As we revisit writing regularly about the things that go on up here, we thought we’d bring up Erin’s first project from the hard drive and write about it. McCall’s #M6834 is a knee length dress that has long princess seams that terminate in box pleats:
Erin started off in 2014 with us. If you click on the tags, you will see how far she’s come.
She has a guest blog post in the works, so let’s stick to the project at hand and let her develop and tell her own story.
This project is a great beginner project for an adventurous beginner, but you will have to really stick to your guns to get it the way you want. The long straight seams that terminate in box pleats have to be right.
The pattern calls for bound edges at the neck and armhole, but we opted for proper facings and linings here.
The cleaner your sewing is, the better the garment looks – this seems like it would laws be the case, but some patterns and shapes are more forgiving than others. In this case, any sloppy or poor sewing shows up in the lay of the box pleats and the line of the princess seams.
She really went the distance here – all of her linings are slipstitched down and the lining sections that join the seam allowances through the skirt are slipstitched as well. This gives it some control so that you don’t have the lining fighting the skirt sections as you move.
Now, if you are a beginner thinking of trying this: Be aware that this dress is a lot of sewing for a beginner. Erin patiently worked her way through a muslin, the fitting, and the final version over the course of four months of Sunday afternoons. With help. This is partially because of the kind of thoughtful student she (she kind of listens and gathers information to sort out really well) is and partially because it is just a lot os sewing to understand for a beginner. We’d caution against it as a first project, but would entirely be behind it as a second clothing project.
Be looking for a blog post from her about her sewing journey soon, and in the meantime enjoy the moody misty Montrose harbor with us as we tuck out of the workroom sewing studios and have a little lakefront photoshoot:
You can read about McCall’s #M6834 at Patten Review
You can buy McCall’s #M6834 here.
You can follow Erin on her sewing journey on Instagram.