There is nothing like a new dress to boost your mood. This pink dress checks all my style boxes; pink, floral, flattering, modest, dress, etc. I’ve now made McCall’s 7974 two times and I am not against making it again. It is an amazing pattern. It fit me straight out of the envelope (but I did whip up a quick muslin to check before I made it). I constructed it slightly different than the envelope instructions in a few parts with the goal of nice finishing on the inside. Ex. burrito method for the yoke, french seams, hong kong seam finishing on the facing and button band. I documented the process and made a full sewing tutorial. Enjoy!
Sewing Tutorial
Raising the Neckline
To raise the neckline I added a little wedge to the the front of the bodice. In the picture you can see the tan paper addition. I drew a straight line up from the bottom of the neckline, parallel to the center front line. I added enough to be able to put one more (correctly spaced) button and additional seam allowance. You can see the little “X” I added at the top of the center front line. It almost touches the old cutting line. The dot I added on the tan paper is a new match point. I adjusted the facing pattern piece to match the bodice adjustments. Pattern piece #6 has NO changes. The small adjustment made a big difference for my fit preferences. I hope this helps if you are hoping to make a similar adjustment.
Details & Links
The pink floral fabric is from fabric.com. The mother-of-pearl buttons are from kabooco on Etsy. The pattern is McCall’s 7974.
The dress looks great! I have this pattern but forgot about it so I haven’t made it yet. This got me excited to make it, though!
You definitely should add it to your sewing plans. It is a great dress!
This dress looks wonderful! I am curious if you used any of your knowledge on making fitting adjustments while constructing this dress or if you left it as is. It looks like it fits like a glove! Thanks for sharing
I made a quick muslin of the bodice and it fit perfectly, so I didn’t need to make any adjustments when I made it the first time. This pink dress was my second time making the dress and all I did differently than the pattern was raise the neckline a little bit so I could add one more button.
I absolutely love the raised neckline that you did! I have started watching your video but I do not see where you have shown how you alter the pattern at the neckline. Looking at the comments, I see that you said (about five months ago), that you would add it to your blog, an illustration I guess? Is that somewhere I can locate it…I’ve been able unable to find it on my own. Thank you for your time!
I recently updated this blog post with photos of the alteration on the pattern. Scroll down to see them. I hope it helps!
Thanks for sharing your modifications on this pattern. I wanted to do it for a wedding, and now I can take into account your thoughts to make a better version!
By the way, your version is stunning.
Thank you so much! I hope the video and modification notes help. Best wishes!