McCall's 7534 Mock Wrap Dress

The last month has been very busy with lots of house guests which means my sewing room has been out of action for most of that time.  Fun as it has been, I'm so happy to be able to get back in there and I have been working on a few dresses.

First up is McCall's 7534.

I do love the look of a wrap dress, but I dislike the potential wardrobe malfunctions that can occur with them so this surplice bodice dress with lots of variations caught my eye.  It's quite a basic design, but I like all the views which make it pretty versatile, the fact it has no fastenings and that it can be made in wovens, sheers and knits.

McCall's 7534

I made View A, minus the belt in this navy and gold bird print crepe.   I'm going through a bit of a nature print phase at the moment, my stash is sprinkled with birds and butterflies!

I eliminated the neck facings and just replaced with bias strips of fabric and made extensive changes to the fit of the bodice by draping on my dressform.  I really wish I had thought to make a pattern piece at this point mostly so I can easily recreate this dress, but also to see how it compares to the original.  I think I will go back and redo it in muslin fabric and create new front bodice pieces.

You can get an idea of what I did from the photos below.  The neckline length needed to be significantly shorter and I wanted it to hug more closely to the body as it was gaping a lot.  I pinned in some pleats at the waistline,  changed the angle of the wrap so that the front pieces no longer extend to the side seams and then I cut off the excess below the waist.  I did make sure I could still get it on over my head first!

Once that was done it was very simple to attach the skirt and insert elastic at the waist seam.  I took a bit of fullness out of the skirt at the side seams just because I preferred the look of it that way.

I only have dress form photos to show you at the moment, but when I make this again (and I will!) I will take some then.  I am currently sporting an attractive black eye caused by my skittish cat jumping off my lap and catching me in the face with his back legs.  I'm really embarrassed that I look like I have been in a fight, but I feel quite lucky that it's only superficial damage.  So for now.....