Welcome to my post of using yet another regular ol’ pattern for my own personal maternity wear! McCalls 7969 is NOT a maternity pattern, but by golly if it doesn’t work as one!
A few years ago I madeTWO versions of McCalls 7969. I loved both of these dresses at first, but before long I started feeling like the silhouette made me look pregnant, even though I wasn’t. I love the idea of loose and flowy dresses, but I’m leaning toward the possibility that they might not necessarily love me in the same way. Thankfully, loose and flowy and is she possibly pregnant? is a look I will willingly embrace when I am actually pregnant! As this pregnancy progressed and I slowly started running out of clothes to wear, I realized this was my McCalls 7969 moment! Finally a chance to make the popular pattern work for me!
For fabric, I used this lovely Hawaiian print that I got locally at Fabric Mart, which is kind of like Hawaii’s Joann Fabrics except that they they are still in business! They offer a wide variety of substrates along with bolt after bolt after bolt of Hawaiian print cottons. My guess is that this is a cotton poplin, so just a smidge lighter than quilting cotton, with a good amount of body, and, thankfully, very easy to sew with.
I hadn’t gotten the sleeve length right on either of my previous versions of the dress. I had written down that I thought removing 2 inches of the length would be what I needed. So that’s what I did to my pattern piece. But when I laid the piece down on the fabric to cut it out, I realized the length wasn’t going to be my only problem. The pattern extended several inches beyond the width of the fabric so that needed to be adjusted too! However, the pattern for these sleeves is mind boggling, with many curves and twists and I just could not wrap my brain around how to remove width from the pattern properly. But, as you can see, the sleeve’s greatest feature is its generous pouf, so I figured removing some of that wouldn’t be too terrible for the design. I essentially did the reverse of the slash and spread method, but using the absolute laziest of techniques. It wasn’t professional at all, but in the end, I can say honestly that the missing pouf is not missed, so no harm done.
The missing width is unnoticed but the length here is still not right! I wish the sleeve had at least another inch and maybe more! If I make the pattern again, maybe I’ll finally Goldilocks the situation and find the length that’s just right. But I’m not going to hold my breath.
Of course, I added pockets to the dress. With the dress being as roomy as it is, it hardly made sense to leave them out. I’ve found I can survive without pockets but also that if I have them, they will be used.
I did have a stupid hiccup along the way that I will blame on the whole “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it” theory, since my sewing has been extremely spotty lately. As my clothes have gotten more and more uncomfortable, I thought it would be a good idea to take some extra measures for increased comfort. The idea I had was to use elastic at the waist seam to have more give. But I took no time thinking this through. I finished the bodice and then finished the skirt. I cut out a length of elastic and stretched and sewed it along the perimeter of the waist seam. It ruffled the skirt without basting stitches which was as I intended (and, I suppose, makes the elastic serve some purpose, even if not the one I was imagining!). But then I had to think about how I was going to attach it to the bodice and that’s when I finally realized the error of my ways. How would an elastic have any give if attached to a stable piece of fabric? Answer: it won’t. Not only that, but the illogical method I was using didn’t allow for that seam to be finished either, so another piece of the puzzle that I just chose not to think about. Ha! Ironically, I’ve added channels to many waist seams so I seriously don’t know what I was thinking, but let’s just blame it on pregnancy brain, mmkay? In any case, this dress has so much ease drafted in, that despite all of me having bigger measurements currently, the Medium still fits without actually being fitted anywhere.
Aside from my nearly useless elastic insertion, the sewing of the dress went pretty smoothly even if it didn’t come together quickly. My sewjo has been altogether lacking and projects that could be completed within a few days have been extended to being completed within a few weeks instead. Even so, I’m very pleased with how the dress turned out, and I’ve received a lot compliments on it too! My favorite thing about the dress is that it is more voluminous than I am currently. It’s very comfortable and not confining at all. It’s a breeze to wear, it’s cool (a must! I’m hot literally all of the time), and I can breath while wearing it. My standards aren’t much these days, but it certainly doesn’t hurt that it’s cute too. All in all, a success! And a timely one too, as I’ve passed the point of wearing all but one of my dresses.
Pattern: McCalls 7969
Size: M
Alterations: altered the sleeves to fit the fabric in a very unprofessional way
Fabric: cotton poplin from Fabric Mart
Cost: fabric $18; thread $3
Would I make this pattern again?: Mostly likely I won’t be making the pattern again but it is a wonderful pattern and tons of people have had success sewing it
Hilariously, as I was first worried about the dress making me look pregnant when I wasn’t, here I almost look not pregnant when I am. It’s a chameleon, I suppose!
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