M8174 View B Review
I recently went to a wedding in Greece. If you’re not new here, you know this because I won’t shut up about it. My friend got married on the beach and it was absolute perfection. She wanted everyone in shades of white and blue to echo the landscape of the gorgeous island.
I was hemming and hawing because, well, she said she would prefer white and I really don’t look good in white. The saving grace was I had a bunch of white cotton jersey from a project that I never got around to and I had already bought the perfect pattern: McCalls 8174.
I made view B in a 28W bust, 26W waist, and 30W hip. I also added on 8cm to the bottom hem and 2cm to the bodice length.
From printing the bodice to being finished it took 17 hours of active work.
As for the pattern, it’s a standard big four pattern. There’s no print chart so it’s kind of an all-or-nothing factor. The instructions were okay, though as usual, I think they miss out on valuable finishing information. The biggest thing that got me this time was the lack of basting. You need to baste your skirt fronts and the bottom of the lined bodice or else you’ll end up ripping them out… multiple times.
As for the style of the dress, I love that it’s a knit. This dress is so comfy. I love how the ruching is only on one side and it creates a gentle, lovely drapey look. The bodice… I’m not sure if I cut it too big or if that’s just the way it is, but there was a lot of room there. It created a drape which I loved because I’ll always take a drape, but I can see how a lot of people would prefer a straight-across neckline. If I make another view of this I’ll probably cut a size smaller for the bodice because I’m not sure how that will look with the sleeves.
Since my jersey was blue-based I gave the finished dress a dip in a tea bath to neutralize the blue and warm it up a bit to go better with my complexion. I know if I keep this white I’ll never wear it again so I’m debating what colour I want to dye this. I’m thinking of a Dylon plum red or deep amethyst. I am officially soliciting opinions so let me know your thoughts. I’m hoping this will become my formal dress for a good long while.
Even though I have a few gripes, for a big four pattern there are surprisingly few. In terms of making this again, I’m definitely leaning towards the sleeved versions once autumn hits because the skirt is gorgeous and I really did feel good in this. This dress was a complete winner and I’m so happy that it’s in my wardrobe… and I’ll be even happier when I dye it!
