McCalls 6503: Tried and Tested

Lots of people have a reliable go-to pattern that they know they can use again and again. I have a strong feeling that McCalls 6503 will become this pattern for me. I have already churned out two of these beauties and I'm working on my third.

Photo taken while pattern is pinned to current project with a skirt hanger if you're wondering what that big black square is.

I bought this pattern and made it without a muslin (trust or laziness, it's hard to decide) from a royal blue linen look cotton. I made it up in a size 10 in view D and came out with...

A bit of a wobbly neckline

Hurrah it fits! well, nearly. It was rather snug around the waist when I sat down (as long as I don't eat anything or breathe it's fine). This is a lovely dress, the skirt is full without being poofy thanks to the pleats that are on the front and back which help it give a lovely silhouette to even the curviest of hips/bums. It has a feels which is a cross between Americana and Holywood chic.

And from the side.

It can be made with the sleeves or without and has three neckline options. I went for the View D first because I like buttons (it's not far off an obsession), but I found that the collar bit at the top is very high. It does leave on feeling a bit...


Oh I say I can't look down

So I wanted to try it again and chose view B (what can I say, I like sleeves) with it's nice open collar. Again I went for a medium weight cotton, this time with a dragonfly print, and added a bit to the waistline (so I can sit down comfortably).

Excuse the feet

Now this version I love, the crossover front did require a press stud to maintain my dignity, but that open collar it awesome.

Pretty little dragonfly

So this is now my favourite dress pattern. It doesn't take a huge amount of time and the results I think are very smart looking. You could make this in a posher material for a dressier occasion, or in a breezy cotton for summer, or a nice tweed for winter (Ooh the possibilities!!).

In fact I like this pattern so much I've started messing with it (that's a compliment trust me). If there's one thing I like more than buttons, it's pockets!! I want this dress with pockets!! I spent a bit of time thinking about what kinds of pockets I could add to this one, the in-seam type seem like a good idea, but I like the visible style. So at the moment I'm working on a re-hash of the skirt part of the dress to include some self drafted pockets.

This next one is in the same linen look cotton as the blue version, but in black (I wanted my own handmade LBD), and I've created a template for open pockets on the front. With the top half the Version B open collar I think it should work... let's keep our fingers crossed!