This is what I do when my husband says, “Act natural.” And then you will look like you picked up this dress at a kitschy thrift shop. ![]() ![]() (Sidenote: I couldn’t get the word “Liverpudlian” out of my head while working on this.) When I said that the thick double-knit didn’t look like it was from the ’70s, I really meant, unless you add giant bishop sleeves. The sleeves are the showpiece of this dress, and that’s where my awesome, comfy, cozy Liverpool glitched out. It’s super comfortable, and provides solid cover for a brunch buffet belly. With the combo of the knit, the print, and the A-line, I can let it all hang out in this dress. I generally prefer a slim silhouette, but this dress has me thinking twice. I was expecting an A-line skirt, and that part totally works. Not really a problem, just not what I was expecting. After trying on the bodice for a fitting, I was hoping it would all come out in the wash, but nope - this dress is more of an empire waist cut on me. Speaking of the midriff band, it looks like it’s designed to hit close to the natural waist, but ended up sitting higher on me. Seriously, you can’t even see the details. (It reminds me of the fireworks I would draw as a kid by making successive rings of crayon hashes. The princess seams and midriff band are pretty much wasted on this print. Actually, the print on this fabric obscures pretty much all the seaming details on this dress. Fortunately, the print on this fabric obscures them anyway. Ideally, I would’ve made the edit to the pattern, not on the actual garment. I really need to start doing this on every garment, but I always forget in my new-project enthusiasm. I also added a couple of darts in the back to finesse the fit a bit. I’m just not sure what the point of knit interfacing is if the stretch is compromised so much. Mixed experience there: the interfacing removed a lot of the stretch, making this dress a wee bit challenging to take on and off, but I think the extra stability is worth it. ![]() Whoops!) I still interfaced the midriff pieces per instructions, using a knit fusible interfacing. (Meaning, I totally botched things up a few times on the practice garment. Thankfully I had just been practicing on another test garment and got a healthy refresher on bias tape finishing. That made this a pretty simple sew, and the whole thing came together pretty quickly. Then, of course, I happily edited out the back zipper and cut the back bodice, midriff, and skirt pieces on a fold. So, with that in mind, I edited out the lining of this dress. It has a nice body and weight, meaning that no lining is needed to smooth over bumps and lumps and it’s not transparent. It’s a thick, kind of clunky double knit, but the crepe-like texture keeps it safely out of ’70s double-knit territory. I hadn’t worked with Liverpool knit before (because I’m a super late adopter on, like, everything) and wanted to give it a try. The big change was that I made this in a knit - a lovely Liverpool knit from Cali Fabrics. They aren’t extensive by any means, but they did change the overall look and feel of the dress. I think I should start with the edits I made first, in order to provide some context. (I’m still on my, “not-in-an-office-daily-I-do-what-I-want” kick.) It’s pretty clear from the cleavage on the envelope that the low-cut look is intentional, so that wasn’t a surprise, and it’s not actually something I mind at all. Let’s just say that if you want to wear this dress to the office or church, you might want to consider adding a couple of inches to the hem and raising the v-neckline a couple inches as well. ![]() This is a Laura Ashley branded pattern, which makes it extra funny that my husband referred to this as my “scandalous dress” after seeing me in it. That said, I’m not a fan of the final dress - without some updates, that is. So I’m not really critiquing McCall’s 7717, since I did all of those things. People make a bunch of edits, use inappropriate fabrics and pretty questionable methods, and then critique your design for not being perfect. You know, it must be frustrating at times to be a pattern designer.
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