Doctor T Designs

Yes – I did finally sew something that wasn’t a bra! I’ve had this McCall’s Dress on my list of things to sew for literal years at this point…. It’s been so long that the pattern is now out of print. And, no, this isn’t the dress I was planning on posting about this month, but the time crunch happened and when it came down to it, I figured I could whip out a knit dress in about 3 days… a Vogue designer pattern not so much. But, happily, I did get this dress done in time for the Masquerade Ball Halloween Wedding I went to last month!

I’d been planning on making Vogue 1616 for several months… I had the fabric, the pattern, everything all planned out. But October just had me down and out for so long (I was sick or injured almost every weekend) that I couldn’t really get started on it until the end of the month. I got about halfway through the pattern prep when I had that moment of acceptance that I could rush through the project… but I just wouldn’t be happy with it. So, I decided to pivot. I started off deciding what parts of the outfit I already had, which were shoes and a mask:

I also needed to figure out what I could get together fast. I’d traced out the McCall’s 8340 (also listed as McCall’s 8339 in the smaller size ranges) at least a year ago. I couldn’t remember why I’d abandoned the project, because I also had a bunch of leftover stretch velvet sitting around from my failed New Years Jumpsuit experiment from 2021/2022. There’s even a Mimi G YouTube Tutorial for this pattern, so I seemed to have all the pieces I would need to move forward with this project in a very short amount of time.

Of course, when it came time to layout the pattern on the fabric, I remember why I’d abandoned ship. The front pattern piece is very large and oddly shaped, so there’s not a super economical way to lay out the pattern on the fabric, especially if you are in the larger size packet and need to do single direction cutting because of fabric nap, and I only have as much fabric as I had since it was leftovers (and can’t re-order something that would perfectly match because I bought it years ago and it’s no longer in stock). So I had to get a bit creative and I decided to piece together the back sleeves, adding a seam where there isn’t really one on the pattern. I also didn’t have enough fabric to make a full length gown. Which, originally, I wasn’t planning to do anyway, but was something I ended up wanting since I was now planning to wear it to a formal wedding. So I had to make some quick life choices and hope that the US Postal Service would come in clutch and deliver an emergency fabric order on time. Happily, other than these dramas, it was super easy to put together. I even won a game of bobbin chicken!

And past me doing present me the solid of having already worked out the pattern and figuring out how to blend the sizes on such an oddly shaped pattern helped a lot (thanks past me!). In case you are wondering how the dress looks when sewn up as intended for View B, here’s a few dressform in-progress photos from before and after I gown-ified it:

And a close-up of the knot detail:

I finished with just enough time to pack the dress and head out the door to the airport… you know, as one does. So I only managed a few photos on the night of the party:

But I’ve got some more photos to document the dress now that it’s nearly a month later and I’ve finally had one weekend that’s not totally busy and insane…

It was a wild bit of sewing last month, but I’m so happy with how the dress turned out!

Pattern Review

Pattern Description: This is a fitted twist front knit dress with sleeve and hem length variations. View A has an elbow-length sleeve with a mini skirt, View B has a t-shirt length sleeve with a calf-length hem and front slit, and View C has a t-shirt length sleeve with a maxi length hem and front slit. The pattern is the same as McCall’s 8339, but 8339 has the traditional sizes and 8340 has the expanded size ranges. Sadly, this pattern is now out of print.

Pattern Sizing: McCall’s 8340 comes in size ranges 20W-28W or 30W-38W. The sister pattern McCall’s 8339 comes in sizes 4-12 and 12-20 if you are looking for the smaller size options. I made a blend of the 20’s sizing – I used the 20W at the neckline, a 24W at the bust, and a 28W at the hip to the hem. I couldn’t really figure out how to do an FBA looking at the pattern pieces, but I think blending the sizes the way I did was successful without getting too obsessed with the details of how to do a “proper” FBA on this pattern.

Were the instructions easy to follow?  The instructions are very straightforward and easy to follow. Mimi G also has a video tutorial on YouTube (under the M8339 pattern number) which is helpful if you need to see how the knot detail is formed. I did find that sewing the v-point on the front of the neck facing was a bit tricky, but I think it might also have been my choice of fabric (stretch velvet) that made it just a bit more difficult than it should have been to sew that one specific portion of the dress. I found the rest of the construction to be very simple.

Did it look like the photo/drawing when you were done with it?  Yes, I think it looks a lot like the model photo and the line drawings!

What did you particularly like/dislike about the pattern?  I love the style of this dress – I think it looks fabulous. I also really like that it is made for a knit, which makes it really easy to sew. I also like that the elastic casing is just in the back; its adds a bit of snugness without being tight around the stomach. I think the instructions are also really easy to follow. For the dislikes, I did think it was a bit tricky to figure out where to blend between sizes to get the best options for fit, and I found sewing the neck facing a bit tricky at the front point. If I had been using a different kind of fabric I would have used a different technique to finish off the neckline.

Fabric used: I used stretch velvet for the main part of the dress, and added a metallic stretch mesh flounce to make the design full length, with the plan to remove it later so I can have just the View B dress in the velvet.

Pattern alterations or design changes you made:  I blended between sizes to get a better fit, but otherwise my only design change was to add a flounce to turn it into a full length gown to wear to an event. I basted on the flounce so I can easily remove it later if desired. I also ran out of the velvet fabric, so I had to piece together a tiny bit on the back of the sleeves to have enough, but I don’t think the seam it too noticeable. Lack of fabric is also why I added a flounce instead of just making a full-length version.

Would you sew this again?  Would you recommend it to others?  Yes, I absolutely need to sew this again! I think I need a casual version of this dress, and I want to make the full-length maxi version. And maybe another velvet version in another color. I’m pretty sure I’ve decided this dress is going to be my entire personality because I’m a bit obsessed. I would definitely recommend this pattern to others if you can find a copy. The fact that the sizes range from 4-38W makes it an easy recommendation to everyone too, because the size range is really expansive, especially for the Big 4/1 patterns.

Conclusion:  I love it! I made this as a bit of panic sewing when it became clear my other plans for this event were going to take too long to execute. I ran into some challenges (not having enough fabric being the primary issue), but I think I was able to overcome them and end up with a really fabulous dress!