M8211 View B Review

at the end of July…

I am SO excited about this dress.

I chose McCalls 8211 not for the main photographed one, but the puff sleeve and ruffle sleeve one. It’s extra exciting because my birthday is coming up so I’m having a big fully vaccinated party and need something amazing to wear.

I’m making the more ruffle sleeve one. I feel like the cut gives a bit of a late 1940’s/early 1950’s vibe so I’m going to lean into that and make it in a polka dot.

I bought this fabric shop at Vibes and Scribes ages ago. It’s 100% cotton, and the polka dots are so cute!

Honestly, everything is just happier with polka dots. I think it’s a cotton lawn or poplin- probably quilting weight. I’m not opposed to quilting cotton for garments it just means my ruffles might not be as drapey.

My measurements are bust: 128.5cm, waist: 112cm, and hip: 145cm. That puts me at a 28W on top and a 32W on the bottom. I’m going to measure the waistband and see if I need to grade it out. The skirt is gathered so I’m tempted to even just cut a 30W so it’s not super extra gathering- there’s about 230cm width on the bottom so if the waistband will fit me perfectly then I’d rather not add a tonne of extra bulk right at the waist.

Sometime in September…

So, time is weird and life got busy, but luckily not too busy to wear this dress on my birthday and for drinks with a friend.

Let’s talk about the sewing experience.

I added about 7cm onto the skirt because, well, I’m tall. I’m really happy I did- while this would have looked cute short lately I’ve been more into a longer length. I also didn’t print out the elastic guides because… I don’t know. This means that the sleeves are definitely not secure and they flop off the shoulder. I’m not too mad about it because I do like it off the shoulder, but I wonder what it would look like if it were, ya know, made correctly.

I also added a lot of seam finishings that McCall’s didn’t include- sewing down the zipper tape, securing the linings with little blind stitches, and I added french seams where I could. I don’t make clothes so they can fall apart in the wash in two weeks so for me this stuff is beyond essential.

They rate this as a beginner pattern and overall I’d agree with that. I finished this dress to wearable within a week. The hand sewing the lining and zipper tape did take a day of extra sewing after I had worn it once, but I wasn’t too fussed. I even got my invisible zipper in on the second shot- first shot once I accepted I don’t know better than the instructions.

I think my biggest problem is trying to figure out how I can style it in the winter because I want to keep wearing it.

I also made a video for this that’s a lot more disorganized but illustrates some of the finishings I did and my sizing decisions.