![Knit Dress - Full Outfit](http://fabricandyarnfollies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/KnitDressFront.jpg)
My first finished to post to the blog! I'm so excited that I have a successful project to post about. This knit dress is McCall's M6073. It has a V neckline in both the front and the back and has three lengths: knee, midi, and maxi length. I wanted to use this fabric from my stash (it's a poly blend from... Fabric.com, maybe?) I only had 1.5 yd. and it was 45" width, so I eeked out as much length as I could, but couldn't even quite make it to the knee length. When I'm standing and there's no wind, it's not too short.
Also, the fabric is sheer, so I have to have something under it. Therefore, there will be leggins worn with this every time.
I wasn't sure about this pattern at first because it seemed very loose and I wasn't sure if I'd would like it. However, it actually did flatter very nicely. I think that's mostly due to the drape of the very lightweight knit and the help of the elastic in both the shoulders and waist.
I did have to do a few alterations for this. Although my fabric was knit, it didn't have a great amount of stretch. I did a size 22 in the bust, grading to 24 for the waist and hips, then I did a 2" FBA. The fit was great overall. The FBA did give me a lot of gathers; in the future I may do a smaller FBA or none at all and let the deep V of the wrap take in some of the difference.
![Knit Dress - Front View](http://fabricandyarnfollies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/KnitDressNoSweaterFront.jpg)
The photographer (aka: Mom) decided this was my "I'm a little teapot" pose. No one has ever asked me to model, can you believe that?! 😛
I struggled with the binding of the V neck because the pattern instructions made. no. sense. I was procrastinating utilizing last minute energy to finish this dress so I didn't want to take time to Google the "correct" way to do it. I found a way that worked and looks nice from the outside, but really kind of bad on the inside. I'm adding binding a V neck to my list of skills-to-learn.
![Knit Dress - Back](http://fabricandyarnfollies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/KnitDressBack.jpg)
To update my skill building for this post, I thought I show how I did the bust gathers for this piece. Gathering is basic skill, but when done unevenly, it can definitely add to the "home made" vs. "hand made" look.
I used a technique that I like to think of as "window curtain gathering" (yes, I totally made that up, if you couldn't tell) that helps me get more exact start/end when gathering between two points. Basically, I use two threads, knotted at the end to baste the gathers. One thread starts at the left and the other starts from the right. That way, I can pull on the unknotted ends, now on opposite sides of the gathered section. By doing it this way, there's no ungathered sections near the edge of the gathered sections.
![Bust Gathers](http://fabricandyarnfollies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/gathers-notated-1024x576.jpg)
Katherine
Hi Mary,
I like the new blog! Did you teach yourself how to do the FBA or did you have someone walk you through it the first time? I'm at the point where I probably need one but I get somewhat anxious about fitting adjustments. I'm never quite sure what adjustments I need to make or how to fix my fitting issues.
ladyreed
Post authorI learned from tutorials on the web. Mary at Idle Fancy has some really good ones. (Here's a link to all her posts tagged with FBA tutorial: http://www.idlefancy.com/search/label/Full%20Bust%20Adjustment%20%28FBA%29). I still get nervous each time, because I feel like every pattern is slightly different on the adjustments. I'm getting much more confident in just going ahead and trying it now.![:)](http://fabricandyarnfollies.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/simple-smile.png)
I'm glad you like the new blog. Thanks for reading!!
Andrea
Hi Mary,
I found your blog post while searching for help with the instructions on binding the V-neck 😉 You're totally right, the words and pictures just don't make sense! And I was beginning to doubt my language and sewing skills ;-D
However, I really like how your dress turned out, so I thought I'd drop a quick note... Your blog is really cute, and I'm impressed with the number of posts you've written since you started! Keep up the good work!
Now let's see if I can find anyone out there who can help with this 😉
Greetings from Germany,
Andrea
ladyreed
Post authorThanks so much, Andrea! Good luck with the V-neck and, please, let me know what you learn! Maybe I'll be able to do it eventually, too![:)](http://fabricandyarnfollies.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/simple-smile.png)
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April Hamlet
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