Scuba Knit – McCall’s 7539

25 Jan Scuba Knit – McCall’s 7539

Same black boots, same black tights, but a brand new dress…………. it’s Winter in the South!

I rarely begin Winter sewing in earnest until January due to South Carolina’s milder climate coupled with holiday madness.

Back in my RTW days, I wore way too much black, resulting in a cautious approach to sewing too many dark, somber colors…………… but a black scuba knit fabric overflowing with metallic winter blooms? Bring it on!

McCall’s 7539 is a pattern I overlooked, and although the pattern has recently gone out of print, it is still available on McCall’s website and possibly at JoAnn’s etc..

I loved the sheath silhouette, along with the topstitching and neckline options.

Scuba knit was the first recommended fabric on the pattern envelope, leading me to order this lovely fabric from Promenade Fine Fabrics specifically for this pattern.

I’m at a loss of words to describe the layout of the fabric’s floral design, but I quickly realized careful pattern placement was crucial. Each pattern piece was not only cut individually but rotated in the opposite lengthwise direction to achieve a mirrored image.

While it looks like I wasted huge amounts of fabric, I did not. 😉 The painstaking pattern placement worked, although the design was impossible to match exactly.

 

After cutting out the pattern I was home free and the construction was fun 😊

For the topstitched seams I trimmed the seam allowance close to the stitching. In the photo below, the left side has been trimmed. (Technique explained here.)

The side seam allowances were finished with the serger. Due to the bold fabric I substituted an exposed zipper for the invisible zipper.

I also shortened the sleeves and added black cuffs using the back side of the fabric.

Other than shortening the bodice by 1″, I made no alterations to the pattern. The bodice and skirt darts met perfectly creating the nipped in waist, so characteristic of the classic sheath silhouette.

There’s nothing more fun than a hassle free sewing project, and this one gets two thumbs up!

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PS……. just for fun, I’m including some photos from a book club trunkshow and presentation Julie and I did two days ago .

We thoroughly enjoy sharing our love of fashion sewing with others. This group included sewists and non-sewists!

Scooby dooby do! These scubas are not companion fabrics, and we were surprised by how well they worked together! The dress on the left is Julie’s.

Winter dressing……….

Have a good one!