This is my second McCalls M8009 playsuit. I enjoyed both making and wearing my first one so much that I wanted to make another. The pattern is the perfect combination of both fitted and loose in different areas so really fun to put together.
I made sure that I moved the bust gathers by 1.5cm inwards towards the centre front, so that the gathers were sitting in the correct position and not disappearing towards my under arms. I did do this on my last version, but I didn't transfer this to my pattern pieces, but I now feel I can commit this alteration to the pattern. This also means moving the pattern marking dots on the midriff piece 1.5 cm inwards towards the centre front as well, so that the pieces will match up.
I really love the fabric print. I've seen this fun viscose challis advertised on Minerva quite a few times and it keeps catching my eye. I initially wondered if I could get away with it being a little bit halloweeny, but I think I can pull this off. It's such a fun print! I love how playful both the pattern and fabric are, so I think they compliment each other really well. I did spend quite a lot of time getting the pattern placement right when I was cutting out the pattern pieces. I cut everything out on a single layer as I didn't want skull nipples or a skeleton disappearing into my crotch. I also wanted an even distribution of the pattern across the garment, making sure I didn't have the same skeletons on the bust pieces or a skeleton slap-bang in the middle of the midriff piece.
The fabric is really soft and comfortable to wear. It's easy to sew with, although you do have to keep an eye on it when sewing to make sure it doesn't stretch out as it is so light. I like to use a pointer or the edge of my embroidery scissors to help evenly feed the top layer of fabric into the machine.
Due to its drapey nature, it gathered really well so this was a nice pattern to use!
Initially I was going to make the version of the playsuit with sleeves. I ordered some plain black chiffon from Minerva with this in mind. I tacked in one sleeve and tried on, created an Instargra poll to ask my followers the big question "SLEEVE OR NO SLEEVE?". 80% said sleeve, with over 60 votes..... So naturally I did the contrary and decided to go sleeveless! No, really I have never got on with puff sleeves, and the gathering at the sleeve cap in this pattern was just a bit too much for me. I did consider altering the pattern and taking out the volume, but I just knew in my heart that I would get loads more wear out of this if I went sleeveless. I do however really like the gathers at the cuff of the sleeve and do intend to use the two sleeve pieces that I have made with a different pattern. Perhaps the shirt with puff sleeves?? Watch this space!
Instead of using lining fabric, this time I cut the lining from the same fabric. As a result, this version has a lot more drape than the first version, which used quite a tough lining. It fits a little bit more softly and is more comfortable to wear.
I put the invisible zip in with just less than 1.5cm seam allowance in the back, so the zipper tape just covers the raw edge of the centre back - which I did overlock so threads didn't get caught in the zip. I then folded and hand stitched the top of the zipper tape to the inside. I always like to pin then tack my zips before stitching to ensure accuracy.
This pattern features a lot of gathering, which is quite fun once you get the hang of it. I set the machine to about 3.5 stitch width and loosened the tension as I found with a larger stitch width the gathers are a little bit too baggy. With 3.5 you get a good amount of movement when you start pulling the gathering threads but the gathers are a little bit tighter.
After deciding to omit the sleeves I made my own bias binding out of the fabric. I cut 2 strips that were 3cm wide and 50cm long (a little longer than I needed for the armholes but it's good to have more to play with). I made a template of the binding piece using a strip of cereal packet, and placed this at a 45 degree angle on the fabric using a set square, so I could get this as accurate as possible. I then folded the fabric strip in half to mark the centre, folded the raw edges into the middle, pressed as I went along and then stitched the fold along the seamline of the armholes. I made the armholes a little bit deeper to make up for having taken extra fabric in at the sideseam. I didn't do this on my first version of the playsuit but I had found that the armholes were slightly too tight. I used the sleeve piece to work out how much fabric I needed to take out at the bottom of my armhole, matching the sleeve notches and then positioning the bottom of the sleeve against the underarm until it sat flat. I then drew the new curve using the sleeve as a guide.
Once I'd sticthed the binding to the armholes I understitched the seam allowance to stop the binding from flipping out, and then slipstitched the folded edge by hand to the inside of the bodice. I didn't particularly enjoy doing this but it prevents the stitching from being seen from the right side.
I did a narrow hem around the bottom of the shorts again to stop them from being too short. To do this I just overlocked the raw edge then pressed the overlocking under and hemmed at about 3mm from the edge. Mistakenly I didn't change the tension on the overlocker for using a single layer of fabric instead of double. I need to be mindful of this next time to avoid any bunching.
I really love the fit of this playsuit. I think it was a good decision not to use a slippy lining fabric as I think using the skeleton fabric gives it a really casual, summery feel. I did use light interfacing on the midriff facing piece, maybe I could have used a tiny strip along the neckline for extra stability, but it fits so well as it is and there are no gaping issues at all.
I highly recommend the fabric and the pattern. I'd be intrigued to see if anyone has made a version with the sleeves and if they can pull off the poof better than I could!
x
Location: Eyam, Derbyshire
Currently listening to: We're Just Making It Worse, Cameron Avery + Alexandra Savoir
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