I’m calling this my pumpkin dress. Not just because the color matches pumpkin pie. Also because the gathered sleeves are shaped like cute little pumpkins resting above my elbows! It was the perfect dress to wear for my best friend’s Friendsgiving party so I baked a spiced pumpkin cake to match!
I had the idea to make this dress on Wednesday, just 3 days before the party. Only…the pattern wasn’t set to arrive in the mail until Friday! I’m a slow sewist, but it seemed reasonable to sew an “easy” pattern in one full day. Since most of my normal sewing procrastination is done before I even start cutting fabric, I used my day without the pattern to thoroughly plan the make.
Steps to start sewing without the pattern:
- Wash, dry and iron the fabric
- Plan the length & sleeve style
- Choose size
- Procure all of the notions
- Select buttons
- Practice sewing the buttonholes
Luckily, the pattern arrived to my mailbox a day early which gave me enough time to sew up a partial muslin to check for fit. Since I decided to size down to remove some of the 3.5″ of ease added at the bust by the patternmakers, I compensated with my first-ever full bust adjustment (FBA). A seasoned sewist had recently suggested a FBA to remove extra fabric at my underarm and she was totally right! I will be making this adjustment moving forward along with another that solved the long-standing problem of extra fabric at my center back. I’m proud my chest is comfortably covered (with a bit of cleavage) and the fitted waistline is perfectly parallel to the floor all the way around.
My favorite part of this dress is the full skirt which is super wide and made of 7 panels. To add a bit more drama, I made it long enough to show off my ankle boots. I also really l like the fitted waist which must be a trend this season because McCall’s has released this dress, a jumpsuit, and a blouse pattern with this same waist detail. I’ve bought all 3 and hope to make each before winter’s end.Β
What do you think of my pumpkin dress?!? I very rarely wear maxi lengths so this is a new style for me. The high split is definitely in my wheelhouse though! I can’t wait to style this up and keep wearing it all fall and winter long!
Pattern
- McCall’s M7974, View C sleeves with View D length
- Sewing Difficulty – 2/5
- Lots of gathersΒ throughout the bodice are easy to sew, but the sleeves in version C have a pretty unique construction
- Fit Difficulty – 2/5
- I adjusted the bodice for fit; the skirt is super wide and requires no fitting
- I want to make this again with a lighter weight fabric and try out the different sleeve variations
Fabric
- Deep Orange Rayon Twill from Metro Textiles
- I did some jigsawing to get the long skirt to fit on 4 yards of fabric by cutting the 2 back side panel pieces upside down
Fit & Modifications
- By McCall’s definition, a fitted bodice has 3-4″ of ease at the bust. I chose to size down to a 14 to remove most of that ease.
- After holding the paper pattern to my chest to eye ball the fit, I decided to add my 1 1/2″ #sewingtall adjustment to the bodice above the bust line. I also repositioned the bust point to widen the distance between apex points.
- I followed Erica Bunker’s tactic and did a 1/2″ FBA for each side to accommodate my larger cup size.
- I sewed a bodice muslin with the above changes before adding any length to the back bodice. With the muslin pinned on my body, I measured the length needed to level to my waistline at the sides and center back. I lengthened the back by 1 1/2″ at the sides and tapered to 1″ at the center.
- I cut view D for the maxi length skirt and added 3″ to make the back length from base of neck 57 3/4″. The dress has a few inches of clearance from the floor, making it wearable with flats.
Tips
- The envelope back provides finished garment measurements for a few spots on the body and can be used to assess ease and choose the size to sew. McCall’s does not post the back of the pattern envelope on their website, but you can find it on PatternReview.com.
- I went through as I read the pattern before sewing and penciled in all the steps where I should serge the seams. I usually get confused about the best time to finish seams since no instruction is given on the pattern, but this eliminated confusion and sped up my process.
Tutorials That Were Helpful
- I read several tutorials to help make my first Full Bust Adjustment, including Closet Case Patterns & Workroom Social, plus matching to Erica Bunker’s FBA
- The back bodice modification I made is based on a Swayback adjustment
B
This dress looks so amazing! I’m currently making it myself and was wondering how in the world to do the midriff facing? The instructions aren’t quite clear enough for me and was wondering if you had any suggestions?
Robyn Andrea
BHello and thank you! I just took another look at my pattern and I can see your confusion with the midriff facing. Basically, you sew the midriff in like you would do a sleeve cuff – upside down. You have to sandwich the top of the bust area so the bottom is down between the midriff and the midriff facing where the top seam is at the bottom. After you stitch along that line and stitch the center front of the midriff and midriff facing together, you’ll fold it down so it’s showing the right way. I hope that helps!