I’ve made 2 versions of the M8036 (also called Sasha McCalls) now and my feelings on it are mostly positive. As far as McCalls patterns go, it’s fairly easy to make and it’s a super cute style! My tie wrap version was much more successful than the button-up version I made, probably mostly due to user error. I’d generally recommend the pattern with just a few small caveats.
Choosing sizing and fabric
I’m always a little bit nervous choosing a size for a McCalls pattern. My measurements are usually lined up with 10/12, but I often find the garments to have too much ease so I size down to 8 or 10. I went with size 10 for the m8036 and just planned on taking it in if necessary. The 10 ended up fitting perfect!
The two versions I made use 2 different woven fabrics. The floral fabric is a viscose crepe that has a really nice flowy drape. The striped is a seersucker that has much more structure and body. Both fabrics suit the pattern really well, they just create a slightly different look. I think the button version of the pattern was easier to do a with more structured fabric and if I do that version again I’ll go the same route.
Sewing the McCalls M8036
The floral version is View B with View C sleeves and the striped version is View C with no modifications.
Overall, this dress is fairly straightforward to sew. I only really had 2 hiccups. The first was the sleeves. I’m 95% sure that I pleated the sleeves in the wrong direction. You can’t really tell on the floral version because the fabric has so much drape. But in the structured version, the sleeves just look kind of off. I wish the directions had been a bit easier to understand on that step. The sleeve is also just slightly too puffy for my liking. I think next time I would redraft the sleeve or just do a gathered sleeve instead of the pleats.
The 2nd issue was that I lost the paper pattern before sewing the buttons on. I ended up just taking a best guess at where the buttons should be, but it led to some visible fit issues in the bust. Overall, I don’t think it ruins the look of the dress too much but I wish I had been able to be more precise. Both of these issues are user error, so I can’t really blame that on the pattern itself.
Final thoughts
Overall, I’m pleased with the results of my dresses. They aren’t perfect, but they are super wearable for a summer day. I love that this pattern can be made dressy or casual really easily based on the fabric used. I could even see myself hacking the pattern to make a cute wrap top. I’m marking this one in my pattern library as a winner!
