Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: McCall's 7246 Fit-Along Kit


Hi Fabricista's I am back with my newly finished wrap dress and newly groomed doggie Buster.  He was in on the picture action again and it's always fun to ask his opinion on my recent make.  He is a Tim Gunn fanatic and fancy's himself a bit of a fashion aficianado- that is when he's not chasing squirrels or barking at passerby's. 


I own several Palmer/Pletsch books on fit and they are a great reference to have on hand for garment sewing.  I have always wanted to try the Palmer/Pletsch fit method from start to finish and with this kit I was finally able to do just that. 

I began by watching the fit-along videos by Julie and Melissa Watson.  For a sewing person who loves to see how others work out their fit issues- it was exciting.  If you haven't watched the series follow this link.  I watched them in bits and pieces over the course of a week and there were so many helpful hints.  

You can see from my tissue fitting that I had several changes to make to the paper pattern to get a better fit.  It is helpful to have a friend help you pin out anything in the back, my husband was a huge help, but for anything that he didn't understand I just took the paper off, pinned the alteration out and tried it on again.  


    
You can see from the pattern that I had to add a back shoulder dart for narrow shoulders, altered the front shoulder, pinched out a dart in the neckline, made a sway back adjustment, and let the bottom of the back dart out a smidge.  


Along with these changes I made my normal grading alterations, a size 10 at the bust, 12 at the waist (which I ended up taking back up to a 10) and a size 14 at the hips.  I also chose to extend the tucks up by about an inch to come right under my bust for a smoother, closer bodice fit.

  
One piece of advice I might add about the pattern is that facings don't always like to behave in knit patterns, in my experience.  I chose to go ahead with them in this dress and added some extra fusible tricot interfacing to the neckline before adding the fused facings.  I was very worried that the neckline would stretch.



I think next time I will used clear elastic to finish the neckline since, with movement, the facing are somewhat stiff and shift.  Above you can see the facing is popping out in the center back neckline even though I tacked it down at the shoulders.  You can find a tutorial on using clear elastic to finish a knit neckline here


The fabric included in this kit is a beautiful double knit and can be found here.  I loved working with this fabric, it had good stretch recovery and had a nice substantial weight.  And the fabric is very forgiving when seams need changing

I decided to ask Buster about his final verdict on my new dress and he thought he'd used the nibble test to check the fabric.  It passed the nibble test with flying colors. 

 

Next, I asked him about the color of the dress and coordinating shoes.  He approved of both- he was especially fond of the color of the dress since it matched his fur quite nicely.  He did note that if I would add one lime green accessory we would coordinate perfectly.



Overall, I was very pleased with the final fit of this dress.  I give the fit-along tips two thumbs up especially since the resulting dress fits so nicely.  I know I will carry the skills learned through this process to any future fitted bodice patterns.  I hope this encourages you to take a peak at the fit-along series and maybe even enter the fun contest Fabric Mart has put together- there are some great prizes!!

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!
Elizabeth
I Sew, You Sew     

Comments

  1. I love your wrap dress! This pattern matches the fabric. You did a great job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Fabric Mart did a great job matching up the fabric and pattern, the double knit really suits this pattern.

      Delete
  2. As always very nice! Thanks for the tip about the interfacing. The dress looks nice with the red flats. Wearing heels would dress it up for a night out on the town, date night. Lovely indeed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I love the splash of red with a black and white combination too!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: A Wool Pinafore for Winter

Hello exciting wintry weather! Brrr, though. For my December post, I wanted to sew something more unusual for me, something outside my wide leg pants and big boxy sweaters, and this pinafore combination is exactly that. I really like the layering aspect and how easily one could switch up the look based on the top worn underneath, and how this pinafore pattern could easily work for all seasons based on fabric choice and possibly adding leggings. The new Love Notions Pianoforte Jumper in this incredibly charming polka dot wool blend suiting is just right. I wanted wool for warmth, and the sweet print just sent me. Of course a pinafore looks SO darling in dots. The Pianoforte is a slightly-cocoon shaped dress with princess seams and some large and handy front inset pockets. There is a zip-front option, but I went with the pullover plain front. I love the vintagey, sort of old-timey vibes of this style, and categorize this one under dopamine dressing.  Because the wool is on the heavi...

Made By A Fabricista: Cozy Sewing Season

The cozy sewing season seems like it came early this year! Temperatures in Pennsylvania have been in the freezing range for weeks, so it is time to break out the flannel, sweater knits, sherpa, wool, and other warm fabrics. Fabric Mart's website is stocked with gorgeous cozy fabric perfect for sewists living in cold climates. While searching for fabric for my first cozy sew of the season, a Cranberry Plaid 100% Cotton Flannel fabric caught my eye. I loved the colors and the plaid pattern. I ordered 3.5 yards to make a button-up flannel shirt for myself, and a little extra fabric to make a button-up shirt for my son. I also ordered two packs of 10 Soft Pearl Plastic Shirt Buttons and "My Mama Made It" sewing labels from Kylie and the Machine. I envisioned one of these labels being added to the side seam of my son's shirt for a bespoke detail. Once my order arrived, I washed my fabric and reached for my Grainline Studio Archer Button-Up paper pattern. I used this pat...

Made By A Fabricista: Feeling Festive in Red

Happy Holidays! I’m so excited to bring you this all red holiday look that would be a hit at any holiday gathering this season. Whether you’re headed to your company holiday party or just going to sit in your living room, you’ll fabulous doing so. For this month’s post I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I have been a Sew It Academy student since Mimi G opened it back in 2016.  Sew It Academy is her online sewing academy that shows you what to do once you open your sewing machine and different lessons come out every month showing you different techniques and how to sew different things. Sew It Academy now offers PDF patterns and sewalongs that come with them. I made the Boxy Pullover Top and the Bubble & Wide Hem Skirt which are both Sew It Academy patterns. The Boxy Pullover Top is the first garment class offered in Sew It Academy, so it’s super easy to make.  I’ve seen several YouTube videos for the same top and they are all pretty much contructed the same way.  I...