Black Hawaiian Dress: McCalls 6071

I finally finished two dresses today, ones I started weeks ago. Here's the first one. Because I have stubbornly refused to make a muslin, I keep having to alter over and over, ripping and restitching, which is very time consuming when the pattern has a band at the waist as this one does. Many alterations later, I ended up with...

I used McCalls 6071 for the upper bodice. But one reviewer said the pattern turns out VERY LOOSE, which is hard to tell from the photograph. But notice how the model is holding the LOOSE skirt in with the placement of her hand. I wanted a closer fit, so I took a band and skirt from another pattern. I also made the straps halter instead of straight over the shoulder.


For fabric, I used this very large wrap skirt from a church rummage sale: all in a bag for a dollar. There was plenty of fabric due to how far the wrap went around...


... Here is the design process... as I look back now, I like this dress better than what I ended up with. I must say I'm not thrilled with the way the bodice turned out. It seems to make my upper carriage look very narrow... Hmmmm ... I may tear it apart and rethink ... or not...



This closeup shows two things:
1. the gathering band that makes pleats on the upper midriff. The pattern added a bow, which I eliminated. It wasn't till I saw this picture that I realize the pleats ended up lumped in the wrong places. I'll go back and tack the pleats more appealingly.
2. I'm not pleased with the droop of the midriff band. It's over two inches wide, and on another garment, I reduced it to just one inch and the droop was eliminated. I think that I don't have 2+ inches of body in the space between lower bust and hip bone to accommodate such a wide band. I'm not going to change it, but I'll keep that in mind in future patterns.

More views...

String Halter Top: Simplicity 9129 OOP

Quick little halter top, so easy to make...

I used Simplicity 9129 OOP View B (a longer version of it). (That's what I like about sewing for myself. When I come across tops like this in RTW, they're often so short, like this pattern is supposed to be. But voila, just cut it longer and I have a top I would really wear.

I eliminated the fancy lacing at the back and simplified it. And for the string tie, I don't know what the pattern said to do, I just used a piece of cording I found in my stash. (shoelaces work too).

One problem area I still haven't figured out how to resolve in sewing of rib knits. My serger is acting up, so I narrow hemmed the upper edge of the back by folding under twice and stitching, but the stitching caused the edge to stretch. (you can't see it because the rib stretches far enough to have it not show, but it is indeed stretched. If anyone has any idea on how to prevent this kind of stretching, I'd appreciate any advice.