McCalls 7936- Romper Turned into a Dress

Don’t you hate it when something doesn’t work out as you intended? Me too. But there’s always a bright side to this. You grow from it. You learn something new. You sometimes end up with something better. ~~You become a better person~~. Wait… I’m talking about sewing, not life. You become a better sewist. (not to be confused with sewer: an underground conduit for carrying off drainage water and waste matter).

Sewist: Someone who sews. Sewer remains the dominant term, but sewist (combining “sew” with “artist”) appears to be gaining popularity, especially among sewing bloggers.
www.macmillandictionary.com

Back to the pattern review. McCalls 7936 is described as a loose-fitting jumpsuit or romper. It has a front invisible zipper, neckline facings and all-in-one sleeves. There are side seam pockets and an option to make a fabric belt.

I chose to sew up View A which is the short romper. It includes a fabric belt which I decided to sew as well. I chose a fabric that I bought from Downtown L.A. from a small store that sold fabric for $1.99 a yard.

This pattern is a Learn to Sew Level 2 so it’s easy to sew. The only problem that I had was with the invisible zipper. It wasn’t so invisible when I was done putting it in. So I did some research and read that if you sew closer to the zipper teeth, it might fix the problem. It didn’t fix the problem. It made more of a problem because I could not zip the zipper up. It’s possible that I sewed over the teeth. I managed to get very close to the teeth without using an invisible zipper foot. I used a regular zipper foot. It’s also possible that I may have melted the teeth because I ironed the fabric away from the teeth before sewing. I looked and it didn’t look like the teeth were melted. Either way, I had to figure out a solution.

After I took the invisible zipper out using a seam ripper, I had to decide if I wanted to try again with an invisible zipper. I didn’t want to try again. I decided to sew the front seams together and turn this romper into a dress. I did some research and found out how to turn shorts into a skirt. It was pretty easy and the dress turned out well. And the best part? It had pockets…

My next goal is to be able to successfully sew in an invisible zipper. I ordered an invisible zipper foot and it has already arrived. I’ll do some practicing before I sew another outfit with an invisible zipper.

This would’ve made a great romper. But luckily, it looks great as a dress too. The only thing I don’t like is how the V neck is so low. It’s also a bit short, since it was intended to be shorts.

I’ve already started on my next project and it does not involve any zippers at all.

I also received the labels that I ordered from Dutch Label Shop. I was excited to sew one into my new romper turned dress.

Happy sewing!