The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

Look, Ma!  No sleeve finish!  I'll explain that later.

So, pretty much like everyone else, I've done up my own version of McCall's 5974.  This is View C, and I actually finished it back in January but hadn't gotten pictures of the dress until recently.  I made it out of this great monochromatic rayon jersey from Fabric.com.  It reminds me of a shattered mirror, all craggy and jagged.  I thought it would suit this pattern because of the more structured waist detail, but I'm not so sure.  It may be too busy for this pattern.  The great waist shaping gets a little lost.  If I make this again, I will use a solid colored fabric.

This was a fairly easy pattern.  The instructions are straightforward, and easy to understand.  As others have noted, this pattern runs large, particularly when it calls for a stretch fabric.  I made a 14 and had to bring the side seams in, and I could have made it even smaller.  This really hasn't mattered because of the wrap around waist tie.  I did not interface the waistband so that I could omit the back zipper, and I sewed the sleeves in flat.  This has created a problem with the finishing of the sleeves as they're too narrow to sew on my machine now.  Chalk that one up to experience.  For now, that limits this dress to wearing with a cardigan, which is okay in the winter, but I wanted a long-sleeved dress so that I could wear it by itself when the weather gets warmer, so that will have to be fixed.  I also didn't finish the edges of the waist ties.  They are hidden, and the fabric doesn't ravel, so the only thing finishing them would do is take out some of the stretch.

This is a Palmer/Pletsch pattern, so it comes with the fitting alteration lines directly on the pattern.  The only fitting change I made was to lengthen the bodice front in the center by 1 inch, tapering to nothing at the sides.  I may have to add more length if I make this up again because the waistband seam is clearly visible above the top of the wrap.

The one problem I have with this dress on me is the back view (then again, I don't know anyone who really enjoys their back view).  When I gain weight, it goes straight to my back, and the ties cut into the soft parts of my back.  As a result, I get this unattractive bulge between the waistband and the bottom of my bra (I know. TMI).  One of the other reasons why I'm currently limited to layering this under a sweater.  This isn't a comment on the dress itself.  I've seen it look super-cute on a range of body types and sizes.  It's just something that I've noticed on me that I don't think that anyone's mentioned before.  If you're at all self-conscious about your back, this could be an issue for you.  It is for me.

For the most part, I really like this pattern, and this dress, but I'd like to make it out of a solid color with some small adjustments.  Better fitting in the body of the dress, longer bodice top.  Actually hemming the sleeves so that I'm not limited to wearing this under sweaters in public.  I think I might shorten the hem as well.  It looks like it's hitting me at an awkward place on my knee.  So, not my favorite, but not bad as a halfway point. 

 We'll see how the next version comes out, but that will have to wait because I'm working on fitting with a woven fabric.  This is not going well, but hopefully, I'll learn something.  Stay tuned!