McCalls 7538 – Striped Puzzle Pieces Make A Great Dress

Hello all,

Last month I wandered into my local Fabricland and saw a display dress that a talented member of the staff had made.  It was McCalls 7538 done up in view C I believe.  Here is the envelope front and line drawing:

The fabric that they chose was this:

Its a lightweight, drapey poly/rayon/viscose blend in navy and white.  Look at that crazy print!  I never would have considered it, as solids are usually my thing but truly the dress was fabulous!  The staff member that I spoke to said that they had been receiving daily compliments about it and couldn’t keep the pattern in stock. (I wish I had taken a picture of it to show you.)

I decided that after a year of making staples and co-ordinates in my attempt at wardrobe building, I had to replicate this dress.  I was however keen on view B of the pattern; opting for the swingy skirt.

The pattern pieces were a bit of a pain in the patoot and I relied heavily on the markings to ensure everything was pointing in the right direction.  Here are the pieces, cut and laid out in the order in which they are sewn:

The fabric itself was such a treat.  Zip, zip, zip on the machine and serger and it was done in under two hours, start to finish.  Here is a shot of the dress, inside out to show you the seaming.

And the finished dress.  I’ll try to get a picture the next time I have it on.

For now, I’ll tell you that it drapes beautifully and the skirt swings and sways with each step.  I am so pleased that I made this and am truly grateful for the creative vision of the talented staff member at Fabricland.

Bye for now,

Andrea