Tea Length Florals

As soon as McCalls 8556 was released, I wanted to get my hands on the pattern.  I have multiple shirtwaist dress patterns, but this particular design has some very nice details that don't look exactly like every other button front dress with a collar.  And I love interesting details.

But, like so many of the patterns that I am drawn to, it is a massive fabric hog.  And while I didn't pay close attention when I went to figure out if I had enough of the particular fabric I had in mind, I realized that the pattern requires 60" wide fabric.  I wasn't going to let that stop me, however, since I had decided that this floral quilting cotton was meant to be made into this dress.

Luckily, I had a lot of yardage to work with, so I figured that I could work around any issues that the narrow width threw at me.  And really, the only major issue was the back bodice.  I was unable to cut it on the fold, but it was easy enough to add a seam allowance.  (Although it did require more fabric than is suggested on the envelope because of the narrow yardage.)

I swapped out the machine buttonholes for bound versions.  And instead of interfacing the entire front edge of the skirt and bodice, I just gave myself some extra reinforcement where the buttonholes were to be placed.

The only real issue with swapping out machine made buttonholes for bound buttonholes is order of construction.  You could wait until the end to make a bound buttonhole, but that would require that you maneuver the entire garment 365 degrees around your sewing machine.  And in some cases, completing the garment might mean that access is limited to the areas where you need to install your buttonholes.  I find it much easier to take care of the buttonholes before constructing the garment so I don't have to worry about either of those issues.

For the most part, this pattern went together fairly easily.

And so far, everything looks good.

The interior yoke takes care of a few interior raw edges, and the rest I finished with seam binding.

I also went for hand stitching in places where I prefer more control then the machine gives me (like the collar facing).

But I did add the top-stitching that is suggested by the pattern.  It may not be logical, but it makes sense to me.

Where I did come across an issue was with the sleeve cuffs.

The instructions are incorrect for this part of the process and create a situation where the understitching is visible when the cuffs are folded back into place.  That was a definite no for me, so I did my own thing.

As often happens in a case like this, I drove myself crazy for way too long trying to figure out why I was so confused.  I need to learn that there is always the possibility that the instructions themselves are just plain wrong!  In this instance, the seam allowance and understitching needs to be pressed and stitched in the opposite direction to what they suggest.  Also, if you want the cuff facing to have a finished edge, do that before you stitch it into place!  That step is left out altogether.

Once I set that bit right, the bodice went together without any further trouble.

And at this point it started looking like a garment I would want to wear . . . which is always a good sign.

I went ahead and added the side seam pockets even though I am unlikely to ever use them.  And the skirt was gathered down to match the waistband.

A duplicate waistband also serves to enclose those raw edges which is a nice finish.

And this gives Archie a chance to help with the hand sewing portion of the project.

It's beginning to look like an actual dress at this point.

But there are still plenty of details to finish.

There is more top-stitching on the waistband, for one.

But that didn't stop me from sewing the hemline by hand.  I do recognize the ridiculousness, but you will not take a hand sewn hem away from me.

Honestly, it's one of my favorite parts of the process!

And there were quite a few buttons to sew into place.

I did ignore the instructions for the two interior buttons.  Instead of more buttonholes and more buttons, I stitched two hook & bars into place.

So if you are one or two buttons short, you can cheat with at least two of the non-visible buttons and swap them for hook & eyes or snaps.

Other than a bit of frustration with the instructions on the cuffs (which necessitated a seam ripper and some deep breathing) this project was straight forward.

I didn't measure my yardage exactly, but I would guess that I ended up needing almost one extra yard of fabric to work around my extension of the skirt length and, more importantly, my 45" wide fabric.

But in the end, it all worked out, and I can honestly say that I really love how this dress turned out.