Purple Printemps Dress

I finished the purple dress that I wrote about on my last what I'm working on Wednesday post. The pattern is McCall's M6507. It features a cowl neckline with the front cut on the bias, low back with a horizontal bar across the upper back, and tucks on a front skirt overlay. I made the dress from a thrifted sheet, bought with this pattern in mind.

Making this dress was a great learning experience. I tried out a number of new techniques.  One was making my own bias tape, which was used to enclose the zipper tape on the inside and the armcycles. Making bias tape is actually super easy.  It does eat up a lot of fabric, though, as it is cut on the bias. 

I also used French seams for the first time and did my first tiny hem. I'm excited to be able to apply these new techniques on my future makes. 

One great thing about the back of this dress is that the zipper ends low enough that I can easily take it on and off by myself.  Speaking of zippers, I used my invisible zipper foot for the first time on this dress, which resulted in a nice invisible finish.  Sorry, no pictures of that. This was also my first time enclosing the edges of the zipper tape with bias tape.  It looks super clean on the inside. 

Overall, I like this dress, but if I make it again it will need some tweaks. The top of the bodice is pretty right, especially around the shoulders. It would be much more comfortable if I could move my arms more easily. It's also not the most versatile dress.  It's a pretty distinctive style, that's only really appropriate for spring (printemps en Francais) and summer.

I'll leave you with a picture of me wearing this dress in real life.  Here is a picture from Easter Sunday with my brothers and my brother's girlfriend Becky. 

Abstract

Pattern: McCall's M6507

Fabric: Purple and white patterned thrifted sheet

Cost: $6 fabric + $2 zipper = $8

Time: 20 hours?