McCall's 6463---The "In the Nick of Time" Gala Gown!!!

For this year's Gala I waned to wear something a bit different. I wanted to get away from a long gown like LAST YEAR's and wear something that was a stark contrast. So I ran across McCall's 6463 and it was an instant attraction. 

 As I mentioned in my last post, I had a very short window of time to sew this dress in. I'm amazed that I finished this dress in time for the Gala!  By finish, I'll honestly admit it was 99.98% done (I had to  sew the lining to the zipper using long running stitches instead of a slipstitch and I had to use 2 inconspicuous safety pins to hold the neck collar since I had no time to sew the hook and eyes). Despite that it was done and I'm SERIOUSLY amazed! I didn't begin sewing it until 6pm on Saturday night. I resumed sewing at 6:30 am Saturday morning and sewed off and on until I had to leave---so roughly 14 hours of sewing. I never meant to get such a late start but had a few obstacles along the way. My daughter came down with a stomach virus and I had to take her to the pediatrician. You know my Baby comes first so I had to get her taken care of.  After meds and some motherly TLC she was ok and recovered quickly. Then other issues popped up and there were further delays----well you know how that goes.

Suprisingly, I was completely calm during the whole process. I worked HARD and the dress went together quickly. Between quoting Phil 4:13 under my breath and pretending I was Michael from Project Runway.

 (Remember Michael? He sure could sew REALLY fast!!!)

I worked steadily, doing lots of tweaking and alterations to get the fit I wanted.  I made my deadline and I'm SO proud. I actually got a little teary eyed afterwards. The thought of creating something beautiful with your hands is a humbling and overwhelming at times.

 My new custom made dressform (despite the bust issues and not having the replacement yet) helped TREMENDOUSLY! I just put one of my bras on it and positioned it higher. Worked like a charm! It was SO easy to do the necessary alterations on it.

 Needless to say I felt like a million bucks last night and I received numerous compliments. Without further ado---wow, I'm in "Chatty Cathy" mode on tonight-----here's the revew..............

 McCall's 6463

 Pattern Description:
Lined dress (partially interfaced) is close-fitting through bust and has neck band, boned bodice with side front/side back seams, skirt cut on crosswise grain of fabric, no side seams and invisible back zipper/hook & eye closure.

Pattern Sizing:
I cut the size 12 for the bodice but ended up letting out a few seams at the bust and waist area to give me a little more room. I'm a 36" C cup and knew that the 12 wouldn't give the necessary ease without some tweaking.

(Side shot)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
YES!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Pretty Easy!!!! I made some minor changes to my liking.

(Back view)

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I was attracted to this pattern because I loved the collar and exposed shoulders. I also loved the back and voluminous skirt.

Fabric Used:
I used a polyester brocade from Jo-Ann's. It's black with red mums on it. I've used the same brocade in reverse colors to make my Goddaughter's dress on last year. Earlier I decided to use a solid teal fabric but switched to the brocade because it gave me the results I was looking for. The black backdrop with the pops of red really turned up the drama in my opinion.

(A better view of the fabric. Brocade is tricky to photograph)

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
To get the fit I wanted I did a mixture of alterations
-I used 5/8" seam allowance for the bodice middle pattern.
-All other seam allowances were 4/8"
-Shortened the back bodice 1" in the center and tapered to nothing at side seams.
-To prevent gaposis in the front (front bodice and side bodice seam) I sewed a 6/8" dart and tapered 3"
-I lengthened the skirt by 1"
-I cut the lining and hem the same length and sewed a 4/8 seam  allowance.
-I evenly gathered the skirt which was different from the instructions. I didn't want the gathers concentrated at the back of the dress. I have a high derriere. That would not be a good look! LOL!
-Ommitted the zipper.
-The back of the skirt ended up being too full. Before sewing in the zipper I put both sides of the skirt  together (wrong sides together) and cut 3" at the back skirt bottom and tapered it to the waistline. I was able to remove a "wedge" of excess fabric. I did the same with the lining. Hope that makes sense.
-The back of the skirt ended up being too full. Before sewing in the zipper I put both sides of the skirt together (wrong sides together) and cut 3" at the back skirt bottom and tapered it to the waistline. I was able to remove a "wedge" of excess fabric. I did the same with the lining. Hope that makes sense.

(The Shoes)

(The earrings. With exception of a bracelet I went light on the jewelry since my fabric was so decorative.)

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Who knows? I have a long laundry list of other things to sew before I can even think about a repeat.

Conclusion:
Fabulous dress! I felt like a MILLION bucks!