Final Review on McCall's M6731

As usual with children patterns that I have done in the past, the pattern seems to run big.

I had not problems doing this dress but when I tried it on my daughter it was just too big.
The bodice is to wide and I measured and thought it would be ok, but it still big.  The recommended length was also too long.  I altered the length and it still longer than usual.

I don't want to give up about sewing for children but I recommend sizing down when using this pattern.

I will keep the dress for next year.

Final results of the 4th of July dress

I will post a review about this dress tomorrow on pattern review when I take more pictures.

 

 

It turned out very lovely but I still need to see how it fits.

McCall's M6731 Bodice Back

Today I started working on this project.  I have good news.  The elastic part of the bodice back is not as difficult as it looked.  I still think that a beginner seamstress may get confused if she doesn't read the instructions carefully but then she will get it.  I still think the pattern is not "easy".  To me when patterns have the word "easy" on the cover they should not require that much thinking and reading of the instructions attached. 

 

The first step always is to cut your fabrics.  Since I am using different fabrics it took me a little bit longer than usual because I wanted to make sure that I was "mixing" them well.

 

The owl patriotic fabric is going to be used for the skirt part.  The red fabric with polka dots is going to be the bodice back and the straps.  I am going to use the chevron fabrics for contrasts on the bodice.

 

Piece 5 is the back of the bodice.  I was confused at first because I thought I would have to use the elastic thread on my machine.  I am not good at using the elastic stitch, so I fell so much better when I found out that the lines on the patters are for the casing seams were the skinny elastic goes.

 

 

You will need to fold the fabric in two and mark the lines  with a washable fabric pencil or marking paper. 

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This is how the fabric looked without folding it.

 

 This is how it looks after folding it.

 

Place the pattern piece on top of the fabric and the marking paper underneath. You can use a pencil or a rotary marking tool to copy the lines.

 

This is the final result after inserting the elastic into the casings.

 

 

My next project McCall's Pattern M6731

Warning!  The cover of this pattern advertises it as easy but  I just finished preparing the fabrics and reading the instructions and I don't think this pattern would be any easy for beginners. Pattern M6731is not that complicated to the advance seamstress but a novice may get confused about how to do the back of the bodice.  I will explain why it is not an "easy" pattern tomorrow when I start assembling it. 

 

I am going to do a size 4t dress (Dress B) for my daughter with patriotic color fabrics.  This will be her 4th of July dress.  If you are  following the trends this year, you may have noticed that chevrons are everywhere even on children apparel.  Also it is very trendy to use different mix of fabrics in one dress.  A trend kind of inspired on the 30's depression era.

 

I purchased all the fabrics at Fabric.com (my favorite online fabric store).  Fabrics?  Yes, this dress let me use different contrasts and I will be using  4 different fabrics.

 

 

I will be updating how the dress is turning out this week.  It won't be a tutorial (I don't do those yet), but I will review this pattern and we will see the final result.

Five Uses for White Vinegar for your laundry and sewing room

 

I recently discovered how to use white vinegar on my laundry.  I read at a Children Clothing Forum that Vinegar works wonders when doing laundry on children clothes.  Some clothes bleed when washing them, not just red and I was using just Shout Color Catchers.  Since I started using white vinegar I see that the clothes look just as new after each wash.  Using vinegar is even easier to use on High Efficiency Machines.  Just pour 1/2 cup of vinegar where you would usually add the fabric softener liquid. 

 

So, after my great discovery I started looking for other ways to use this wonderful "liquid".  Here are some that might be useful on your laundry and sewing room:

 

1.  Use white, distilled vinegar as a natural bleaching agent.  Add 1 1/2 cup to the rinse cycle to keep whites white.

 

2.  Use 1/2 cup of white, distilled vinegar to wash new clothes to remove the stiffness and manufacturing chemicals associated with them.

 

3.  Pour a 1/2 cup of white, distilled vinegar into a load of laundry to protect colors from fading. Using white, distilled vinegar with dark fabrics in this way can also protect them from becoming dull

 

4.  Use 3 caps of vinegar in the washer and treat your new fabrics (for quilting and any other projects).  This will set the color of your new fabrics and prevent fading.

 

5.   To remove creases from jeans or use before hemming jeans, mix two-parts white vinegar to one-part water in a spray bottle. Spray white vinegar liberally on the crease.  Then wash, let dry before hemming. 

 

I buy a big gallon of vinegar at Costco for less than $5.  :) 

 

 

 

Simplicity Pattern 5695

I know.... This is about another dress I made for my daughter.  I just can't help not sewing for her. 
I had this project sitting on my sewing "project basket" for ever thou.

The pattern was really easy to use and I love how the dress turned out.  One of the reasons why I wanted to do this dress was because there are so many people selling custom dresses done with a similar pattern or maybe they used this same pattern, but since I know how to sew I would never pay $40 for someone to make me a dress for my daughter.  There are so many uses for this pattern.  You can make Disney playground dresses (I will explain when I get to do a Toy Story inspired dress using this pattern in the future), you can make a seasonal dress by mixing different type of fabrics.  If you learn how to make dresses with this pattern you will never think again about buying customs on Etsy or any other site.  You will save $$$.

 I used view D.  I had to modify the ruffle.  The pattern asks to cut more than is actually needed.

Here is my daughter wearing the dress.  Not the best pictures but the dress can be appreciated.

Another view from the dress.  I bought the fabrics at Fabric.com. 

https://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=f0d15c48-28a0-4056-a5c1-3fe9da5b2308

My new facebook page

Today I opened a page on Facebook for my blog.  I am just trying to get more excited about blogging again and I thought Facebook might help.  I can upload pictures there of my projects too and make it more fun for me and my followers. 

The page address https://www.facebook.com/lizz.larrauri#!/BackToSewing?fref=ts

Sewing room in progress

Finally after almost six months at my new house, my sewing room is starting to look organized.

My husband built me a craft table that I will use to cut my fabrics.  We found the instructions thanks to Pinterest.

Here are some of the pictures of how it looks now. I still need to add some decorations to make it more cozy.

I have more than one hobby.  I sew, do jewelry and sell bows on my Etsy store.  So everything is combined on this room.