All aboard the M7974 Train

HEY y’all, I’m so thankful to have you join in on the confessions of a self-taught sewaholic! 

I’m kicking off my new blog by spilling the tea on McCalls #M7974. This pattern received a lot love from the sewing community, and I’m happy to add my two cents to the hype.  Just in case you haven’t seen it yourself (which I highly doubt), the pattern is a button-up dress with 4 views: with sleeve and length variations. Included in the options, as View D, is a sleeveless maxi-length dress. 

Now, earlier this year, my sew sister @crumpetsteaandsewing hosted the #sewmaxiformothersday challenge over on Instagram. The challenge required sewists to make a maxi dress and I thought this pattern would be perfect for it. 

After I settled on the pattern, I fabric shopped my stash and found a couple yards of teal stretch crepe that I thought would make for a pretty maxi dress. I also found some gold buttons in my button tin that I thought would complement the teal beautifully. Let me be honest, it is very very VERY rare for me to be able to identify a pattern, fabric AND buttons BEFORE I dive into a project. I’m pretty haphazard that way. Too many times, unfinished pieces have hung around on Kristina (my dress form) waiting for the perfect buttons to get here… 

Anyways, if you have seen my Instagram, you’ll have deciphered that I love print – hardly do I sew with solids, but I’m here for this maxi dress, so perhaps I need to give solid fabrics more game in my wardrobe. 

Now, about the pattern. I ain’t nobody’s muse, and I’m good with that, but it means that I usually have to make a few fit adjustments to patterns in order to get a decent fit. I don’t have the kind of body that ‘fits right out the package’, so for this pattern, I traced a size 14 in the neck, shoulder and armscye, blended to a 16 at the waist and down to an 18 at the midriff. Based on my measurements, I am a C cup (37.5” High Bust and 40.5” Full Bust), so I did a ½” full bust adjustment (FBA) to give the girls a little more room. Call it bad posture or whatever, but I also have forward sloping shoulders, so I made a ½” sloping shoulder adjustment to the pattern as well. Finally, I did a ¼” sway back adjustment. 

Fitting adjustments take a little time: it requires, in many cases, tracing out my desired size(s) and altering the flat pattern before cutting into my fabric. I think the extra effort is worth it, and I’m pretty stoked about my finished dress. 

In fact, I was so happy with my dress that I needed my head photographer, Carandre Fernandez of @vipmediamontserrat to help me document it. In scouting locations, I told him that I wanted a sorta urban vybe because I thought it would contrast well with the elegance of the maxi dress. Now, we live on a tiny island, and finding that sort of location was a little difficult, but I think we made it work anyways! Make sure to head over to his Instagram and show him some love too…he a boss. 

So, whatcha think? Hit or miss? Have you jumped aboard the #M7974 train?

If you have any questions about this make, head over to my instagram @unsewcial and hit me up!

Gotta luv ya and leave ya,

xoxo

Kris