McCall’s 7950 Pattern Review

This might be it! I may have found my dream sundress pattern! McCall’s 7950 is the third button front sundress I made this summer – I also made the Nina Lee Kew Dress and the Tilly and the Buttons Seren Dress) – and this one is the best by far!

I had my heart broken by two poorly-drafted patterns in July, so it was a breath of fresh air to work with a pattern as well drafted as this one. Life is too short to wrangle with poor drafting!

Even though summer in the Bay Area extends into October, this New York girl is conditioned to dress for all four seasons, which means this is probably the last of my super summery dresses for this season. There will definitely be more M7950s in my future, but for now, I’ll be working on some transitional pieces for fall!

The Pattern

Pattern Description

This is a pretty great mix and match pattern – it comes with two bodice variations (tie front and button front), two skirt lengths (mini and midi), two pocket variations (inseam and patch) and two strap variations (standard and shoulder tie). The tie front bodice exposes quite a bit of skin – a lot more than I’m used to – so that option may not feel right for everyone or for every occasion.

The fun and flirty red gingham dress is View A and the striped version is View C. 

Sizing

This comes in standard Big Four sizing – sizes 6 to 22, which is a 30 ½” bust to a 44” bust. The finished garment measurements aren’t available online, so I can’t tell if the size range is actually as limited as it seems, but if it is, that’s a big bummer, because this dress is a joy and would be amazing on so many figures. The Cashmerette Holyoke Dress is pretty similar and gets awesome reviews in a much more inclusive size range.  

Pattern Adjustments

I struggled so much to fit my similarly-designed Kew and Seren dresses, that I assumed I would need multiple muslins to get this one right, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well this worked right out of the envelope! Both dresses are a size 10 with the tweaks discussed below.

Bodice Adjustments

I shortened both bodices by ⅝”. After that, I left the tie front bodice as-is, since the beauty of the tie front is that you can just tie it a little tighter for a closer fit. For the button front bodice, I removed ¼ inch from each side piece to pinch out some underarm gaping. Easy peasy!

Skirt Adjustments

For the knee length version, I left the skirt length as drafted. For the midi version, I shortened the skirt by 3” and raised the patch pockets by 2 ½ inches. I went back and forth on the patch pocket placement, but I think I got it just right – for me, the ideal pocket placement is where your fingertips just graze the pocket bottom.

Design Modifications

I didn’t make any design modifications.

Construction Tips and Tricks

Call me old fashioned, but I love the Big Four’s construction and finishing methods. I know some people find their instructions vague, but I found that once I learned the lingo, the instructions were clear, consistent across patterns and result in a professionally finished garment. 

I love the drafter’s decision to line the bodice and to interface the front panel of the button front bodice. My biggest gripe with the Seren dress is that the top of the bodice is too floppy – I even added an extra snap, but it’s not as polished as I’d like it to be. The decision to add interfacing to the M7950 bodice front stops the droopiness dead in its tracks, resulting in a crisp, professional looking dress.

The Fabric and Haberdashery

I absolutely love both of these fabrics! Believe it or not, the red gingham is my first fabric purchase from Joann and it was a huge success! It’s lightweight yet opaque and has beautiful crocheted stripes – the full dress photos don’t do it justice. The striped fabric is Télio Mojito Stripe in the denim/copper colorway. I bought mine at Stonemountain & Daughter, but a handful of shops still have it in stock.   

I matched my stripes with both dresses and was able to make each with just under 2 ½ yards of 60” fabric. The pattern pieces also helpfully tell you which way to angle the piece to get the right stripe alignment!

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