I needed a black shirt dress for my Halloween costume this year, and I’ve made this pattern before - McCall’s 6696. It didn’t turn out all that great the first time… didn’t do a muslin and the fit was subsequently a bit off. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, I did the muslin, adjusted the fit, and then made the dress. (I had to shorten the bodice and make the shoulders narrower.)
I used a black cotton sateen that I got on sale at JoAnn’s. I rounded up to the closest half-yard, but still ran out of fabric. I had to use a bit of cotton from my stash to face the cuffs (it’s a pretty starry/space print with a bit of glitter - right up my alley) and bind a few seams. All the seams are finished off properly in one fashion or another, so this dress took a few days to sew.
It ended up fitting quite well and was surprisingly comfortable to wear (I rarely wear a dress). I would definitely make this pattern again, probably with different sleeves…was not overly fond of the flipped up cuff. It looks cute, but wearing it with a sweater might prove a little awkward. Also, I could probably take a bit of volume out of the back gathers and be fine.
Overall, 10/10, would sew/wear again.
Some of that seam-finishing:
With the apron for my costume (I went as Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders in the video for “Brass in Pocket”):
