Tag Archives: McCall’s

M6885 Goes to Washington

Posted in 2015 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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How do! Last week, I headed down to Washington, D.C. for a work conference and brought a number of me-made items with me. In fact, I wore handmade all but one day while I was there. Hey, only the best for our nation’s capital. ;)

One brand new piece I brought (along with the M6886 dress from my previous post) was McCall 6885, which I finished in early October. (Just realized these two patterns follow each other in pattern numbering. Guess I really liked McCall’s offerings in that section of their website!)

The first few photos in this post were taken at the top of the Washington Monument, which is the center piece of the National Mall and built in tribute to our first president, George Washington.

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M6886 Dress in Blue Floral Knit

Posted in 2015 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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A quick make to usher in the fall, and what a nice fall it’s been! Bare legs on a November day? I’ll take that. Apologies in advance for the same smile in every photo. I’ll figure out variety one of these days…

This is McCall’s 6886, a simple pullover dress that I picked up last month during one of the McCall sales. It’s getting harder and harder to shell out more than a few bucks on a pattern! This one also comes with v-neck and higher neckline options; sleeveless, short sleeve, three-quarter, and full sleeve variations; and about three different hem lengths, from above the knee to maxi. That’s a lotta bang for your buck!

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I Found the Old McCall Building!

Posted in Great Old Finds by

I spend a good amount of time in my day job as an architectural historian using old photos to help tell the stories of historic buildings and the people who lived, worked or otherwise spent time in them. So one day I took on a personal project and searched for sewing-related images.

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You know what first clued me in to searching for photos of the old McCall Building? I was about to head into Mood when I happened to spot faded “ghost signs” across 37th Street. See them in the photo above? Windows have since been punched into this side wall, but at one time the sign was very hard to miss. Scroll to the very end of this post to see what the building looked like over a century ago.

So, yep, at one time, McCall’s was right in the thick of things in the Garment District!

All photos and captions are from the Museum of the City of New York‘s digital collection. These were taken by the Byron Company in 1913.

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FESA 2014: Hmmm, the Mock Wrap Dress

Posted in 2014 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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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.

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McCall’s 6696 Emerald Isle Shirtdress

Posted in 2014 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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Hello, you hot and humid September! Making up for that fall-like July and August we had, aren’t’cha?

I’m so pleased that I got around to making yet another McCall’s 6696 shirtdress! Is this pattern popular or what? And for good reason: it’s “top drawer” with lots of variation possibilities. This is my first attempt at the pleated version. Both my sleeveless summery and cozy flannel versions featured the fitted skirt option.

I’m particularly happy with how this one turned out. This dress is very fun to wear, and the color is even more amazing in real life! A really striking emerald green. I’ve never been to Ireland (sad face), but I’m told the green color of the landscape there is stunning so I’ve dubbed this the Emerald Isle Dress.

The fabric itself was bought on this side of the Atlantic at G Street Fabrics in northern Virginia back in October 2011. Nice to stash bust! I used up all two yards of this 58″ wide rayon/linen blend to create this dress. The pattern calls for 2 3/8 yards (60″ wide) so this ended up being a tight fit, but I made it work. Phew. I originally bought it with a circle skirt in mind.

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