Hitting the Wrap Dress Jackpot; Sewing Sasha McCalls M8036

Simple to sew; Easy to wear; Options for styling.

A wrap dress is a year round staple for me. Easy to get on and off, wiggle room in fit, and an elegant look.

After buying this viscose crepe from Rainbow fabric (a Nobody’s Child deadstock) I settled on the Sasha Mccalls M8036 pattern in view B to give me the Sezane cool French girl I aspire to.

From looking at the body measurements chart, my bust size put me into a 12 bust and 14 waist, but I know from experience with McCalls patterns, it is better to check the final measurements which are noted on the pattern pieces, and select according to that.

From this and a quick pattern measure to double check ease, I decided on a size 10 shoulder/bust, graded to a 12 at the waist/hip.

A benefit of the McCalls patterns is that they provide the location of the bust apex, waistline and hipline on the pattern pieces.

A common adjustment for me is the need to shorten the front bodice between the shoulder and bust point.

Marking the shoulder seam allowance, I measured the distance between the shoulder to the bust point. As I suspected, this was far too long for me and would cause the neckline to gape. I needed to reduce this pattern by 2cm in length in this area. Usually, I would try to make this adjustment below the armsyce. That wasn’t possible on this pattern, so I needed to make a corresponding adjustment to the sleeve pattern.

I marked the seam allowance to sleeve head and front bodice armsyche. I then measured the distance from the front notch to where the adjustment was made, and marked the same distance on the sleeve pattern.

I then cut a horizontal line, perpendicular to the grainline;

• Starting from the front, stopping at the *seam allowance* at the back of the armscye. (Marked with a double notch).
• Then, snipping carefully into the seam allowance from the back of the sleeve head, just shy of meeting the previously cut line, which leaves a small hinge/pivot point.
• I then marked the reduction point at the front of the sleeve. (2cm)
• Using the pivot point at the rear, reduced the front of sleeve head by sliding the sleeve head down by 2cm, (on the right of the pattern piece shown) the back of the sleeve remains the same height.

Now it was just the front bodice facing to adjust to match the new neckline.

Sewing the pattern was quite straightforward for me as someone with a fair amount of garment sewing experience. As ever for McCalls, the instructions are quite sparse, and leave out some important direction for things like finishing seams.

I love the overall style of this dress. The pleats give a clean look to the silhouette, even if I did have to rip out and start the sleeves again more times than I care to share! (Pleats get the best of me EVERY time!)

I like the fullness of the sleeve, but there doesn’t seem to be enough volume to give the gathers a nice density into the sleeve binding. It is possible that the bias cut binding stretched out and next time I would make it smaller so the gathers look more intentional.

Overall, I love this dress! It is exactly the kind of thing I like to have on hand to wear year round, and there are plenty of styling opportunities. I like that the wrap is not too low and the skirt is a nice length for me.