Tuesday, June 28, 2011

McCall 6070, Double V Surplice Knit Dress (de Espana)

M6070 Thumbnail

I picked up McCall 6070 last year because I was attracted to the casual breezy look of it. I'm not sure why I bought the pattern, as there is an almost identical view in Simplicity 3503, which I've already used to make my maxi dress. I guess I just like variety!

Samina asked about this fabric as the skirt to go with my ruched front top. It is a rayon knit that I bought in Barcelona in September 2009 while shopping with Paco! I love buying fabric as a souvenir, as it reminds me of the trip every time I wear the garment.

Small Bust Adjustment (SBA) I did my usual small bust adjustment for a crossover front of shortening the crossover. In this instance, I'm not sure it was totally necessary. With both the front and back being equal V crossovers, the weight hangs evenly from the shoulders and keeps the bodice flat against the chest, unlike with a higher back neckline that can cause a top to ride forward, resulting in front gapeage. With this alteration on this dress, the center front of the skirt is a little shorter than the sides because of the shortened bodice. But no gaping, so I won't quibble.

I did *not* narrow the gathering area below the bust. It is the perfect amount of gather for my A cup, so I would think larger cups might want to consider slashing and spreading to add more room there.

Because the weight of the fabric holds the bodice flat against the chest, I did not use clear elastic in finishing the neckline as I normally would, just folded over and twin needled. In retrospect, I should have used the elastic--not to snug up the neckline, but to help support the weight of the dress. My rayon knit is rather thin and so I lined the midriff and skirt, which puts a lot of pressure on the bodice to carry the weight.

Internal "Suspenders" While this is better quality rayon knit than most (I have a whole rant of that for a later post), it is still rather wimpy with little strength and recovery. After a day of wearing, I realized that, with the progressive stretching of the rayon, after several wears the apex of the V was going to show my navel. So after the first wear I sewed ribbon "suspenders" in to support the weight. The suspenders are sewn to the midriff seam allowance (for maximum strength) and tacked to the shoulders to keep them in place. I haven't worn it with the suspenders yet, but a try-on showed that the shortening of the CF hem nearly disappeared and that the bodice felt much more secure than before. They do not create a line on the outside.

Because of limited fabric, I did a serger rolled hem on the skirt to preserve as much length as possible. However, the benefit of the rayon stretching is that I will eventually be able to put a regular hem in (the skirt is already about an inch longer than when it was finished a couple weeks ago). Looking on the bright side here, people.

For swayback, I shortened the waistline edge of the back skirt by about an inch at center front, tapering to nothing at the sides. I should have done something about the midriff and/or pleated the skirt lining rather than gathering, because the back fit is not gorgeous (doesn't hug the back but kind of hangs off the upper midriff seam), but it is not noticeable either.


Front

This dress ended up exactly as I had hoped. It is cute with a little bit of style and also very comfortable to wear for summer. The downside of Super Special Souvenir Fabric is that if anything goes wrong with the project it is a little devastating. Luckily, there was nothing devastating about this! I left off the back tie, because that seemed to be just too casual for work, and I did not have any trouble with the shoulders falling off.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

32 comments:

Connie B said...

The problem with having an uptodate pattern listing on my computer is being able to tell instantly that I do NOT have the cute pattern people are sewing up!
This dress is seriously "el perfecto" on you. Can you tell that I never took Spanish?!

Shannon said...

I love this dress! It looks fabulous on you and the print is gorgeous! Those suspenders are a clever idea!

Lisa said...

I love the yellow in your fabric it's so lovely with the grey , it really pops. Thankyou for a very informative review and those "suspenders" look like something I may use myself.

McVal said...

Cute! Hysterical that you thought the Vee might hit your navel! Good save.

Unknown said...

Cute fabric! And the ribbon "suspenders" were a stroke of genius.

Karin said...

Very cute! I like the grey ground with the zingy yellow and pink. The suspenders are a clever solution.

Adelaide B said...

Yup, the suspenders are genius. (And the dress is super cute!)

Beth (SunnyGal Studio) said...

Very cute dress, I will be interested in hearing your thoughts on the rayon knit as I just ordered some and am looking for just the right dress pattern.
also - always fun to have international fabric!

Stoffhamster said...

What a beautiful dress! And the colour and design of the fabric is so ... like summer.
Greetings from germany! Bettina

Uta said...

Very cute! The colors look great on you - and I love your matching glasses!

Clio said...

What a fun fabric - it IS nice to have a souvenir to wear!

Bella said...

I love the idea of suspenders!
May I ask which type of fabric you used to line the skirt with?
I'm trying to line my DD's dress with knit polyester but the weight dragged the entire dress down from knee length to ankle length - not a good look.
I'm seriously looking for suggestions as to lighter weight knit lining.

kbenco said...

I should stay away from your blog whilst on a pattern diet. Your dress is very cute, and the suspender idea is sewing genius. I am very cross that I have just got rid of a silk jersey wrap dress that had aged to the point of post lunch time under wear exposure. Suspenders might have prolonged its life :(., and it was such pretty fabric....

Kyle said...

how cute is that?
and the suspenders are a GREAT idea!!

Elizabeth said...

That is one of those patterns that you would easily dismiss, but it has so much potential. Yours turned out great!

Kylie said...

I love this dress...and the fabric! Great solution with the 'suspenders' =D

Joy said...

The fabric is very pretty and I really like the front and back vees. How nice to have a non-gaping wrap front. And suspenders? Both amusing and practical.

SEWN said...

So pretty. Such great colors on you. And I absolutely love how clever you were with the suspenders! Great save!!!

ELMO said...

This is a really nice proportion for you, and your hair is getting really long, I almost didn't recognize you:)

Mrs. Micawber said...

Everyone has already said what I'd like to say, so I'll just add: love the green sandals, and can't wait to hear your rant on rayon knits. Are there NO decent weight rayon knits (in nice prints) for the home sewer? I'm scared to order any more - most are nearly see-through. And I love rayon knit.

Have to say it: adorable dress.

Anonymous said...

This dress is so flattering on you! And the suspenders are brilliant, I think they would make a couple of dresses I own much more wearable.

Lisette M said...

What a pretty dress! You made good use of your special fabric.

Kitty Couture said...

Adorable! I like these colours on you. The suspenders are a great idea - I'll have to keep it in mind.

Anonymous said...

Ribbon suspenders - ingenious!

I really like this fabric: the muted grey with bright colors is a nice combination. Muy bonita!

Digs said...

Super-cute! And great couture tricks! :)

MushyWear said...

Oh, I love this dress. I love the v-back and front neckline. Beautiful fabric too. Clever fix with the ribbon suspenders!

AllisonC said...

Great dress and fabric! I love the suspenders idea, so clever!

BCN - UNIQUE designer patterns said...

Hi Trena.- Sacaste un buen beneficio de la tela. Muy bonito el vestido. Recuerdos,

Paco

Susan said...

You look fabulous in this one!

Anonymous said...

I'd have picked up that fabric too--it has such great colors in it. That's a nice solution with the ribbon suspenders--droopy rayon makes me sad too. I end up with too many "nightgowns" from droopy rayon knits. :)

Big in Japan said...

Excellent fabric for this dress and the inner suspenders seem like some kind of old school couture secret, well done!

Samina said...

Ooh, I do like that fabric! The dress looks great in that print & it's very flattering on you.