turn the sleeves into something you love as much as the rest of the dress.
I like the puffed top -- it seems fresh and young after a decade of plain sleeve tops.

Audrey said...

I love trench dresses. Yours looks fantastic. I'll bet you will wear it a lot.

Lynneb said...

It is truely fabulous. The details are perfect, and it is a lo vely flattering fit!

AllisonC said...

This is a really flattering dress, great style on you, I'm sure you will get used to the puffy sleeves the more you wear it.

angie.a said...

It turned out really pretty! Love the shoes too.

Beangirl said...

It's the perfect denim dress! You look great!

Karin said...

Cute dress! A structured denim dress is bound to be very "wearable" stylish looking, but tough enough for a mum with young children. I like your meadow location for the pictures.