Hacking the M7969 sewing pattern (to prevent gaping neckline)
It’s 2022 and I finally made the cult classic in the Instagram sewing community - the McCalls 7969! Today, I am sharing my process of hacking the M7969 sewing pattern to prevent gaping neckline (i.e. so I don’t flash my boobs).
Sewing the McCalls 7969
Fabric
This pale green floral fabric is a piece of standard fitted bedsheet that I found in a thrift store last year. I chose this fabric to sew my very first M7969 sewing project because: (1) it has a nice drape which I thought would be ideal for the big sleeves and the gathered skirt; (2) it’s cute BUT not my favourite print + colour combination which makes it a nice toile fabric candidate.
It’s a huuuuge sleeve pattern piece!!
Pattern
Honestly, despite having seen SO MANY versions of the McCalls 7969 sewing pattern swimming around on my Instagram feed for so long, I didn’t think I would make it. Then, I found out that Minerva is giving out the digital version of this sewing pattern for free AND I needed a palate cleanser after my big A/W capsule sewing extravaganza. So, here I am.
(At the time of writing, Minerva is still giving out the sewing pattern for free with newsletter sign up)
Sewing notes and modifications
This is how I sewed this version of the McCalls 7969 to fit my body (5' 2" / 157cm and B31 W25/26 H37):
Preparing the paper pattern
The McCalls 7969 digital sewing pattern came up to be a total of 50 pages long (US letter, XS - M sizes). Being me, I didn’t want to use 50 sheets of paper. Moreover, the skirt is really just a large piece of rectangle and I knew I was going to modify the pattern to fit the yardage I have with my floral bedsheet. So, I omitted printing a number of pages of the paper pattern.
Pattern pieces that I cut out for sewing the M7969 in XS marked with pink dots
Modifying the bodice
When I started sewing the M7969, I was SO SURE that I would end up with a bodice that is big and gaping, like what everyone was saying. However, I ended up with the bodice front seemingly a little too small. Why, I do not know. I know I printed the pattern at 100% scale. However, I also know I didn’t cut the neck binding on the bias to save on yardage. But, would it make such a big difference?
To be honest, I think it would have still worked if I had left it as it was. However, my gut told me that the flat, empire waistline is NOT a look for my chest and my frame.
P.S.: This gut is from years of experience sewing for my itties bitties
So, I decided to gather the bottom of the bodice to make a more defined bodice and to give my itty bitties a little bit more contour. More importantly, this gathering along the underbust also helps to make the V-neckline sit closer to the skin, aka no flashing!
Modifying the skirt
I cut the pattern in size XS and cut my fabric using the following pattern pieces:
bodice front
bodice back
sleeve
sleeve binding
neck binding
Then, to make the skirt pattern piece, I used the remaining fabric to cut out 2 big pieces of rectangle. With the standard fitted sheet and cutting the abovementioned pattern pieces in XS, I was able to get 2 pieces of 41.5” x 29.5” rectangles.
This meant that my skirt length would be ~29.5” long from the bottom edge of the bottom, excluding seam allowance.
Then, somewhere down the line, I decided that a skirt length of 29.5” would be too long for me, so I chopped off more of the big rectangles to make ruffles for the bottom of the skirt. I ended up with the following:
Skirt: 41.5” x 19.5” rectangles (x 2 pieces)
Ruffles: 41.5” x 5” strips (x 2 pieces)
Tip: If you are trying to do the same hack, you just need to make sure the width of your rectangle is at least 1.5x the width of the bottom edge of your bodice so the skirt gathers nicely. For a more dramatic look (especially with more lightweight fabrics like cotton voile), make the rectangle up to 2x wider!
How to hack the McCalls 7969 (so you don’t flash your boobs)
So, here’s my steps to sewing and hacking the McCalls 7969 so I don’t flash my boobs:
Sewing the bodice and sleeves
Sewed the sleeves, bodice, and binding as per pattern BUT leaving an opening on left side seam (below underarm seam) to insert zipper
Gathered the bodice front on my own body and marked gathers with a tailor’s chalk
Sewed basting stitches following the marking for the bodice gathers
Noted the side seam opening for zipper insertion. Roughly 1/2” was sewn from the underarm point.
Note the gathered underbust line
Tip: I made sure my basting stitches sit RIGHT BELOW my bustline.
Sewing the skirt
Sewed the 2 ruffle strips together along the short ends to make one extra long loop of fabric, then finished one long edge with a double-fold hem
Sewed the 2 big skirt pieces together along the side seams, leaving an opening on the top left side seam for zipper insertion
Attached the ruffles to the bottom edge of the skirt piece
Sewing the McCalls 7969 dress together
Put the modified bodice on my own body, overlapped the V-neckline and marked a line where the underbust / empire line would sit. Pinned overlap in place.
Sewed the skirt to the bodice
Inserted a zipper on the left
Overlapped the neckline and marked the underbust line
Removed the pinned bodice over my head to make sure the head opening was still big enough for my head to go through!
And that’s it!
Some limitations to this M7969 hack
While this method of adjusting the bodice helps the neckline to sit closer to the body and reduce the issue of the gape when bending over, it doesn’t solve the problem completely!
This adjustment also slightly lowers the neckline, which is fine for my non-existent cleavage. But if you have bigger breasts, then you need to consider the pros and cons of possibly showing more cleavage while reducing gape.
Will I sew the McCalls 7969 again?
Ahhhh… I had so much hope for this sewing pattern. I was even planning to do a “10 ways to hack the M7969 sewing pattern” big project. Alas, it’s not meant to be.
I see the beauty of this pattern and I get why people love it. Unfortunately, it’s not my style. I love the big sleeves but it seems a little too much on my frame. Overall, it’s my favourite but it was a fun palate cleanser sewing project for me!
What about you? How many M7969 have you made? ;)
Passed the boob flash test!
