I Did It! -- McCall’s 5893

Look!! I’m so proud! While this 1-Hour dress took me several days, it is worth the effort. Since it seems that fall has set in here in Chicago, I may not get to wear it for quite a while. No worries. I’ll be waiting for it next year!


As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had some difficulty along the way. What took me so long to make it were my inability to quickly select a stretch stitch I liked and not being able to sew a straight line afterward. Then I hemmed the bodice when I wasn’t supposed to and had to rip all those stitches out. (I knew I needed to finish a raw edge. I just didn’t check to make sure I was working with the right raw edge.)

I was afraid of using the stretch straight stitch. Thought I’d screw up the part about stretching the fabric as you sew. I’m getting better on the straight line part. Practice makes perfect. Maybe I should start putting stitching lines on the fabric.

I had to laugh at myself after sewing the seam that makes the elastic casing. I had to use the dreaded straight stretch stitch. I sewed the entire seam and realized I had to rip it out because it was crooked. (Do you know how long that takes?) I sat there thinking, “I wish there was some tool that would help me sew straight. Looked around and ran across the top stitching guide I’d purchased years ago! It helped a lot. I also need to remember to go slowly.

Because I didn’t sew the pockets (didn’t want to take the chance of adding anything to the hips), I have this long strip of fabric left over. It is the perfect size for a head wrap. That’s a nice bonus.

Well, on to the next project. I created that grand “to-so” list only to realize that the contests on Pattern Review determined what I’d sew! The next contest is the jacket one and it starts today. Here we go again ...