Happy Friday everyone! Hope everyone is feeling back to themselves after Daylight Savings this past week. I’m really excited about my latest make: McCall’s 7315. This is one the first patterns that I bought last year. I only picked it up at the time because of its easy rating, although I was curious about the asymmetric hem.
McCall’s 7315 Pattern Description
McCall’s 7315 has four views with varying necklines and sleeve options. View D gives you the option of attaching a contrast band to the hem. I opted for View B: curved neckline with sleeves. I almost went for View D and played with the idea of a red contrast hem, but it just seemed like it would take away from the beauty of the fabric. The pattern has a bodice front with side darts cut on the fold, the front back piece, the front skirt, and the back skirt. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the skirt pieces are essentially rectangles which form the asymmetric hems. The pattern also calls for 5/8 yard for the bodice lining.
Fabric Description
Last summer, I bought a polyester twill fabric from Fabric Mart. The exact name of the fabric is Candy Red/White/Navy 100% Polyester Geometric Print Twill Blouse Weight Woven – Imported From Italy – 58W incase someone wants to look for it when its back in stock. I used a navy blue Bemberg lining that I got in the sale section at Joann’s. Does anyone else ever find really good fabrics on the sale shelves at Joann? I’m constantly floored at the wonders in the sale section and also always wondering why I never see them in the aisles. I found both of these fabrics more challenging than usual to cut. It was great practice for slippery fabrics. My post-sewing suggestion is to use lots of pins.
Garment Construction
I started out with the bodice front and back. I had a hard time with the darts because of the fabric. Once I tried the dress on fully, I wish that I had gone back and done them, but it’s no biggie. Then I sewed the lining the same way and flipped in inside and basted the sleeves together. As far as how easy this pattern is, I would agree that this step is easy. The only questionable part is the lining. I wouldn’t recommend this as a first sewing project, but definitely a third or a fourth. Then I sewed the sleeves. For me, I found the sleeves a little bit tricky. The sleeves have a hem of 1 1/4 inches, which is a lot, but I also found them too fitted in the armscye. Other than that, it fits well enough. I think it would’ve been OK if i sized up.
Next up was the skirt, I sewed the front and back together at the sides. That’s when I was like wait — that’s how this is done? Such a simple pattern, but it really jazzes up the look of the skirt. I should also add that I added pockets to the pattern because what else am I supposed to do with my hands. I believe I measured 10 inches from the waist, then used the pockets pattern from Vogue 1783. Then, I attached the bodice and the skirt and put in the zipper and finished the dress. One of these days, I’ll get my seams to perfectly line up. However, today was not that day.
Final Thoughts on McCall’s 7315
I really enjoy this dress. It may be one of the first McCall’s that fits well enough and doesn’t have too much ease. I believes there’s maybe 1/2 an inch of ease at the waist. Updates that I’ll make to the current version are taking out the lining and replacing it with a facing. When I made New Look 6692, I had a similar issue with the bodice lining, where the lining was too long to cover the seams of the skirt and the main bodice. Now that I’m typing this up, I realize that I’m the common denominator here, but food for thought. I’m not sure if I would make this again for myself, but I would recommend it.
Thanks for stopping by and reading. Happy Sewing!