A summer dress: McCall's 7383

Before I start with this review, this is my (maybe) wearable muslin.  The three fabrics I used weren't all that high of quality and thus behaved as such.:(  It's okay though.  I really wanted to try this dress and a muslin is what I needed to figure out if tweaks are necessary.

I thought this pattern was just darling when it first came out.  Have you seen it?

I love view A with those little extended sleeve sort of things.  I am always cautious of patterns such as this since the models are thin and sort of flat chested, neither of which describes me!  But I thought I would try it anyway because if the dress didn't work out, this would make an awesome nightgown!

 The patterns is described like this: Pullover dresses (close-fitting through bust) have seam detail, hemline variations and narrow hem.  A: Armhole bands.  B: Stitched hem on sleeves.  C: Upper front and back, cut on crosswise grain, bias lower front and back.  A, C, D: Wrong side shows on hemline.

I made view A.  This pattern calls for medium weight stretch knits such as cotton, jersey, Interlock or cotton knit.  I used poly knits that I think were bordering on lightweight.  I made a straight up medium, in case you are wondering about sizing.  For alterations next time, I will make a sloping shoulder adjustment and that's probably it unless any of you readers have a suggestion!

Did I mention these three fabrics were from my stash?  I think the gray and reddish orange are poly blends and the white might be a cotton. All had the recommended stretch but were challenging to work with.  Look how crappy the hemline looks (especially the gray) despite using a fusible hem tape to stabilize the area!

This is a fast make and the pattern seems to be well made with all the notches and pieces lining up correctly.  I will say though that view A seems to have the lower piece somewhat gathered onto the middle.  Do you notice that as well?  As the pattern is written, both pieces are sewn together flat, meaning there is zero gathering on that lower piece.

The length was really good on me as well and I am 5'7",  If you are shorter than that, this might be really long on you!

This is a very comfortable dress and I welcomed it in this extreme heat we are having--heat indices of 97 degrees--very unusual for June in South Dakota.

I will try this again in a more of a mid-weight knit.  I forgot to mention that I added the neck band as the pattern calls for turning the neckline under 5'8" and stitching down.  I really hate doing that so I staystitched the neckline and cut a band about 3 inches smaller than the measurement and then stitched and topstitched in place.  I think it will keep the fabric from stretching out, especially if you use a cheap-o knit like mine!

Thanks for reading!

What are you sewing this summer to stay cool?
Sue