Pattern Review - McCalls 7166

As mentioned in my last post, I'm on a hard and fast mission to pad out my winter wardrobe and this skirt is a happy consequence of that. In casting my pattern-yielding net a little wider, I've been pouring over the commercial pattern websites in a way I haven't done for a really, really long time. Actually, the break has been kinda nice because I've stumbled across a whole lot of new and not-so-new releases that have never crossed my pattern path before. And this - McCall's 7166 (by Melissa Watson for Palmer/Pletsch) - is one of those.

 

I had the pattern for a good few weeks before I settled on a fabric. Because of the gathers, I knew I couldn't go with anything too thick but I still wanted a winter skirt. Colette and I shared very deep, very important conversations about whether or not my ultimate fabric would work - Candy Hail (also available in Steel) - and then Silva (aka The Genius!) suggested that I run the skirt part off grain so the ottoman texture of the jacquard would work with, rather than against, the gathers. You can see what I mean in these photos...

The final result was a skirt which sits beautifully and has enough body to hold the full shape of the gathers. And that fullness perfectly complements the slim fit of the dropped waist and fitted yoke. I wavered a bit on whether or not to self-line the yoke as I thought it might be too thick. In the end, I rolled with it and love the result. There's a bit of corset action going on here and fortunately not in an uncomfortable way. It all just...works.

Initially, I made it in the longer length (View C) but it just didn't suit me with all the volume created by the fabric. It felt like there was way too much going on for my short stature so perhaps I'll give it another go in a lighter fabric for the warmer months. The pattern actually recommends challis (like rayon or viscose), crepes and crepe de chines which would all be dreamy, for sure.