Amanda Takes Off...

After battling the epic sleeve cap on my shirtdress, it was smooth sailing until I got to the collar.

I just could not understand McCall's 4769's collar directions. Good Man—always a good sport—actually let me drape the dress over one shoulder so I could figure out how to make the collar work. I finally mostly figured it out after consulting several books, even more websites, and a few other patterns.

When Good Man took these pictures, he giggled and said I looked North Korean in the olive color.

North Korean Me

Stuff I learned in this project:
How to do pockets (pockets!).
How to make a faced front band.
How to attach a collar (I did the best I could with terrible directions in the envelope).
How to ease in a set-in sleeve.
Hand hemming.
How to do notched (?) fold back cuffs.
How to adjust tension on my sewing machine.
How to baste.

And hey, I have great calves. I had no idea.

Pockets!

I did it up in weaver's cloth (55/45 poly/cotton and made in USA, amazingly) and finished with a purchased belt. I used pearl snaps instead of buttons. Otherwise, I didn't bother with any alterations. Total cost of the project was abut $25.

Matched Seams

My seams matched beautifully, too!

Next time I'd widen the bicep, shorten the sleeve cap a bit, do a full-bust-adjustment and move the darts a bit, and possibly change the collar into something easier to deal with.

Still, considering I've never sewn anything with sleeves and my entry-level sewing skills, I'm really happy with the dress. Heck, it fits as well as anything store-bought would! In fact, it fits better because I positioned the snaps so it wouldn't put open or gape at the bust!