Easy Stitch N’ Save M9007 by McCall’s

Hello my friends! I’m so excited to Welcome a new month! I love November! Mostly, I love everything about the Fall season. I was recently in a local Joann Fabrics & Craft store and was greeted when I walked into the front door by the smell of fresh cinnamon pine cones! I just adore that smell! Don’t you? When I was standing in line to complete my purchase of a few select fabrics one customer commented that the cinnamon pinecones were overwhelming and she hated coming into Joann’s during this time of season. I marveled and thought to myself “I couldn’t disagree with you more lady!”

She went on to talk about how the cinnamon has a negative effect on her sinuses. I thought to myself… poor lady. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t enjoy the fragrant and calming smells of Fall. I am so sad that this season is halfway over! 😦

 Today’s blog post features a pattern review of the Easy Stitch N’ Save M9007 pattern by McCall’s. I purchased this pattern from Walmart for $4.97, and the fabrics that I chose for this sewing projects were purchased from fabricmartsfabric.com.

So far, I have made two dresses with this pattern and I plan to make at least one more dress in a solid color. 

The first dress that I made with this pattern is featured in this black and white leopard print, and I added a solid black fabric for the sleeves. You might remember seeing this print in an earlier post on this blog. I made a peplum shirt from the Easy Stitch N’ Save pattern M9009. You can read about that make here.

The second dress that I made with this pattern is featured in this floral double brushed print that I recently purchased from fabric mart. I absolutely love this print! I was so hesitant to cut into this fabric because I wanted to be sure to pick the perfect pattern for this fabric. Although I’m still not sure whether I’ve made the right choice, I do like the close-fitting/slim silhouette that this pattern offers, and I think the floral print enhances the beauty of the dress. 

Pattern Review: 

Pattern Description: 

The Easy Stitch N’ Save M9007 pattern by McCall’s is a pattern that consists of 6 variations that includes close-fitting pullover dresses with 3 sleeve variations and a v neck band. 

The pattern calls for knit fabrics such as jersey, cotton, novelty, and interlock knit fabrics. 

This pattern also has two neckline variations that consist of a high round neckline and a low-cut v neckline. 

Instructions: 

There’s not much I can say about the instructions for this pattern. They are very easy to read and follow and beginner friendly. The instructions consist of 20 + easy to read steps. Since the pattern only have 3-4 pieces, you really don’t need to follow the instructions. Both the back and the front dress pieces are cut on a fold, so you don’t have to use a zipper or button for closure. 

Fabric Choice: 

As I mentioned above, I chose a black and white leopard print and sold black fabric for the first dress, and a floral double brushed knit print for the second dress. Both fabrics were purchased at fabricmartfabrics.com

Alterations & Adjustments: 

The alterations and adjustments that I’ve made to my dresses are minimal. I did an adjustment to the sleeves (shortening the sleeves about 3 inches), and I added a contrast band on the sleeve of the leopard print dress for contrast and detail.

Since the round neckline variation didn’t come with a neck facing or band, I decided to make my own neck facing for this variation. The pattern say to turn the fabric around the neckline inward and sew the neckline at 3/8″ seam allowance. Instead, I self-drafted a facing and sewed the facing to the neckline at 3/8″ SA. I then turned the facing inward and sewed it down at 3/8″ SA. 

Then I made the variation with the v neckline, which included a pattern for a neckband. I didn’t do any alterations or adjustments with this pattern.

I also cut 2 pieces for the back piece of the leopard print dress, instead of cutting it on the fold as the directions say. I did this to avoid wasting so much of my fabric. I sewed the two back pieces together at 3/8″ SA. Really, there was no difference and the extra seam didn’t effect the size of the dress at all.

The variation that I chose to make is B, which is the long ankle length, long sleeve variation. 

Likes & Dislikes: 

Honestly, there’s nothing that I dislike about this pattern. It is a very simple pattern that is easy to make with very easy to ready instructions. So it’s hard to dislike a pattern like this.

I like that this pattern includes 6 variations! I don’t like redrafting or adding to a pattern because it takes too much time, especially for “easy” patterns. So when a pattern comes with so many variations, I’m very please!

Recommendations: 

The pattern calls for about 2 yards of fabric. I would recommend for you to purchase 2.5 yards of fabric if you plan to make view B, especially for those individuals who are tall and need to lengthen their dress patterns.

I would also recommend using a medium weight knit. I have found that very light weight silky knits is not so suitable for this pattern. The leopard print dress is made with a very silky light weight fabric. Although it turned out good it could’ve definitely been better if I chose a heavier weight fabric. Because the fabric is so drapy and silky, the neckline stretched out of place a little, even though I took all of the necessary precautions to prevent the neckline from stretching.

You are most likely going to need to make adjustments to the sleeves if you’re short like me. I had to shorten the sleeves by 3″ and use a 1″ hem allowance.

Lastly, I would most definitely recommend that you make a mock-up for this pattern before cutting into your most expensive fabrics. Mostly, I have found that this pattern is made to be very close-fitting, not form fitting or loose. Thus, you could possibly go up or down a size depending on your preference. If you are looking to make a more form fitting dress, I would recommend that you go down a size.

I made a size 14, and I still have room to go down a size if I wanted. The pattern’s finished measurements for a size 14 are 36″ bust, 33″ waist, and 38″ hips. I found this size to be perfect for me even though my current measurements are 38, 35, 40.

Ok! That’s it for this blog post! But there will always be more! Stay tuned for updates of my November Sewing Makes. As always, thank you for reading the blog! Until next time, 

STAY CREATIVE!

-Tea