Vintage McCalls 4762 Baby Doll dress Pattern from 1976 aka the Marcia Brady Dress

Marcia! Marcia! Marcia! Finally finished the baby doll dress that I think Marcia Brady would have love. As I previously mentioned I was working on this floral baby doll dress using my vintage McCalls 4762 dress pattern from 1976. I will be the first to admit that I am a fan of fashion from the 60s and 70s. I was a big fan of the 60s and 70s fashion revival that happened in the early to mid 90s. Baby doll dresses, mod styled dresses, velvet leggings, long vests, palazzo pants and bell bottoms. Okay I didn’t really wear the bell bottoms, but I did wear my dad’s Navy issued dungaree pants which were pretty retro to me. I was pretty styling during my high school years. I still have a love for that era, which is probably why I was drawn to this pattern. Very Marsha Brady. I see a whole slew of these dresses made from various fabrics for my Fall wardrobe. For now I finished my first version using Rayon Challis from Fabric Mart.

Pattern Review (The Pros): The pattern was very easy to follow and came together rather quickly. Does this mean my sewing skills are getting better? The dress would have probably been finished earlier if I hadn’t insisted on using French seams to finish the seams for most of the dress. I love how finished the dress looks from the inside.

Back View

The Cons: My only gripe about the pattern as it is for all dress patterns from the 70s is the ease they add into the design. I added ½ inch to the side seams for the bodice and sleeves because this was a size 14, but left the skirt portion alone. I found out that I really didn’t need the half inch for the bodice, but should have taken out at least ½-1 inch from the side seams for the skirt portion. The gathering was so big that it made me look pregnant. I had to sew on a sash to get a more fitted and flattering look.

Gratuitous Picture with Buni

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Yes, except I added a sash, which you could hardly see and lace trim around the neckline and sleeve edge.

Do you need to make adjustments? Yes, because I thought that a size 14 might be too fitted for me. I added ½ inch to the side seams for both bodice pieces. Turns out I didn’t need to add it and would have fit the size 14 just fine. Also because the bodice was so loose I didn’t need to add the zipper and could easily slipped the dress over my head. Had to add a sash to give me some shape because the skirt was too gathered to look flattering on me. I will need to keep these changes in mind for the next version of the dress.

Sad attempt at getting the two kids to pose with me.

Pattern Level: Experienced beginner since you will be doing a sleeve and zipper insertion.

What could I have done better? I should have trusted my gut and not added the ½ inch to the side seams although I felt that the ½ inch to the side seams of the sleeve portion made it a perfect fit for me. Also think I should have used a solid colored fabric for my sash since the busy print makes it blend into the dress.

Would you sew this pattern again? Already in the middle of making version number 2 with the changes I noted from making this dress.

Pattern: McCalls 4762 circa 1976 purchased from Retribution Vintage on Etsy.

Fabric: Rayon challis from Fabric Mart.

Techniques: Sleeve insertion, gathering, French seams and invisible zipper.

Work In Progress: Vintage McCalls 4762 Babydoll Dress from 1976

Spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon working on a babydoll dress that I am planning to wear during our vacation to the Bahamas. I present my current work in progress a babydoll dress made from McCalls 4762 from 1976 using rayon challis fabric from my favorite store Fabric Mart.

I still have to hem the dress and add lace to the sleeve ends. I am also planning on making a sash to wrap around the dress since I made the dress a little big despite it being a size 14. Currently it looks like a maternity dress, but should look wearable with a sash. The rayon challis was a dream to sew with, but I will save the details for the pattern review.



Lace detail

Already have pieces cut out for another dress just like this with a different patterned rayon challis. Hope to post more pictures soon.

Vintage Simplicity 7500 Bonus Basic Pattern from 1967

Back in February I purchased Simplicity 7500 pattern circa 1967, which is a bonus basic pattern composed of a bodice, optional long/short sleeves and a-line/straight skirt. I was hoping to use this pattern as a sloper for myself after a few adjustments here and there. Of course in my world nothing really goes the way I want it. Of course it’s not the patterns fault. I’ve mentioned this time and time again how my choice in fabric always comes back to bite me in the arse! Fabric Mart was having a 75% Sale on their stretch rayon a few months back so I purchased several yards. The prints were lovely and for $2.50/yard I was sold! Of course when Mom took a look at them she shook her head and stated that although the fabric and print looked nice that I would still have a hard time sewing it. Of course Mom never explained why, but shook her head at me as her way of saying “you’ll see!” First, I am not a mind reader and second I love a challenge. Especially if that challenge is to prove my mom wrong and to wow her with my sewing skills. I think you may already guess where this is going. Read below to find out more.

