"I Had To Have That Fabric" Dress - McCall's 7381

One of my students brought this fabric into class and I immediately fell in love!  Not with my student (although she's wonderful and has amazing taste) but with the fabric.  I thought about sliding it into my work bag when she wasn't looking or offering to buy it from her but instead she told me she got it from Craftsy and I was giddy to discover it was still available!  Yay!  For those of you that haven't purchased fabric from Craftsy, all of the their fabrics either come in kits or in precut lengths.  I purchased a 4 yard cut so I still have enough for a blouse or shell.

I made McCall's 7381 View A in a size 12 straight out of the envelope but ended up making quite a few changes after I wore it the first time.  This is a polyester/spandex knit and although I usually sew with natural fibers, I love the way this dress looks, feels and washes (which is a good thing since I purchased another knit just like it.)  The dress calls for a woven fabric and has quite a bit of ease built in, so sizing down to a 10 would've minimized the alterations I needed (and the amount of time it took to take it apart!). 

Here are the changes I made:  

• Made the shoulders 1" narrower (more flattering for me).
• Took the sides in 1" on both sides.
• Stitched the elastic casing to the dress instead of having it feed through in the seam allowance.  A stitched down casing looked less bulky.
• Fused knit interfacing to the front neck so it would hold it's shape.​

I'm happy I took the time to make the changes even though it took me almost as long to make the changes as it took to make the dress.  Every time I need to make changes that require a lot of ripping out I spend days deciding if I should do it or not.  I'm always happy when I take the time. "Unsewing" can be very discouraging but I highly recommend taking the chance sometimes.

I've been sewing faster than I've been blogging so I have more to share with you.  Summer sewing is in full swing and I couldn't be happier.