Happy Wednesday lovelies! Apologies for my absence last week. I lost my sew-jo. I think I’m back. I’m not sure who out there has lost their sew-jo, but for me it was a lack of motivation to sew any of the patterns I had already cut out. However, the break was rejuvenating.
I really loved the fit of pattern McCall 8181, so it only made sense that I made a dress with the same fit. I’ve had McCall 8177 in my stash since the summer, but never felt the urge to make it until today. McCall 8177 is a sweetheart button front fit and flare dress with puff sleeves. The notions that are required are buttons and bias tape. Quite simple enough.
Fabric Choice
In the States, it’s the start of Black History Month. To pay homage to my Ghanaian American roots, I opted for an orange patchwork African wax fabric that I ordered from Amazon. My family members have worn African wax print items for years, so it was quite special for me to make my own dress. I love wax fabric because it behaves a lot like a cotton poplin in terms of the structure you can get from it, but is generally opaque. A win win.
Pattern Construction of McCall 8177
McCall 8177 comes together nicely. The directions are pretty easy to follow. The first step is to interface the neck and front facings. Because this is a wax fabric, I’m not entirely sure that needed the interfacing. After interfacing, the front and side front were sewn together, then the back and side back pieces. Before the back is sewn together, the pockets are sewn on the respective pieces. Then depending on the view, sleeves or straps are constructed. I love these sleeves, but the sleeve cap requires bias tape to insert the elastic. I’ve used bias tape to insert elastic before. It’s not my favorite method of inserting elastic because it can get loose in the dryer, but we’ll seen with this fabric. Once the sleeves are done, i moved on to attaching the front facings for the buttons and the buttonholes.
Minor Setback
So I misplaced the last page of the instructions. I ended up taking a couple of days off because of the snow storm because I had to go to Joann and snap pictures of the last page. Once I snapped my pics, I came back home and finished.
Final Thoughts on McCall 8177
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way this dress came out. I’m not entirely shocked though because of how great McCall 8181 turned out. I definitely recommend this pattern. It’s such a simple make, but it makes me feel really pretty and regal. As always, thank you for stopping by and reading.
Happy Sewing!
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