Monday, May 23, 2016

Fitting M7154

I'm finally sewing again after not really having much time to during the "regular academic year." Several of my projects have been gifts and that's why I haven't written them up yet (or at all, in one case).

I finished the bodice muslin for my bridesmaid dress for my brother and sister-in-law-to-be's June 18th wedding (yes, I'm feeling the time pressure a little bit).

I'm sewing McCall's 7154.

https://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m7154
I had a bit of trouble following the directions, and sewed a few parts incorrectly several times before getting it right, so I think I will try to take detailed photos and notes during construction of the actual dress.

I sewed a size 14, and it was so small that I had to cut seams open to even try it on! I'm not sure if I gained weight since I traced the pattern (months ago) or if I just made a bad call when choosing the size. Perhaps a bit of both. Here's the thing, though...in order to size up, I need a different version of the pattern! Rats!

I spent a little time tonight reading about pattern grading, but I think this is too complicated a pattern for my first attempt. I'll be heading to JoAnn Fabrics as soon as I get paid on Thursday. Hopefully they have the pattern there. If not, I'll have to mail-order it.

Silver lining: I guess I get to work on fitting some other WIPs over the next few days. I have a lot of WIPs.

So, I suppose I don't need the A5 size range (6-8-10-12-14) of McCall's 7154 anymore. I hardly ever get comments on my blog, but if you happen to see this post and want my pattern, leave me a comment with some encouragement and/or what you would use the pattern for. If I get more than one comment, I'll select a winner randomly.

Beulah Birtley made an awesome top out of this pattern. What a genius idea! I'll be doing that in the future (waaaaay post-bridesmaid dress). I think it would be fun to hack it into a cocktail length dress, too.