Such a fun dress!

A review of McCalls Dresses M7948

Reviewed by nightingaleanddolittle on 17th June, 2021

There are lots of great looking options for this pattern, but I chose to make view C – the sleeveless bodice with the gathered, tiered skirt.

The instructions are fairly standard for a commercial pattern – they’re brief but clear if you have a bit of sewing experience, but might not be the most helpful if you’re a complete beginner. It’s a relatively easy pattern to sew as it’s loose fitting and has no darts, and the only fastening is a thread loop and button at the back neck.

I’d say one area to pay attention to is sewing the back facing as the seam allowances round the bottom of the slash are teeny – my stitching in that area already needs a bit of repair after one wear.

The sizing is generous. It’s meant to be a loose style, but if you follow the recommended sizes it could end up VERY loose. Based on the finished garment measurements (on the pattern paper) I went a size down in the bust and two sizes down at the waist/hip and it’s still plenty loose enough for me. I also lengthened the bodice by 1.5 inches, which is very standard for me.

I made a few changes to the pattern to get it how I wanted. I added waist ties into the side seams, took a small wedge out of the armhole to make the shoulders a little narrower, and I widened the pattern piece for the skirt bottom tier so that I could cut the tier in two pieces rather than the three pieces the pattern calls for.

You can read more details in my blog post.