Hi, all! Hope you had a nice Halloween/weekend. I’m here to start November off with a little number I wish I could say I was happier with, but it’s just a bit “meh” for me. Oh well, have to have those every so often.

This is one of my FESA creations, the first of a few unblogged projects from the past two months. Despite my infrequent blogging I’ve been on a sewing roll so I look forward to sharing stuff with you!

This is McCall’s 6884, a mock wrap dress pattern. Though I’m very happy with my Vogue pattern I figure you can’t have enough of something that you really like, and I do like me some wrap dresses! The mock design kind of defeats the purpose of a wrap – and I know some of you agree – but I thought I’d try it for one big reason: wind control factor. You see, between walking in the city and standing on subway platforms there are definite opportunities for a wrap dress to go flying all over the place. When I saw this mock design I thought it’d be neat to get the look without that worry.

I’d say it fulfills its purpose in that department, but having the ability to adjust a true wrap dress is what makes it so great and easy. I really want to adjust the overlap on this one and I can’t, so I’m wearing it with a camisole to conceal the cleave. But, hey, you can throw caution to the wind and undo those wrap ties. Really wide ties, as it turns out.

And then there’s this. I’m thinking “What?” as I point to the part where the right piece is sewn to the left side seam. For a second I thought I messed something up, but if you look at the illustration for view B (my version) on the McCall’s page it looks like I got it right. I just think it looks a little odd.

Doesn’t help that the houndstooth cotton ponte knit from Mood may not have enough stretch for this pattern. I thought it did, but I accidentally made the skirt portion a size 12, which is one size bigger at the hips than I usually use, and things still look a little tight and bunchy.

Speaking of which, I have to spend quite a bit of time adjusting this dress into place. It’s a pullover and the fabric doesn’t want to hang properly without some convincing from me. Sheesh, diva.

The bonus of this pattern is the generous skirt overlap. I feel like I could convert it into a true wrap dress and still have enough coverage as the wind blows from an incoming train as I rush down the stairs dodging hipsters to catch it. :-D Aw, don’t mean to get on the hipsters…it’s just that they take over the entire platform and it makes me mad. Mad! Grr.

As I mentioned, these ties are wide. They give me issues when trying to figure out exactly how to wear them. They’re attached to the side seams (rather than the front open edges, as in a traditional wrap) and, based on the markings, they sit higher than my waist even though the illustration shows this shouldn’t be. I don’t have a long torso so, hmm, something’s up. I’ll have to lower them if I make this again.

I think I could adjust the back of the armscye to eliminate some extra fabric there. It may not be as apparent in this photo, but it’s a little baggy when my hands are down.

I’ve added this photo so you can get a better sense of the fabric since it doesn’t photograph all too well. Reminds me of Tommy Hilfiger, yeah? Pay no attention to how I applied that fusible stay tape! Totally goofed up, but I was able to remove it and apply a new piece to the wrong side of the fabric. This is really cool stuff, by the way. Bought it from A Fashionable Stitch last year.

Instead of doing the narrow hem (as instructed), I serged the edges, folded it over 5/8″ and then top-stitched with red thread using a stretch twin needle. You don’t even have to finish these seams since knits don’t unravel, but I think it adds a nice touch. I applied this same technique to the skirt and sleeve hems since I felt the fabric was slightly too thick to be folded over twice (didn’t want ridges to form).

So, yeah, that’s my speech. :) I don’t think it’s a total disaster, I’m just not too crazy about it. Between the long sleeves and the thick knit, the dress does fit into my winter wardrobe nicely so I’m going to give it a chance. Can you tell I kept fussing with how to wear the waist ties? Perhaps a bit too thick to wear in a bow…

Special thanks to the florescent lighting in my sewing space for making these photos super bright. Wowza!