It might be November 2nd but uh… Happy Halloween?! Better late than never I guess. I made this dress back in September for a fun fall-themed evening at the Magic Kingdom. I have my friend Jess (@enasbazaar on Instagram) to thank for the McCalls 8108 pattern recommendation! She made an adorable version of this dress with some Snow White fabric and I fell in love. Puff sleeves, square neckline, mini hemline (ok, ok, the last one is *not* in my usual rotation) Either way, I was getting major Selkie vibes from this silhouette and decided to make my own version!
I always like to check the hashtag for each pattern on Instagram (see #McCalls8108 and #M8108) to see it in action. After some sleuthing, it seemed like a few sewists were having trouble with gaping at the bodice for McCalls 8108. I’m never in the mood to insert a zipper so I decided to draft a tie back and use elastic for the skirt waist band instead (more details on that below). This gave me a bit of wiggle room to fit the bodice as needed.
One last note about this pattern. I have fairly broad shoulders and still found that the sleeves would slip off if I wasn’t standing with great posture. This might be a sneaky way to trick myself into standing with my shoulders back (worth a try, right?!) Realistically, I’m just going to add another tie at the top to match the existing one and keep the sleeves up. That’ll wait until next year’s spooky szn though…
PATTERN: McCalls 8108, View B (with modifications – see below!) – you can buy it here.
FABRIC: 100% Cotton
MODIFICATIONS: Omitted the back zip and added self ties and an elastic waist for the skirt instead. I the existing back bodice pattern pieces and then extended them out to a point. This youtube video from Jess Dang has a pretty comprehensive overview of how to put a bodice like this together and I found it super helpful! I also shortened the hem a bit (still not 100% sure how I feel about that decision…)
DRESS: Made By Me!
SHOES: Nordstrom (old)
Let me know if you’ve made this pattern before – I’d love to hear how it went for you! Interested in my other sewing projects? Check them out here 🙂