McCall's M8479 (2024), base skirt
2025-Feb-26, Wednesday 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chebeMcCall's M8479 is a woven short skirt pattern with faux-wrap options. I was having a hard time understanding how all the pieces went together, so I made a 'base' version of the skirt with the most common pieces and without any of the wrap choices, which isn't technically an option provided. It is closest to View A, but without the over-wrap half skirt (read on for explanation of this).
But first, why a skirt pattern? Well, simply, I need basic/versatile skirt options to fill a gap in my wardrobe. And this skirt pattern has a fly front zipper, which I haven't tried before. Skirts use less material even than shorts, so it's a lower stakes way to practice. And I really couldn't figure out what they were doing, without examining the pattern pieces closely. Curiosity, basically.
What I figured out is that there is a kind of base skirt made up of;
- 1 Front x2,
- 2 Right Fly Facing x1,
- 3 Left Fly x1,
- 7 Right Front Waistband x2,
- 8 Left Front Waistband x2,
- 11 Back x1,
- 12 Back Waistband x2.
The Right and Left Front Waistband pieces are not symmetrical. And to make it a useful skirt I added the front patch pockets;
- 4 Front Pocket (for View A) x2,
- 5 Front Pocket Facing (for View A) x2.
View A then is the above plus;
- 6 Left Tab,
- 9 Wrap,
- 10 Front Belt.
The 9 Wrap piece is sewn into the right side-seam of the base skirt when assembling, and closed with the 'belt' waistband through the tab and d-rings.
View B is the base skirt, a pleated wrap piece attached the same way, the View B pocket option, as well as back pockets.
View C is most of the base skirt, except you only cut the right 1 Front piece. The left front piece is replaced with a pleated piece. And the View C wrap (which is similar but different to the View A wrap), with different closure. And again there are different pocket options.
Starting with a size 24 I measured pattern pieces 1 Front and 11 Back at waist, hip, and length, and made some flat adjustments;
For 1 Front;
- ignored the darts (4 Front Pocket top edge also needs smoothing out),
- removed -1.5cm at centre-front (-3cm total, which is just the dart width at waist, but throughout the length),
- moved the fly markings in 1.5cm.
For 11 Back;
- extended the dart point 4.5cm lower,
- cut and slashed the centre-back near the hem and added +5cm length at centre-back, tapering to nothing at side-seam, and smoothed the curve out with a French Curve ruler.
I made a mockup, with a front cut on the fold, and with a side zip. This is where I realised I needed to extend the back darts, but otherwise it fit well, so I moved on to the real fabric.
The fabric is a bit of a mystery as I bought it in person at deep discount from WM Trimmings Fashion City premises. It might be designer dead stock. It might not. The burn test suggests a blend. I used Gütermann thread colour 701, one grey 5/8" button, a black metal zipper, and some interfacing.
I discovered that the QR code on the pattern doesn't go anywhere. It bounces you back to the base McCalls page. So I searched and found how to sew a fly front zipper the McCall's way, using a different pattern. (While looking up the pattern website, after the fact, I found a sewalong video, strangely up on Simplicity channel.)
I took my time, doing each section over a number of days, piecing together which bits of the instructions actually applied to my common-denominator base skirt. It went pretty well, except. The hem allowance is supposed to be 1.75"/4.5cm, but that would have made this skirt really short. Instead I did a twice-turned hem at about 1cm (2cm total). And I messed up the front waistband. I finished most of it by hand, and slip-stitch at that. Remember that they aren't symmetrical? I think I put the interfacing on the wrong side (i.e. on the inner instead of the outer left and right waistband pieces), so the longer piece is on the outside instead of the inside, and the edges don't line up with the right and left front pieces. I made it work, though don't ask to look under the button.
I do plan to make one of the actual views at some point. Hopefully I'll get the waistband right, though with a wrap piece on top any mistakes there would be more hidden. The back is slightly too long, and the curve at the side-seams isn't quite right, but I can live with them. Though I do think I'd like to lengthen the whole skirt a couple of inches. It gets very short when sitting.
