This is a cellphone photo of my daughter standing in front of my sister-in-law's fireplace after my nephew's wedding, which was the weekend before Christmas. Yes, I am posting my daughter's Christmas dress in March. I am a very slow poster. Also, circumstances conspired against me as far as getting photos. I had hoped to get some family photos of us all dressed up, but my youngest son came down with an inconvenient stomach virus right as the wedding started, so he and I (and partly his dad) missed the whole thing!! Such is life, at least in this household.....
Anyway, my daughter made this dress in early December to wear to the wedding. The pattern is McCalls 6754, view D and the fabric is berry stretch velour from Hobby Lobby. The dress on the cover is very short and my daughter is tall (5'9" plus), so we thought we better add some length to the skirt. We tried six inches at first, but that would not fit on the fabric, then we went down to four inches. However, the skirt is quite full and the weight pulls it down, so in the end we only added two inches to the skirt length.
The rest of the pattern was sewn without alterations. My daughter made a small (size 8-10). She usually sews a 10. This pattern is rated 'easy' and I would have to say it really is. The whole thing sewed up in an afternoon. It has raglan 3/4 sleeves. The waist seams make a casing for elastic, which helps hold the skirt up. She added knit stay tape to the neckline and the edges of the sleeves and the skirt, then turned them under and stitched them down, using a small zigzag stitch. The fabric does not fray, so the other seams were stitched and pressed open, no finishing required. And it pulls on over the head, so no zippers or other fasteners to worry about.
I think it looks really cute on her. The only thing she is not sure about is the raglan sleeves. We both have really broad shoulders and wonder if the raglan sleeves emphasize that too much? Also, the velour sheds on the inside, so after wearing the dress she is covered with bits of berry fuzz. I think that might dissipate with a few more wearings.
We do recommend the pattern. You can also make a tank top version for a summer dress, and there are some peplum top variations as well.
