Gathered Waist Dress - McCalls 6282

I set a goal a few weeks ago that I was going to sew at least one garment a week.  Hopefully two. One during the week doing little by little each day. Then hopefully another over the weekend. Additionally, I have dubbed Monday " I Made It Monday" on which I wear a new garment that I made the week before to work. This holds me accountable to my goal of making at least one item a week. My coworkers now know and ask on Mondays "Did you make that?"So Sunday afternoon after a busy weekend I thought "Darn! What am I going to wear to work tomorrow? I haven't made anything." Well actually I had. I made M6844 mid-week but loved it so much I wore it last week, so I felt wearing it again was cheating.  I also thought about just wearing something I had worn to work already but decided against it. This left me sitting on my living room floor searching through my pattern stash for a pattern that was both work appropriate and a quick sew. This meant a knit (because I have a couple of woven fails), no circular hems and preferably no zipper. I thought about a pencil skirt-NL6230, a pullover dress-V8593, a blouse-S1280 or a wrap dress-M6884.I decided on M6282 because it only required 1-3/8yd and I knew I had purchased a hot pink knit 1-1/2yd remnant that would work for this pattern. I also knew that my fabric was stretchy enough to omit the zipper and it only had 4 pattern pieces.The pattern sewed up quickly though I was a little confused by the pattern steps at first. Don't worry they are really simple I was just having a dumb moment. I also messed up the gathering because I didn't use stay tape to stabilize the gathers and when I went to serge my pieces together I cut off the seam allowance AND the gathering stitches and the gathers unraveled. Next time I will NOT forget the stay tape. I still mananged to add some gathers by stitching and gathering the serged seam allowance.McCalls 6282 Pattern ReviewPattern Description: Straight, hip length, lined top A, above mid-knee length lined dresses B, C, D have front high or low cowl, side and back gathers, sleeves in two lengths or sleeveless and optional back invisible zipper; top A has three-quarter length unlined sleeves; dress D has unlined, above elbow length sleeves.Pattern Sizing: (8-10-12-14), (16-18-20-22) I made a size 14Difficulty: 1/NewbieFit: 5/Great fit, no alterationsFabric Used: Hot pink nylon lycra knit from Hancock Fabrics. I lucked up it and found it as a remnant.Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, sorta. I don’t think my cowl looks as deep (even though it’s the high cowl) and the gathering wasn’t as bunched. I completed View CWere the instructions easy to follow? Yes, I didn’t understand them at first glance but I just followed the steps and it came together quickly. Also since this is a Palmer/Pletsch pattern they gave detailed instructions for alterations for a variety of concerns, such as full bust, etc…What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved the rouching as it is flattering. However I hate doing the gathesr. This was partially my fault since I gathered near the edge of the fabric, should’ve done it right at the 5/8 SA mark. I also didn’t stay stitch or use stay tape to stabilize the gathers because I was rush and wasn’t thinking. I just did two rows of basting stitches,gathered and took it to my serger. When I went to serge it, I cut off the gathering stitches in my seam allowance and everything came apart. So afterwards I did a gather stitch in my serged edge and ties the ends off.Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None except for my mistakes.Would you sew it again? At first I said no, but now that I know what I did wrong with the gathers. I will try again.Would you recommend it to others? YesConclusion: Great dress. Easy to sew, just 4 pieces.Total Cost: $3.99McCall's pattern*                                     $0.99Nylon Lycra Knit*      1.5yds at $2/yd   = $3.00*I found this knit in the remnant section at Hancock fabrics and bought the pattern during a 99¢ pattern sale at Hancock.