McCall's 6701 is the base for the Hi-Low skirt that DD wants for her wedding dress, however, some adjustments need to be made. First, each panel is one piece from the top of the bodice to the bottom of the dress. I selected a line just above the pattern's waist which is one of the two points made for lengthening and shortening the dress. At this point I cut the bodice off of each piece. First adjustment accomplished.
Secondly, I needed to reduce the flair of the skirt to make it look more bridal and less parachute. I decided to make the adjustment using a hinge at the second lengthening/shorten point. Since I am not sure I can explain it with just words, I took pictures of the process with one of the smaller panels.
On the left you will see one of the panels of the skirt. I have circled the second lengthen/shorten mark.
Using a straight edge and my rotary cutter, I cut along this line.
I then folded the pattern, matching the line for the hem of a short version of the dress. After creasing the fold, I cut along that fold. I did not use the grain line as the cut. I wanted that left intact.
Here you can see all the pieces spread out.
Lifting one piece, I swung it over the other, overlapping the two pieces under the horizontal cut with a "hinge" at the top. When I go the pieces positioned just right, I taped up the overlap and taped the top piece back on making sure to line up the grain line. Then I redrew my hemline.
If my calculations are correct I removed about 2 feet out of the circumference of the dress at about the ankle. I think that this will reduce the flair enough, but if necessary, I can always make a similar hinge cut on the other side of the grain line.
Happy hinging!
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