BUBBLEGUM PINK SHIMMER PUFF - McCALL'S 7947 PATTERN REVIEW

I sewed all of the garments behind me. From left: Vintage New Look 6163; Vogue 9236; Vintage Butterick B5744; McCall’s M7900. I dyed all of them except for the dark pink one and the dress I am wearing.

I added this pattern to my collection around the time it was released. Style wise, I loved the puffy sleeve and button through front placket, but it’s actually a bit out of my wheelhouse. While I love to wear a nightgown dress, I strongly prefer dress patterns with a waist seam - without that definition, I feel like a big billowing blob. Even with a belt, it’s just too much fabric, especially at the lower back (more on that later). That said, I cannot resist a ruffle, and I love the sleeves. 

I get a lot of Daily Sleeper ads in my Instagram feed (they’re accurate for once!), which I think is probably the #SewTheLook inspiration for this pattern. As I scrolled past the ads, I started imagining myself in the style. Then I saw Natalie Ebough’s insanely gorgeous version of this pattern, sewn up in bubblegum pink Nani Iro border print linen, and I was sold.

This fabric came from Mood’s Manhattan store. I hesitated before purchasing, because it’s weird! You can use either side as the face: one side is linen, matte and soft/crisp, but it has a shimmery depth to it; the reverse is extremely shimmery, a super fine, clear monofilament sits at the face of the fabric. The color is irresistible! I thought this fabric would be good for this pattern because it is very lightweight, not quite opaque, and yet has a ton of body from the monofilament - perfect for holding a ruffle or a puffy sleeve. I washed and dried on hot before sewing, and as usual with linen, it softened up a bit. I think it will continue to soften with future washings. 

The buttons came from my stash, but I know I bought them in Edinburgh last summer. For thread, the only brand I could find that was a perfect color match was Coats & Clark, which I will not use again as it caused my machine to skip stitches (I cleaned & oiled it, tried 2 different types of needles, etc….it was the thread).

Shoes, from left: Gabriella pink snakeskin loafers from Century 21 department store; Loeffler Randall blue metallic sandals; Loeffler Randall rhinestoned “Quin” slides; Croon Shoes glittering courtesan shoes.

This is a great pattern that is pretty quick to sew. It has some nice details, but I needed to make a few tweaks for the perfect fit. This is the kind of pattern where some people will say “it runs sooo big!” but I don’t think that’s true - there is ample style ease, it is meant to be billowy. If you don’t prefer that, take a few measurements and consider sizing down for a less voluminous dress, and make sure your fabric is lightweight with a flowy drape. I typically cut size 12 in McCall’s patterns, and made this dress from a straight size Medium. I made View D with the sleeve from View B. 

The interior back neckline, featuring understitched facings, the funny spot where straps are attached, and the cleverly combined ruffle/elastic casing.

As is typical with Big 4 patterns, the instructions get the job done just fine, and if you have dressmaking experience, you will know where to add a few steps for better results. I added understitching to the facings so everything stays clean at the neckline, and trimmed and graded my seams. Grading makes a big difference along the placket, because my sewing machine hates making buttonholes on an uneven surface. By trimming out any unnecessary seam allowances, everything will look cleaner in the end. I finished all interior seams on my serger.

The illustrations are tiny! I didn’t find them useful due to the size, however, all the pattern markings on the straps and ruffles are great, so use them. I recommend folding and pressing along the ruffle fold lines and the hems for those areas before attaching the straps. This will clarify what you are supposed to do if you can’t decipher the illustrations, and it will be easier to sew those places as your next step if they are pressed first. The method of forming the ruffle and elastic casing at the same time is tidy and looks very RTW, I strongly prefer it to the usual Big 4 bias tape/channel method, and I’ll borrow it for other styles in the future. 

When belted carefully, the excess fabric at the back can be tamed. But I do not prefer this look at the back of a dress.

I didn’t make many modifications to this pattern, but the ones I made, made a big difference. I found the armscye to be very high and uncomfortably tight, so I lowered it by 1/2” at the side seam, tapering to nothing at both front and back sleeve notches. I usually need a narrow shoulder adjustment, but for this pattern, the width of the shoulder is determined by the elastic. So I shortened the elastic by 1.25” on each front piece, and this worked well. If I made it again, I would also shorten the back elastic. You can see on the envelope photo that the dress is about to slip off the model’s shoulders, so try this on as you go and adjust that width as needed.

My only other change was to shorten the dress body 2”, and lengthen the ruffle 1” - I just prefer the proportion. As usual, I hemmed my ruffle with my rolled hem foot, so not much length was taken up by the hem, and that monofilament keeps the edge defined.

Towards the end of sewing this, and for a while right after I finished, I did not like this dress. I don’t like how much fabric pools at my lower back, and even belted, I find this to be unflattering. But after wearing it for photos, I decided I love how ridiculous it is. I love the fabric, and once it’s warm out, it’s fun to wear pouffy pink things. I hung it up in my rainbow-organized closet, and suddenly, my mind had changed. I look forward to wearing it. Maybe this will be my Easter dress. XO Martha