Completed: McCall’s 5779 (1961)

I am changing tack for MMM. I will still wear me-mades and document it when the occasion comes up, but I’m now using this time to focus on finishing up pieces from my WIPs pile and complete my wardrobe assessment. I did wear this skirt today, though!

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Last June I started this wrap skirt in the hopes of wearing it in Maine. I worked on it right up until the last minute, only to be stumped when I accidentally wrapped it left over right instead of right over left and couldn’t understand why there were pleats missing on one side! I minutely examined the pattern pieces and the instructions and in my frustration relegated it to stew in the WIPs pile. Luck was with me when I put it on my dress form the other day. I happened to wrap it correctly and my error was made clear. I had been dreading coming back to it, thinking it might be a lost cause, so it was a big relief to get it done.

Pattern: McCall’s 5779 (1961), described as “Half-Size Sports Wrap-Around Skirt, Blouse and Jamaica Shorts
Fabric: Stashed crab print quilting cotton I bought years ago (2011?) at JoAnn Fabrics
Notions: Size 14 needle, vintage buttons sent to me by a friend, hook and bar and snap from stash
Size: 14 1/2, bust 35, waist 29, hip 39
Alterations:

• I gave myself a bit more room in the waist as it was too tight. I probably moved the closures over a half inch, and it is still a little tight. Since I didn’t do button holes it will allow me to easily adjust with weight changes.
• I added pockets using the pieces from the shorts, but they ended up in the wrong place! (See photo below.) The “side front” to “side back” seam is actually placed over the middle diagonal of the hip to center back line, but I didn’t realize this and just went off the pattern piece labels.

Notes:

• The skirt doesn’t have a big wrap over – it is really only lapped the distance of the center front panel. My guess is because it is intended to be worn over the shorts…as implied by the “sports skirt” designation.
• While the length seems to keep it from flapping open indoors, it is pretty risky to wear without a slip out of doors.
• I like the length and general shaping. It gives off Audrey Hepburn vibes. If they were culottes, that would be the ultimate.

 

 

This is the first project I’ve had in a long time that feels true to the Nancy Drew inspirational aspect of my blog. I even recall one Nancy Drew book where she has to heroically dive overboard (in New Orleans?) and of course she had the foresight to buy a playsuit-wrap skirt combo for that trip…so she can whip off her skirt and dive in to save the day!

I hope to eventually make the blouse and “jamaica shorts” to complete a vintage style capsule wardrobe. I have a bright blue cotton fabric already set aside for the shirt with vintage white buttons to offset the color of the skirt. I’m not sure about a matching crab blouse though to make it look like a dress. What do you think?