McCall 5752 - The Second Time Around

McCall 5752

This is an out of print Palmer-Pletsch knit dress. I made view A about two years ago. This time I decided to give View C a try.  

Pattern Description: Misses' dresses with gathered, wrapped bodice, gathered self-lined midriff, A-line skirt and sleeve variations in two lengths; dresses A, B have gathered shawl collar and extended overarms, dresses C, D have gathered shoulders: dresses A, D have gathered drapes: dress C sleeves are three-quarter length; dresses A, B, C, D length are mid-knee.  

Pattern Sizing: 8-22; I used 14 with modifications  

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, pretty much. My alterations gave it a slightly different look at the center front.  

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were easy.
I change some of the steps due to the FBA. Step 11 states that you should gather the lower edge between the two circles. I stitched the gathering seams from notch to notch. I didn't completely baste the raw edges together in step 12 as I needed the lower edge open to adjust the gathers. So I only basted from the shoulder to the end of the side seam. I completed steps 13 and 14. skipped 15; finished 16 to 25. For Step 30 I basted starting at the side seam stitching the back bodice to the midriff across to the other side seam. At this point I gathered the lower edge of the front bodice and evenly distributed the gathers to fit the center front of the midriff. NOTE: Because my FBA was more than an inch for each side, I had to overlap beyond the indicated mark on the pattern. Here you can see the finished gathered front bodice. Compare it to the drawing to see the difference. The first dress has a bit of gaping in the center front. The length of the center bodice is too long. The length along the fullness of the bust area is okay, but where the bodice overlaps in the center front, it's too long. In this case, I trimmed about 1/2 inch from the center edge reducing as I approached the notch. I hope that makes sense. This small change makes the dress fit snug across the center bust line.

FBA Pattern Adjustment

The other changes were simple:

 - Sway back as instructed in the pattern guide sheet.
 - Contrast the midriff.
 - Usual prominent shoulder blade adjustment.
 - Long sleeves instead of 3/4 length.
 - A few inches to the length of the skirt.  

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like having the fit tips in the instruction guide and the adjustment lines drawn on the pattern. The design of the dress: the wrapped bodice, the ruching, and A-line skirt.  

Fabric Used: Novelty knits from Supreme Fabric on Fulton in Chicago.  

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Maybe.. This was the second time around for this pattern. Two dresses are enough. I have hundreds more dresses to try. But if you have this pattern I do recommend it for two reasons: it will help you with learning to fit, and if you are full busted, the wrap design is flattering.

 Conclusion: Good pattern to try. Especially if you need to make FBA's on wrapped tops or dresses. This one has two styles that show you step by step how to make the adjustment. The dress is nice too. ;-)