McCalls 7969- A Very Bohemian Billowy Sleeved Dress

McCalls 7969 is described as a very loose-fitting, pullover dress. It has 4 sleeve variations and a raised waistline. It is a good pattern for the beginner or advanced beginner because it’s an easy pattern to sew together. There is bias binding for the neckline as well as binding for the sleeves (if you choose View A which is the view with the billowy sleeves). There is also gathering for the top part of the skirt.

My very bohemian billowy sleeved dress was made using view A, which is the most popular view in the sewing community. The sleeves are full and big and billowy. The hem of the front sleeve is slightly higher than the hem of the back sleeve. I really like that detail. In fact, the sleeves are my favorite part. It’s the main attraction of this dress. I also really like how the bias binding at the neckline pulls the wrap bodice altogether. I think it has a very clean and neat look.

I used a rayon woven fabric that I purchased at the beginning of this year from L.A. Finch Fabrics. It’s described as Abstract Bohemian.

Before making this dress, I read a few reviews. Many sewists stated that the neckline is very low. So I made the cross over at the bodice a little tighter so that the neckline wouldn’t be too revealing.

This dress is described as a very loose fitting dress and that is 100% true. This dress runs big. In fact, I believe you can probably size down and I believe many people who made this dress actually did. I wasn’t able to size down since I bought a large. The envelope only contained sizes L, XL and XXL. The large was the smallest size of the pattern. If there was an option, I would have made the medium. I ended up taking in about half an inch on both sides of the bodice. I also crossed over the neckline more in order to make a more modest neckline since the original neckline is very deep. I also cut about 6 inches off the skirt to make the gathers less full. I believe the gathers are very full to begin with and I read many reviews of sewists doing the same.

This is my fourth garment made using this pattern. The first one was a dress using the same view A but I hacked it and added ties to the waist. The second one was a hack to make it a blouse. The Very Popular McCalls 7969- A Review and 2 Hacks

The third one was a midi length dress with the ruffles at the end of the sleeves. I call it midi length but for me, it was actually a maxi length dress since I am short.

McCalls 7969- A Ruffled Sleeve Midi Dress

McCalls 7969 – A Dress with a Ruffled Sleeve

This dress is very popular in the sewing community. So many cute makes on Instagram. If you haven’t bought this pattern yet… Join us…

Happy sewing!

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