But first, why a skirt pattern? Well, simply, I need basic/versatile skirt options to fill a gap in my wardrobe. And this skirt pattern has a fly front zipper, which I haven't tried before. Skirts use less material even than shorts, so it's a lower stakes way to practice. And I really couldn't figure out what they were doing, without examining the pattern pieces closely. Curiosity, basically.
The Pattern
What I figured out is that there is a kind of base skirt made up of;
- 1 Front x2,
- 2 Right Fly Facing x1,
- 3 Left Fly x1,
- 7 Right Front Waistband x2,
- 8 Left Front Waistband x2,
- 11 Back x1,
- 12 Back Waistband x2.
The Right and Left Front Waistband pieces are not symmetrical. And to make it a useful skirt I added the front patch pockets;
- 4 Front Pocket (for View A) x2,
- 5 Front Pocket Facing (for View A) x2.
View A then is the above plus;
- 6 Left Tab,
- 9 Wrap,
- 10 Front Belt.
The 9 Wrap piece is sewn into the right side-seam of the base skirt when assembling, and closed with the 'belt' waistband through the tab and d-rings.
View B is the base skirt, a pleated wrap piece attached the same way, the View B pocket option, as well as back pockets.
View C is most of the base skirt, except you only cut the right 1 Front piece. The left front piece is replaced with a pleated piece. And the View C wrap (which is similar but different to the View A wrap), with different closure. And again there are different pocket options.
Fitting
Starting with a size 24 I measured pattern pieces 1 Front and 11 Back at waist, hip, and length, and made some flat adjustments;
For 1 Front;
- ignored the darts (4 Front Pocket top edge also needs smoothing out),
- removed -1.5cm at centre-front (-3cm total, which is just the dart width at waist, but throughout the length),
- moved the fly markings in 1.5cm.
For 11 Back;
- extended the dart point 4.5cm lower,
- cut and slashed the centre-back near the hem and added +5cm length at centre-back, tapering to nothing at side-seam, and smoothed the curve out with a French Curve ruler.
I made a mockup, with a front cut on the fold, and with a side zip. This is where I realised I needed to extend the back darts, but otherwise it fit well, so I moved on to the real fabric.
Construction
The fabric is a bit of a mystery as I bought it in person at deep discount from WM Trimmings Fashion City premises. It might be designer dead stock. It might not. The burn test suggests a blend. I used Gütermann thread colour 701, one grey 5/8" button, a black metal zipper, and some interfacing.
I discovered that the QR code on the pattern doesn't go anywhere. It bounces you back to the base McCalls page. So I searched and found how to sew a fly front zipper the McCall's way, using a different pattern. (While looking up the pattern website, after the fact, I found a sewalong video, strangely up on Simplicity channel.)
I took my time, doing each section over a number of days, piecing together which bits of the instructions actually applied to my common-denominator base skirt. It went pretty well, except. The hem allowance is supposed to be 1.75"/4.5cm, but that would have made this skirt really short. Instead I did a twice-turned hem at about 1cm (2cm total). And I messed up the front waistband. I finished most of it by hand, and slip-stitch at that. Remember that they aren't symmetrical? I think I put the interfacing on the wrong side (i.e. on the inner instead of the outer left and right waistband pieces), so the longer piece is on the outside instead of the inside, and the edges don't line up with the right and left front pieces. I made it work, though don't ask to look under the button.
I do plan to make one of the actual views at some point. Hopefully I'll get the waistband right, though with a wrap piece on top any mistakes there would be more hidden. The back is slightly too long, and the curve at the side-seams isn't quite right, but I can live with them. Though I do think I'd like to lengthen the whole skirt a couple of inches. It gets very short when sitting.
McCall's M8479, finished, back view
Photo by chebe
McCall's M8479, finished, front view
Photo by chebe
