While summer is officially over, the beautiful weather has been holding on a little longer and it got us inspired for one last summer make before we get into our winter fabrics.
I chose McCalls dress pattern 7948. This pattern has been on my mind for quite some time and I already know its a huge hit with some of you sewing fanatics.
Making these posts takes a little bit of prep, one being getting the patterns online and ensuring we have extra stock in case anyone wants to try it themselves. I did all of this, but to my surprise everyone bought out the pattern before I even had time to start making it myself! I’m thrilled you all think this pattern is as gorgeous as I do.
So for those of you who are yet to fall in love with this pattern, or for those with the pattern in hand, deciding what fabric to choose, this post is for you!
For readers who saw my last journal post, you may already know I’m a big advocate of using quilting cottons as clothing fabrics. Well, I’m back again shouting the joys of quilting cottons as I’ll be using one for this make as well. You can check out my previous post to read about all the different reasons why I love quilting cotton, but for this make its all about the print. This one is called Garden Party – Pink Flower and I adore this print. Prints like this aren’t too common on conventional dress fabrics but craft fabrics offer a smorgasbord of fabulous options. If you’re a fan of unique prints, I strongly recommend scrolling through the patchwork section of our website, you’ll be surprised by some of the treasures you find.
For this make I chose view C. I wanted something nice and simple, as I feel a print this strong needs a simple silhouette, and not too much coverage over the body to ensure it won’t drown the wearer in print. Let the fabric do the talking for this dress. This pattern actually pretty straight forward, made up mostly of rectangular panels, so it’s a nice and easy sew.
Because it was a simple pattern I decided to add a little extra detail. View A and B of this pattern features pockets and, because who doesn’t love a pocket, I wanted to add some too. I followed all the usual steps until I reached the skirt, here I read along with the view A and B directions from step 7. This addition is actually a pretty easy one to do. The only real change to be made is to trim your pocket bags so the bottom edge rejoins the skirt before the seam allowance of the upper skirt panel. Attach the pockets as detailed in steps 7 to 10, then skip to step 13 and continue along with View C. Just don’t forget to finish your edges before stitching your pockets on.
Of course I had to add a little label from Kylie and the Machine. I chose this adorable ‘It Has Pockets’ set to show off my little addition and found the perfect colour inside, pink and green to match my lovely fabric.
I am an absolute sucker for a gathered skirt, another reason I love this pattern. I will say though, wrestling this amount of fabric when gathering by hand can be difficult. The bottom ruffle is made up of 3 large panels all gathered in, so get your patience and your pins ready. If you have a gathering foot (I sadly don’t) this might be the time to pull it out.
To finish off I chose a lovely bright bias to finish my arm holes. I like to include colour everywhere I can and this Dusty Pink 12mm bias was such a lovely colour match to the florals I just couldn’t resist. We have a nice range of bias online but if the colour you’re looking for isn’t online just give us a call and we can see what we have for you.
And thats it! See this beauty in all its glory below. If you’ve made this dress already or you’re planning on it, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram or share it with us on Facebook. If you didn’t know, we have a little Facebook group all for sharing your wonderful makes using our lovely fabrics. There’s also a fun process video on our Instagram and Tiktok if you’d like to watch along.
Happy sewing everyone!
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