Fourteen and a half!

Hello there! Yes, I'm still sewing away in my little corner of the universe, but the time sure has been flying by. To get me back into the swing of things, I thought I'd share one of my favourite recent makes, McCall's 3074, a "Pounds Thinner" pattern.

Vintage patterns hadn't held much appeal for me until recently. I'm not 100% sure where I picked up this little tidbit, but somewhere along the line, I learned about the half size patterns of the 1960's and 70's - patterns drafted not only to be petite, lengthwise, but a bit more generous through the middle, and with a lower bust. Basically, these patterns were drafted with my figure in mind. At 5'7, I'm not petite, but I'm certainly short waisted, and after shortening bodices, I usually need to expand the waistline of patterns by a size or two. I get around this a lot of the time by choosing straighter cuts, which I love, but I couldn't resist the siren call of the half size sewing pattern!

And judging from this post from Dress a Day, I'm not alone. Okay, on to the dress.

This is View A, without the collar. There is are seams centre front and back, and seaming diagonally to shape the bust. The back also has a seam at the waist, as well as darts, and opens with a zip centre back.

 The fabric is an amazing quilted knit that I first spotted over on Sewaholic last year. Check out Tasia's post for loads of tips on how to deal with these fun quilted knits, it's excellent. At any rate, when visiting out west last summer, I found the last couple of metres on the bolt at Fabricana, and I was over the moon. This was the fabric the pattern had been waiting for, and it all came together beautifully.

The fabric is very thick, and doesn't really press at all, so the centre front neck is a bit bulky. I trimmed the seams as close as I dared, and really gave it a good whack with the iron, and it's not bad. I also put in an invisible zip, because I prefer them. I find I get a reliably neater finish, and I enjoy putting them in.

Top stitching!

I top stitched all the seams, except the centre back - I didn't want to draw attention to the zip, just have it blend right in. The hems and facings are cross stitched in place, since the fabric has a fused backing, perfect for invisible tacking.

This was a really fun and satisfying project, and I love this dress! I've even snatched up a few more half-size dress patterns to try the next time the vintage bug bites. 

Thanks for stopping by - and Merry Christmas!