Review: McCall's 7591 | A Drapey White Dress!

Here's my latest white dress. I truly have an affinity for them. It's a must-have for me for each spring/summer season. As you may have noticed, I don't have a go-to silhouette. My dresses differ in style, shape, fabric and occasion.

This time, I wanted something drapey, in a midi length that reminds me of 1970s Halston.

For my pattern, I went with McCall's 7591. I used view B, and I shortened it to a midi length. I cut the size 12 in bodice and graded to a 14 in the skirt. 

My fabric is this stunning Ralph Lauren White Viscose Matte Jersey from Mood Fabrics.com. I very rarely work with slinky knits these days... they're just not my favorite. But I was drawn to this one. I initially had another project in mind when I ordered it, but when I received it, it was way too sheer.

To my own chagrin, I never swatch first. I recommend doing that to others, but I never take my own advice. So when I received the fabric, I felt instant disappointment because I'd ordered 4 yards of this practically translucent fabric that was never going to work for what I had in mind. But it worked perfectly for McCall's 7591.

I cut my fabric out with a rotary cutter as I pretty much do with all fabric. It gave this fabric clean edges. I used a ballpoint needle size 11/75 and had no trouble sewing this beautiful fabric. Being that this fabric is so sheer, this dress needed to be fully lined.

The pattern instructions recommended that the bodice is to be lined only. The bodice is joined to the skirt with a waist seam. The seam is used to create an elastic casing for 1/4″ elastic. And the shoulder straps' fit are finalized last and stitched to the inside of the bodice.

But I lined the skirt as well. It was a necessity.

I simply cut the same skirt piece out again in the same fabric and shortened it. I left the hem serged. This is how it looks on the inside.

Even though this fabric doesn't fray, I serged the seams. I knew that they would show through, and I wanted that clean finish.

I made sure in that the seam allowances in the bodice were scantily cut down. I wanted them to be as minuscule and neat as possible.

I absolutely love this dress. It’s perfect for summertime. I wore it out on a steamy, humid day and the fabric felt great. With this type of fabric, I suggest taking your time and stitching carefully and slow. This isn’t a fabric that would appreciate the use of a seam ripper. You would create runs in it. Good slow sewing will create a beautiful, expensive-looking garment!

Instead of going with some specialty, nude strapless bra, I decided to go with something that would show and look good showing.

I decided I wanted some kind of bralette. Lacy, showy bralettes are very "of-the-moment" and look great under almost everything. And I wanted one. This was a last minute decision and I didn't have time to order real bra making supplies, so I needed something I could run out to Joann's or Hobby Lobby and pick up.

I decided to use Mimi G's Simplicity 8392 sports bra pattern. I loved that it has elastic down the center front. This simple little detail keeps you from having "uniboob". This is a particular detail that I look for when buying sports bras. 

I found this stretch lace in the active wear area at Joann's. And it was perfect. The pattern recommended creating binding, but I used fold over elastic instead. I'm questioning my entire life as to why I don't use it more often?!

This sewed up so quickly that I decided that I'm going to need a few more! 

It was simply the perfect thing to go underneath my dress!