Front View

Pattern Review (The Pros): The pattern wasn’t complicated and consisted of a bodice that zipped down the center back, skirt and optional sleeves. I liked how the pattern was designed with lots of options where you can mix and match the pieces.

Back View

The Cons: Be warned that you will be sewing darts in your sleep after your done sewing this dress because this pattern requires twelve of them. The bodice itself contains eight darts. This was a pain for me since IMHO marking darts is the second most tedious sewing task second to sewing them. Especially if you are marking darts on fabric that doesn’t take well to chalk or disappearing ink. I guess having twelve darts can be a pro too since you have many places where you can adjust the patter to fit you.

Another gripe about the pattern is that the pattern has almost no ease to it. I’ve sewed several vintage patterns from the 60s and 70s and found that size 16 patterns and some size 14 patterns had a lot of ease added to them. Since the pattern was identified as a basic pattern I assumed that it had the same design ease added to it. I’ve read before that slopers are designed to be skin tight and that you are suppose to add wearing ease and seam allowance to them to make it wearable. I wasn’t expecting to do that with a basic pattern, but perhaps I should. Another assumption gone wrong. So if you are using this pattern than I suggest making a muslin (i.e. mock up) and start by adding a ½ inch to the side seams.

Side View

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Yes, with exception that my front bodice darts don’t line up exactly with my front skirt darts. I must have sewn my front darts a little bit too big, but you can’t tell with print. At least the back bodice and skirt darts match up.

Do you need to make adjustments? Yes, because the pattern was tight on me I had to sew my side seams at ½ inch instead of the recommended 5/8. I shortened the skirt and ended up making it a mini skirt instead of the intended knee length skirt. After wearing it the other day I feel that the dress is a bit tight around the midsection and tad short.

Pattern Level: Beginner to intermediate. I’ve previously warned that there are lots of darts to sew so you really need to be precise. Especially when you are trying to line up your bodice and skirt darts, which might be tough for a beginner.

What could I have done better? Not use the stretch rayon fabric. Okay it’s really not the fabrics fault. I wasn’t prepared with all the fraying and shedding the rayon fabric did while I was trying to sew it. I spent two days trying to sew the fabric pieces together because it frayed, moved around and then frayed some more. I mean I pinned the fabric together-it frayed, I ironed the fabric-it frayed, I sewed the fabric together-it frayed, I looked at the fabric and it frayed. I was so frustrated that I wanted to cry. I let the dress sit there for three weeks because I dreaded sewing the hem because of all the fraying. I didn’t want to mess it up so in the end I begged my mom to hem it. Boo hoo! The experienced novice ran to her mommy crying and begged her to finish the dress! Later on I found out that you can apply this liquid called “Fray Block” to the fabric to stop it from fraying. Too little too late there!

Would you sew this pattern again? I will definitely try again with lots of adjustments because the basic pattern looks very versatile and I would love to make other pieces of clothing using the pattern. Also since I am a glutton for punishment I might use another stretch rayon fabric, but with fabric block applied to prevent fraying.

Pattern: Simplicity 7500 circa 1967 purchased from Dawns Divine Finds on Etsy.

Fabric: Stretch rayon from Fabric Mart.

Techniques: Darts and invisible zipper.

Pent Up Sewing Energy

I had some pent up sewing energy this past weekend and really went overboard on some super easy patterns. The first pattern was McCalls 5360 Infinite Dress. I purchased this from Etsy and when they say its easy. It's really easy. All you have to do is cut the pattern on the fold and sew one seam. Since the pattern is meant for a knit fabric you don't even have to hem the edges unless you really want to.

I made the first one in under an hour. Had to set up my sewing machine, cut the pattern and play with my new serger so it took longer than expected. I used a floral knit jersey that was super stretchy that was from Fabric Mart and here is the finished product. So cute! I loved this style of dress since you can wear the dress in many different ways depending on how you fix the straps.I loved this style of dress since you can wear the dress in many different ways depending on how you fix the straps.

