Fun with border prints - or McCall's 6612 dress review

Shhhh...don't tell, but I'm kinda having an affair with border prints.  

 I blame it on Denver Fabrics.  When we vacationed in Colorado this past June I begged my hubby to "just swing by" so I could check the store out.  Which he did, bless his heart. However, with only 45 minutes and a $100 budget it was a mad dash to check everything out and decide what should come home with me.  Oddly enough I ended up with multiple border prints...

Remember my McCall's 6559 maxi dress with the huge flowers?  Yep, border print from Denver Fabrics.

I recently finished a summer skirt using a polka dot border print purchased at Denver Fabrics.  You haven't seen it yet. Unless you follow me on Instagram.  Then you've seen the sneak peeks. 

Now I present to you another knit dress sewn using yet another border print knit from Denver Fabrics. Not only did this have a border, but it appears to have been a panel the way the design repeats.  Which presented some challenges in laying out the pattern.

The pattern is McCall's 6612, chosen for its simple design which allowed the fabric to take center stage.

With limited yardage (did I forget to mention this was purchased in the bargain section at Denver Fabrics as a pre-cut?) I had to be careful with the layout.  I planned it so the orange was not next to my face as it's not my best color. I choose the cowl neck so the border print would not act as a bulls-eye at my bust. I also discovered that I could only have the border running along one side of the dress.  I choose to have that be the right side of the dress. To make sure the front and back lined up I cut the pattern pieces out single layer.

Sewing itself took less than two hours.  I spent more time planning the layout than I did sewing the dress!  The only change I made to the directions was to add clear elastic to the back to help stabilize the neckline.

It passed the "I wore it to work all day and I still love it" test.  Now if only my hair would stop wilting by the end of the workday...

Here's a side view of the dress showing the border.

Another side view showing the side without the border - McCall's 6612

The border print knit dress - McCall's 6612

The back of the border print dress - McCall's 6612

So tell me, do you love border prints too?
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I want to sew, really I do...

 

 I'm having too much fun teaching Zumba Fitness!

 

Leading a warmup at my Monday night class held at a local church. 

Leading the cool down at my Monday night class

And jumping off benches with my fellow Zumba instructor / friend, Rena.  At my age one is a bit  concerned with landing on concrete wrong and twisting and ankle - thus the lack of height and look of apprehension on my face compared to the lovely Rena. 

By the way, if you're in the Twin Cities area and use Facebook, why not like my Zumba page? 


I swear I have sewing to show you. I really do.  My black and white polka dot skirt is done.  As is my orange knit dress.  And the knit dress with an explosion of colors.  Oh yea, and the late summer knit dress I'm in the process of sewing.

More sewing later, I promise.  Right now I have to get back to practicing routines for a new Zumba class that begins soon.

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Multi tasking in the sewing room

Just a few of the multiple sewing projects that I've been working on in my spare (ha!) time.   All captured quickly with my phone and posted on Instagram.

Of course now that summer is nearing it's end I've begun dreaming of fall fashions and am starting to lose my motivation to finish these summer designs!  Is anyone else feeling that way?

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How low can you go - Vogue 1282 Donna Karan knit top

When Vogue 1282 was first released I couldn't wait to get my hands on it!   

But not enough to pay full price. So I waited patiently (kinda) for a pattern sale so I could snatch it up and sew myself one.  Only to have the pattern out of stock every single time there was a sale!


Finally I wised up, took advantage of a Vogue.com sale, became a member of ClubBMV, ordered this pattern (and a gazillion others) and sewed it.  Whew...

But yikes! This baby is low!

There is no way I would ever wear it without a cami.   And an extra layer underneath a slinky sleeveless design kind of defeats the purpose of a warm weather top, don't you think? 


I love the style - how it falls into soft graceful folds along the front.   But I haven't worn it yet.  I just can't bear the thought of wearing two layers of clothing in this incredibly hot weather we've been experiencing. 


As far as sewing goes? Piece of cake. Just be sure to clearly transfer the pattern markings to the fabric. You'll need 'em. 

The pattern calls for this to be cut on the bias. Which I didn't bother doing.  I don't know why a knit would need to be cut on the bias so if anyone has an explanation please leave it in the comments.  

Because I didn't cut it on the bias I was able to get by with just a yard of fabric.  Which was perfect because that's all I had of this lovely purple rayon knit. 

I also didn't do any alterations. I'd read on PatternReview that the top was cut low so I thought I'd move the neckline up before cutting and sewing.  But I couldn't quite wrap my brain around the pattern piece and determine where the neckline was.  So I cut, sewed, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. 

Now that I've sewn it I think I'll be able to figure out how to bring the neckline up.  Because I will be sewing another one.  

Um, Nancy? Look - no hips or jazz hands :-)

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