McCall’s 8237 -Fall Leaves!

Photos below!

Hello everyone and thank you for stopping by the Blogl! My name is Talisha and I also go by creativiteebyT, and today I will be sharing GARMENT #1 of my mini Fall wardrobe collection titled FALLING FOR SEWING!!

This collection consists of  five DIFFERENT and NEW garments! 
Not only will I be sharing five different new garments that I made, but I collaborated with another sewist, Ellie, of Sallie and Sam Style, and she will be sharing five NEW garments as well!
Ellie does not have a blog, so if you would like to see what she made, you can watch it HERE!

If you would like to see all of my garments in one video, you can click HERE to watch it on my YouTube channel!
So let me tell you a little about this collection that we made.  Ellie and I decided to title this series and/or collection, FALLING FOR SEWING, and make a small collection that consists of two categories! Within our categories we have also given all of our makes a theme or a name that reminds us of something related to this season!
The first category is titled “Fall Essentials”, which has three different garment types: The first garment type is an outerwear, which could be a shacket, a blazer, a coat, a cape or a cardigan or anything of that nature.  The second look is the  perfect Fall dress, and the third look is a pair of Fall pants!
So with that being said, I will share the first look of the  Fall Essentials category!

This first look that I made is titled “Fall Leaves!”
Isn’t that the perfect name for this dress!!! Fall Leaves………….. The fabric that I used for this dress has all the amazing colors of the beautiful foliage of Fall leaves which is why I gave my dress that name!!!

Let’s get into the pattern review, but if you want to hear more, you can watch the video by clicking HERE and photos are below the review!

*Pattern Review 

Pattern Number: McCall’s 8237
Pattern Description: Misses’ tunic and dresses
Views: This pattern has three views, all views have drop shoulders and ruching at waist. View A is the tunic and has long sleeves, View B is the shirt dress that has long sleeves and view C is a shirt dress with short sleeves. All views have a shirttail hem and the dresses are above knee length.
View I Made:  The view that I made is view B
FABRIC Recommendations: Cotton Blends, Crepes, Stable Knits, Poplin
Sewing Skill Level: The skill level is noted as very easy but I believe it should be average due to certain difficulties that you may come across.
The difficulty that one may experience is #1: Constructing button holes, #2: Hemming the shirttail hemline.. That was very challenging and you really have to know what you are doing as a sewist to make sure that it doesn’t bunch up.  I suggest that you put in a basting stitch to pulling the fabric where it rounds out. Another suggestion is to use single fold bias tape to get a clean hem.
Another issue is the back of the neckline.  Once adding the placket to the dress, which is added as one long continuous piece from one end of the dress to the other, it was hard to lay flat… I struggled with this and it took some time to get it straight.  I eventually did get it straight but I had to use heat and bond to keep certain spots in place long enough for me to be able to stitch it down.
Notions Needed: 14 ½ inch buttons for this view (fewer for the other views)
Pattern Sizing: The pattern sizing is from size 6-24
Size that I Cut: The size that I cut was a 20
Pattern Pieces: So, the pattern pieces that I used were the front, the back, the sleeve front, the sleeve back, the sleeve cuff, the back facing and the front facing.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope? Yes, I feel like I achieved the look
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, no issues at all with directions
What did you particularly like about the pattern?  I like the design of the dress in general, the ruching at the waist, the drop shoulders and the sleeves.
What did you particularly dislike about the pattern?  How cumbersome it was to get the neck acing/placket to lay down, no pockets but because the fabric had to be cut at an angle and I used a plaid print, I didn’t add any pockets.
Did I learn any new Techniques: No
Did I have a first time experience: No
Fabric Used:  Fall plaid that is absolutely beautiful!  What I love most about this fabric is that it has so many colors that the Fall Leaves brings! Another surprise in this fabric is that there are hints of gold threads that level the fabric up!!
Fabric Purchased: Hobby Lobby
Buttons Used: Plastic gold buttons from hobby Lobby
Alterations or changes: No
Any modification recommendations: Yes, use bias tape to hem the shirttail hemline
Would you recommend it to others? Yes! I think this is such a great pattern, but it did take longer than expected to make it. It seems like it will go fast when constructing the front and the back and then it takes much longer from that point.
Availability: This pattern came out in 2021 and it is now out of print, but it can be found on Amazon, Etsy, Ebay, etc.
Pairings:. I paired my dress with my gold accessories to match the gold in my dress and my brown boots. The leggings came from Old Navy.
Writstlet made by me.