Dress Configuration 1



Dress Configuration 2



Dress Configuration 3

 Sadly I ran out of fabric when I made the floral version. The dress is a bit short, but can easily be worn with pants or shorts. If you ever make this dress just know that it takes about 3 5/8 yards of fabric for the full version. If you want a shorter version you might be able to get away with 3 1/4. This all depends on how short you want it. Of course in typical "novice seamstress" style I was so stoked with my first success that I wanted to make more. So I went to Joanns and raided their clearance section and found a red polyester jersey knit fabric and made another version. Sadly this version ended up so-so.

Red Polyester Knit Front

Back View

As you can see the fabric isn't as clingy as the first version. For this version I decided to hem everything and it seemed to make the fabric less stretchy. Also the weight of this type of knit seemed too heavy to comfortable make all the other versions of the dress I made before. It just felt like the drape was all wrong for this dress design. Oh well lesson learned. I really need to stick with a knit that has a lot of stretch, possibly four way stretch if necessary. I prefer to work with the printed knits since I really love the floral version, but it can be a hassle since the back side of the fabric can show through sometimes. My quest continues. Perhaps some really nice ITY knit might work for this dress. I've seen that the ITY comes in a lot of yummy prints.

Since my sewing mojo was on a roll. I decided to tackle another sewing project using some ruffle fabric that I found on clearance while I was at Joanns. I have been loving the Coastal Curtsy Skirt that was featured on the No Big Dill website and just recently ordered some Ruffle Fabric to make one of my own. I was lucky to find this ruffle fabric at Joanns so I decided to make a practice skirt. This skirt was just as easy as the Infinite Dress. Two measurements, one cut and one seam. I didn't hem the skirt or even add a waistband as suggested since it just slipped over my waist. Although I may add one in the future.

Coastal Curtsy Skirt Front

Coastal Curtsy Skirt Back

I love how this skirt fits. I am so in love with the back "tail" as my mother calls it. I had a great time swishing it back and forth. The cut of the skirt makes the ruffles hang vertically in front and horizontally in the back. Sheer genius. My ruffles are an inch long so a bit shorter than the one that was made on the No Big Dill blog, but it still looks great. I can't wait to make more of this. I also have plenty of fabric to make a regular skirt for myself and maybe some leggings or a dress for Buni.

My last project from this past weekend was a simple circle skirt made from Panne Velvet using the tutorial on the MADE website. Another super easy skirt that involved a little bit of math. I was surprised how easily it came together. My next version will be a bit shorter as I overestimated the length. The skirt is really twirly so it does easily fly up in case your very modest like me. Phew.. Definitely a very successful weekend of knit sewing. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Circle Skirt in Panne Velvet

1965 Simplicity Bouffant Dress

I previously mentioned how I was working on this Simplicity pattern for a Bouffant dress circa 1965. I managed to cut out the pattern pieces last week and started sewing the pieces together on Saturday and finished the dress Sunday night. So here is the finished product made from cotton shirting that I purchased from Fabric.com last year. Had to cut my head off in this picture since I wasn't able to get my makeup on in time.

1965 Simplicity 6008 Bouffant Dress

Pattern Review (The Pros): This bodice was made up of three main pieces and three facings. Hooray I love it when you don't have that many pieces to cut. Two of the main pieces were for the bodice and the other long rectangular piece made up the skirt.

The Cons: I chose a 36 bust this time around to see if the bodice would fit me better since I always seem to have trouble with a 38 bust. I often have to take out a lot from the bust line and the shoulder seams always seem to be off, which make me look broad shouldered. Not a good combination. Thankfully the size 36 fit great on my bust line, but I forgot the waist line difference. I have a thick waist and obviously women from the 1960's must've had very svelte figures compared to mine. I ended up having to remove the back darts, change the front bust darts from 1 inch to 0.5 inches and change the seam allowance from 5/8 to 3/8 to get the waist to fit. Phew. A lot of changes for a seemingly simple pattern.

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Yes. With the exception that I shortened the skirt to knee length. Okay I originally made the skirt above the knee, but the dress started looking very costumey at that length so I added another strip of fabric on the bottom to lengthen the skirt to knee length. Of course my choice of fabric didn't help.

Do you need to make adjustments? Yes, read above.

Pattern Level: Intermediate. This pattern required a lot of work for a supposedly Jiffy pattern. I made this pattern an intermediate because if it wasn't for my past tailoring/over tailoring mistakes I probably wouldn't have been able to make the dress wearable. I don't know if it was dumb luck that removing the back darts and re-sewing the front darts resulted in a dress that was somewhat wearable and still retained its intended shape. Sort of. Of course if you have a perfect body size to fit this pattern than it should be an easy pattern to make.

