I’m definitely late to the party, but am joining the masses that have made McCall’s M6696 – a classic shirtdress that is still going strong. With an instagram hashtag with >1000+ posts – there are any number of hacks, tweaks. It’s a classic versatile pattern.

Plus, once you’ve nailed the fit, the sky is the limit on what you can do. So I’m jumping on this train. I have a few more planned, though I’ll wear my latest one for a while before I decide if I’ve made all the changes I want.

My first one is from this cotton voile, I did my typical alterations – dropping the dart to better match where my bust apex sits, and adjusting the dart length to where I wanted it to hit. This pattern comes in cup sizes, so that helped.

I also changed the back gathers to pleats, having gathers in the bodice and pleats in the skirt isn’t my preference. I may reduce or eliminate the pleats altogether. I’m still deciding on that.

The first one fit well but I realized that my waist wasn’t right — it was hitting too high. This blew my mind a bit because over all my torso is shorter, but it seems that this is the pelvis area than shoulder to waist. I tried on a couple of other tops I’ve made recently (big 4) and it’s less pronounced, but these are the same.

So onto number 2. I added 1 1/2” to the bodice and kept everything else the same. I love where it hits, and the front bodice fits nicely. The back still has the “poofiness” from the pleats/gathers and I’m pondering the options.

Otherwise I didn’t shorten the skirt this time so I’ll consider skirt lengths for later ones too — I’m happy with the length of this one though

Pattern: McCalls M6696

Sizing: I chose my size based on my high bust +2″ — that gave me size 12. I then looked at the high bust — full bust difference and chose a C cup. A D cup would have worked too for a smidge more ease, but there’s enough fullness in the top i’m happy. I ignore the waist size on the envelope because the measurement is always small and yet there’s always enough ease in a 12 or 14 for my waist. So who knows. I do pay attention to the finished measurements when I choose a size and I’d grade if needed.

Fabric: It’s a cotton lawn I bought from Mill End in Beaverton, OR before my in-laws moved up to the Seattle Area. Version 1 was a voile from the same store.

Changes I made: In Version 1, I dropped the bust dart by 1.5″ so it would hit my apex correctly, I also shortened the dart so it was 2″ away from my apex — with a fuller bust, this is the dart shaping I prefer. These are standard changes I make on 99% of my bodices. I also changed the gathered back to pleats — gathers in the back with a pleated skirt doesn’t make sense to me. Version 2 I kept those changes, but also added 1.5″ to the bodice at the lengthen/shorten line, so that the waistband would hit at my natural waist. In version 1 it was hitting my ribcage, which is wearable, but annoying.

I also didn’t follow all the instructions — I changed how I did the collar and collar stand — the way the pattern has you do it has been a method that doesn’t give me a collar I’m happy with. I ended up doing a method that seems to be less common and I really like how it turned out. I’ll share it as a post with some better photos later, probably.

Changes for Next time: remove or reduce the pleats/gathers in the back so it’s less poofy. I think I pleated them backwards in version 2 — I prefer how I pleated them in version 1 (less “poofy” that way). If I do the cuffed sleeves again I’d shorten the sleeves by 2″ so the sleeves hit my elbow better, they’re a bit too long right now — I tend to push them up past my elbow.

Thoughts on the pattern: The cuffs are weird. I like how they look and turned out but I don’t like how they are installed and the instructions aren’t the clearest. It’s a classic pattern though and there’s good reason it’s a popular pattern. I didn’t notice any inaccuracies in the notch placements or pattern pieces.

Will I make it again: Yes, I have a chambray that’s intended for this pattern, but it wont be immediately — I’m ready to dive back down the denim rabbit hole.

Rating: 3.5/4 — with some minor adjustments/customizations it will be a 4/4 and I may trace it onto a firmer paper to help it last longer since it will easily be a TNT and I could see it becoming a “work uniform” for me.