McCall’s 7920

A few months ago, inspiration hit and I wanted to whip up a dress for one of our monthly ballroom dancing socials. Personally, good dresses for these dance events have a slim skirt, ease in the shoulders/sleeves and are breezy or breathable.

In 2022 I had the PDF version of the sweet tea dress McCall’s 7920 printed out, assembled and toiled but then never actually made. It’s a great dress that people often overlook because it says “petite” on the front of the envelope. IT IS NOT JUST FOR PETITE PEOPLE… sorry for shouting. This is a pattern with quick adjustment lines to reduce height in the best places for petite people. As I’m 5ft 4 with a short torso, I used these lines. You don’t have to though!

When I realised there was the perfect fabric in my stash I made the dress in a day! This is view B without the centre back skirt seam; my fabric was wide enough to cut on the fold. And I didn’t include pockets to keep the skirt silhouette sleek and smooth.

The grown on sleeves make it incredible quick to sew and a beginner friendly pattern. The most common thing I see though with these types of sleeves is a “pucker” aka upward turn at the very end of the sleeve. This occurs because the straight seam of the sleeve goes over the rounded shoulder and down the arm. Trimming down the seam allowance is a very small amount can help.

This bubble textured crepe features cherries in pink and coral on a black base. Shiny black buttons, also from my stash, worked perfectly. I’m pretty pleased with it! Except for one thing; I can’t decide on the length. Perhaps it would look nicer shorter? Something to decide on after a few more wears.