The Pattern: McCalls 7249 V-neck shirt dress with side ruching

I absolutely love a V-neck shirt. I do not like anything too close to my neck as I feel like I am being strangled by my own clothes. Then I am tugging on my shirts all day trying to get the access fabric away from my neck. You will find so many V-necks in my closet. It is a staple for me. If I feel that I am a bit too cold, then I can wrap a scarf very loosely around my neck. Again, not enough to feel like a noose. I cannot have enough V-neck shirts!

Why I decided to make this pattern:

I was sold on the envelop pictures. As a woman who enjoys eating food, this covers the fact that I may have a few extra inches around the waist than what I actually want. I love V-neck shits and fell in love with the crossbody panels with the side rouching. I have a smallish waist and larger hips, so I thought this would be perfect to even things out a bit. I was definitely right. I have a shirt similar to this pattern, so I wanted more like it in different sleeve and dress lengths. This pattern comes with a short or no sleeve version as well as a dress and short sleeve pattern. I made the short sleeve dress pattern (D). The fabric you need to use must have ample stretch to it. I used this fun fabric with what looks like a tie dye animal print. It also has a bit of a raised stitching in the fabric to which creates a fun texture. You can see that on the wrong side in some of the pictures below. Here are my thoughts on the pattern…

The Construction Instruction:

For the most part, the instructions were very simple to understand. There were only a few things that I had to change. I am kicking myself that I didn’t take pictures of this, but I will explain the best I can and use photos. Since the fabric was a 4 way stretch, I did use a zig zag stich for around the neckline. I was afraid that the thread would pull or snap when I was putting it on. You cannot tell this when I wear it. Well, I guess you could if you were looking super close, but then that would also be a bit weird, so don’t do that when I wear this.

Another alteration I had to make was the top part of the cross over. Apparently, this pattern was modeled from a slopper with a larger chest. I had to take in about an inch on both sides so it would not just hang lose under my arms and around the chest. You can see from the picture below where I had to take it in. I circled the area badly in blue. I then hemmed everything with a double needle since that is much better for a jersey knit fabric. I also did draft the medium top with a large bottom since I am not equally proportioned with my bottom and top half. It will stretch with your fabric just like a zig zag stitch will.

My Overall Thoughts:

I absolutely love this pattern. I have worn this dress for job interviews paired with a nice cardi, I pair it with yoga pants to work, and I also just wear it with leggings. It is a very versatile part of my wardrobe. I currently have plans to make this again with a lovely blue jersey knit fabric I have in my stash. It has been there for a few years and needs to become part of my everyday wear. I can’t wait to make it again.