Hi! I'm Rose (@goldandsilverstitches over on Instagram) and this is my first post for Minerva -- I'm just thrilled to be part of their #MinervaMakers team! I would describe myself as a novice sewist with a love for vintage silhouettes and skirts with pockets, and even I must admit I have a real weakness for prints of all shapes, sizes and designs. It should come as no surprise that the fabric I picked for my first project was a gorgeous printed cotton poplin!

Cotton poplin is a definite favourite of mine and the quality of this one is just lovely; it isn’t too thick, but provides crispness and structure to your garment, and it feels soft to the touch. It also sews up beautifully and presses so well, which makes life a breeze. I truly can’t resist a good polka-dot print and was just charmed by these white polka-hearts on the black background! I knew a classic shirt dress would work beautifully with this poplin, so it was a no-brainer to go with my tried and true McCalls 6696.

My other two previous versions of M6696 have been View B, which has a full, pleated skirt and short sleeves. While I do love twirling around in a full skirt, I fancied trying something a little different with this look and went for View A, which is sleeveless with a more fitted straight skirt. I really like the clean lines of this version and the added bonus of pockets will always get a big thumbs up from me! I would recommend McCalls 6696 for a confident beginner looking for a versatile shirt dress, as it is relatively easy to sew and there are some nice details to the pattern — the armholes on View A are finished with bias binding, the collar is constructed with a collar stand, and the back yoke and the waistband are both finished with a facing.

In terms of adjustments to the pattern, I only needed to make a couple. I usually need to make a FBA with patterns, but the bodice of M6696 comes with separate cup sizes, which makes things easier (although looking at the photos, I can see there is a little bit of gaping at the bust — I think this may be down to my button placement, so I will add a hook and eye to quickly fix that). Firstly, the back bodice pattern piece has gathering both at the top where it joins the yoke and at the bottom where it joins the waistband; this adds quite a bit of volume to the dress. While this isn’t as noticeable on the versions with a full skirt, I wanted to remove this voluminosity to have a more streamlined garment. This was an easy modification, as I just had to remove the gathering allowance from the back bodice piece. The only other adjustments I made were topstitching the collar, yoke and button placket, and I also finished my seams as French seams, as they really elevate any garment and keep things pretty on the inside!

I am so happy with my finished dress from this lovely fabric! I think the shape is flattering, the print is super cute and the colour-pop from the red buttons is a fun touch.

Thanks for reading and happy sewing until next time!
Rose
Gold & Silver Stitches

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