Sew: McCalls 6559 Stripe Maxi

Once again, I am late to jump on the bandwagon. Last summer, maxi dresses were all the rage and I even invested in some lovely jersey from Tessuti to make a maxi. It was an absolute disaster! I was still carrying a fair bit of "baby" weight and the fabric was too thin for the style so it showed every lump and bump. Thankfully I salvaged the fabric and turned it into a fabulous skirt.

Moving forward 12 months, I've lost almost 10kg and have gained more experience in matching the fabric to the pattern. Even though I have been taking steps to reduce my fabric expenditure, when I spotted this fabric on the sale rack at Clegs I knew it would be perfect for a maxi. It didn't even make it in to the fabric cupboard!!

I cut out a size 20 as directed by my measurements knowing that it would most likely be too big but not wanting it to be too tight. I then graded in the side seams from the armhole to the hip an extra 2.5cm. I left from the hip down the larger size as I quite like the loose look and I was very over matching the stripes...There is excessive fabric pooling at my back as I didn't do a swayback adjustment but it a casual dress and I think it turned out fine.

Project Details

Pattern: McCalls 6559 View D

Fabric: Stretch jersey from Clegs

Alterations: Used self binding on armholes and neckline

The only alteration I made to the pattern was use the black stripe of the fabric to bind the neckline and armholes. The pattern instructions have you do a narrow hem on these which I thought was absurd. I simply cut 4cm strips of fabric and folded in half lengthwise. I measured each opening and used a strip of binding that was 85% of the opening length, stretching the binding to fit. Once stitched, I overlocked the seam and then pressed and topstiched the binding down. I also sewed the binding on first before doing the side seams which allows you to change the side seams without ruining your binding.

This was a quick and relaxing project to get myself back in to the swing of things. The boys are back in full swing after Mr N's surgery and Mr H adjusting to his glasses. I was away last week presenting at a professional conference in Canberra. I'm kind of a geek but I love conferences! We even went to Parliament House for dinner and the National Gallery for dessert and dancing. My mum came down to babysit the boys while I went to the conference. It was lovely going through patterns and fabric and googling patterns with my mum until late in to the night.