What could I have done better? I probably should have chosen a better fabric pattern. I really have the worst fabric choices for the stuff I make. Maybe I should rename my blog to the "Girl Who Makes The Worst Fabric Choices" or something. When I tried on the dress in its unhemmed state (hem went past my knees) I looked like I was wearing a civil war costume or perhaps something from Little House on the Prairie. Since I wasn't going for that look I shortened the skirt to a mini version. Didn't work either. I looked like I was wearing a sexy baby doll costume. Thankfully the knee length version of this dress was something I wouldn't be too embarassed to be seen in.

Would you sew this pattern again? No, probably not. I didn't like the cap sleeves of the finished dress. The cap sleeves was just an extended shoulder and it didn't really look flattering on me. Also the gathered skirt was way to gathered that it puffed out a lot around my waist. Reason why I was wearing the giant belt. Actually all I need are some gladiator sandals and I can pass myself off as a Spartan! Hahaha. I know that the design of the dress is suppose to be pouffy, but I was hoping to get the dress to look like this one from IROIRO's blog.

Dress from IROIRO's Blog.

Maybe she didn't use such a big rectangle of cloth for the skirt like I did. Or perhaps that design looks better on skinny girls. We shall see. I am undaunted! I will make something similar and hopefully flattering. On a positive note I just received this pattern from Historically Patterns this past weekend so it might be an option. The pattern is for a long sleeve dress with an eight gore flared skirt. Not gathered so perhaps this might be a more flattering option for me.

Simplicity 4673 from the 1960's

I also have this pattern that I've been meaning to cut out and use. I purchased this pattern from Dawns Divine Finds on Etsy and it is a Simplicity Basic Pattern. I could use the short sleeve bodice and attach a gathered or maybe a pleated skirt to it.

Simplicity 7500 Basic Pattern

Lots of options with the above pattern. I could probably make the dress that I have been coveting on IROIRO's blog or like this one from the Grograin Blog.

The Engagement Frock from Grosgrain.

I believe she might still be having a giveaway for this dress. Sadly I am too large for it, but I can dream. Onto my next project: the Smock Dress! Wish me luck. I'm sure I'm going to need it.

Pattern: Simplicity 6008 circa 1965 purchased from Historically Patterns on Etsy.

Fabric: 100% cotton shirting from Fabric.com. 

Trim: Stretch lace purchased from Porcelynne on Etsy.

Techniques: Facings, darts, gathering, trim application and bias tape.

Missing in Action: What Have I Been Up To??

Egads! Sorry to my readers (if any) out there. I've been so caught up with my sewing that I haven't had the time to post. I actually finished two dresses since the last time I posted and have just finished cutting out the fabric for another project I hope to finish this weekend. I'm also planning on cutting out some fabric for another project that I might also start this weekend. I know I am very ambitious, but I feel an assembly line approach will be less stressful for me. Since I still have to take pictures of my finished projects. Here are the pattern pictures of the one's I finished.

This is the technical drawing for a "Wedding Dress" from the Burdastyle Magazine. I purchased the pattern on the Burdastyle website, downloaded it and made it.

And this one is the picture of the JJ bodice pattern that was available for free from the Burdastyle website.

The first dress from Burdastyle almost ended up a disaster and the second pattern from Burdastyle was a disaster, but that will be another post.

Last night I just cut out my pattern pieces for a Bouffant Dress from Simplicity circa 1965 that I purchased from OpalsOwlVintage on Etsy. You can find many vintage patterns from the 1930s to the 1980s in her online store. I received great service, quick shipping and no problems. I chose an easy pattern with three main pieces and three pieces for the neck and armhole facings. Hopefully this will be successful since I've been wanting a dress like this for awhile ever since I saw something similar on IROIRO's blog.


The other project I wanted to start is this Smock Dress from Simplicity circa 1972. The pattern seems relatively easy to make so hopefully I can make a successful wearable muslin this weekend.

I purchased these two Madras print cotton fabric from Fabric Mart that I hope to use for the final version of the smock dress. There is still some more Madras fabric available at Fabric Mart and they are having a sale until March 15 so hurry!

Hopefully this makes up for being MIA. To end here are some great pictures of some handmade smock dresses from RubyChicOriginals on Etsy that are for sale. I'm using her designs as inspiration. Check out the other dresses in her store. The dresses are so cute. I want to buy them all. Reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.