McCalls 8240, Polo Pullover

After making a stack of Autumn mini-skirts one after another, I was keenly looking for a new pattern that I hadn't made before that would help to fill a wardrobe gap. Something versatile and comfortable, and ideally fairly easy to sew as I'm feeling a bit out of practice and not massively adventurous right now! 

The McCalls 8240 was the one! I'd already got it saved to my Minerva wishlist, then I stumbled upon it on Vinted for a pound or something silly, so how could I say no? 

I wanted a comfy knit fabric that was going to go with lots of things in my wardrobe (no crazy big print this time round thanks). I found this lovely green knit upstairs on a solo trip to Abakhan Manchester and proceeded to carry it around the city wth me for the rest of the day (with a bundle of other winter knits and wools!) 🥵! 

I cut a straight size 10 and made no adjustments to the pattern. If I made it again I would just take a bit off of the shoulder point on the front and back pieces and then extend the sleeve by that much. An Instagram poll suggested that everyone (bar 4 people) thought that there was nothing wrong with a drop shoulder and it suited the top. I'm inclided to agree with the 4 people who said take the sleeves off and make the adjustment as I don't think the effect is dropped enough for a solid drop shoulder, but I am really happy with the sleeve length so I left them as there were this time around. 

The overlocker whizzed round this green fabric like a dream so the cuffs attached nicely. 

I like that this top will fit nicely over a vest or tee, and jumpers and jackets will fit nicely on top. I think this is item number one of my Spring trip to Berlin holiday wardrobe complete! What's next! 

x
Location: Neepsend
Currently listenting to: You Don't Need a Gun, Billy Idol

McCalls M7575, Grey Stripe Shirt

McCalls M7575, the classic, the original, the blueprint for all office work shirts! 

This stripey fabric was calling out to me from the stash bins in Abakhan. The barcode stripes reminded me of the mandarin collar M7575 I made a few years back, so as unoriginal as it might be, I decided to make another. 

This fabric was well behaved and hangs the way I wanted it too.  I cut out my pieces on a single layer so that I could ensure the stripes on each side mirrored each other. 

I love the thin blue stripe in this fabric! 

I opted again for the mandarin collar as I only have one in my wardrobe and always think it makes a nice change. 

The collar can be done up or left open and looks cool either way 😎 

Paranoid about getting thread runs in my fabric around the button holes, I used fray stop glue on them to keep them nice and secure. 

I really like the fit of this shirt (I think that's clear by now). The only thing I'm not 100% on is the buttons. I think they are perhaps a little too large and dominate the front placket, however I think the purlescent blue sheen brings an extra pop of subtle colour to the grey tones in the shirt. 

Embarrassingly this shirt has been sat in my wardrobe unworn for ages! I think because there's no crazy dogs or bouncey flounces I forget it exists! Here's to barcode shirt's big Spring! 🌷

x

Location: Arundel Street, Sheffield

Currently listening to: Trouble, Sharon Van Etten

So, Zo... Strappy Vest Top II

SO, we've established I'm a big fan of this strappy vest top pattern from Zoe's blog, I'm sure it now comes as no surprise that I want to make loooads more with whatever fabric I have lying around. 

This was my second vest top, which I made 2 years ago! (Another lifetime, literally...) I feel like I've been waiting that long for some proper summer weather, though the vest has now had multiple outings and is a firm travel-fave, fitting into suitcases, lending itself to layering and pairing up with literally any bottom half with ease. 

Favourite things about this make:

* FIT - It's a simple one to get right, being only two pattern pieces, but it still feels like such a win cause it just fits SO WELL. The pattern is adaptable to pretty much any stretch fabric, whether you want a loungey team-with-jogging-bottoms-on-a-Sunday vest, or a glammy I-made-this-from-shiny-fabric-for-Friday-nights vest, I think pretty much anything is possible here. Crop it, lengthen it... make a vest dress! The pattern is so versatile 

* This one also gives you the chance to build your skills and make your own binding. The instructions suggest using a fold over elastic for the trim and straps, which was a skill to learn in itself, but after ordering some orange FOE online and it arriving SO luminous that it could light up Blackpool at Christmas, I decided to cut a strip of my fabric and fold it into binding. Once you've got the piece cut and folded it pretty much behaves like elastic, but it's totally unique! 

* Wardrobe staple. This vest can be teamed with pretty much anything. I'm a cardy kinda girl, and I can certify this vest pairs up perfectly with a cardy 

Least favourite things:

*The fabric was SO stretchy and SO light that it dragged a bit on the overlocker, particulary in the seam allowance, does anyone know - does this mean I could do with changing the blade on my machine? Luckily I don't think you can tell at all from the outside 

* The fabric is so stretchy I worry those straps will stretch out over time, but they are really easy to dettach/reattach should that be the case 

* The thinness of the fabric was a concern when using the twin needle to hem the bottom, as sometimes fabrics with less integrity can bunch up and cause the thread to make a bit of a tunnel between the rows, To combat this I stitched the hem with some pattern paper on top then peeled it away (careful not to pull the stitches out of shape!). This made the rows more even and prevented any potential tunnelling. 

Big thanks again to Zoe for the kick-ass parttern. I want to see you all raiding your stretch off-cuts to make your own So Zo vests ready for summer 🌴🌺🌞

x
Location: Meadowhall Road
Currently Listening to: 25th Floor, Patti Smith

* Final downside........ I had to re thread my overlocker to white to finish the make!! 

McCalls 6469, Polo T-Shirt

This was my second time using this pattern. For my first attempt, I hacked this ?pre-teen PE kit style top into a rib-knit polo dress. I really loved using rib-knit for this pattern, so I went on the hunt for another ribbed fabric that would suit it. 

I found this stripy red and white ribbing in Hillsbrough Fine Fabrics and thought it could look suitably sporty. I used a little for my vest top / bodysuit hack at the end of last year and found it really easy to work with, so was excited to combine it with this pattern. 

I think the pattern is desinged for that kind of waffley/basic polo top fabric, and designed to fit a bit loose, so I made a few alterations to the pattern to make it more fitted. I took 2cm out of the front piece and back piece by slicing the patten in a straight line from shoulder to hem, this took out 8cm in total but kept the integrity of the neckline at the front and back. All I had to do was smooth off the line from neck to shoulder. 

I also took 8cm off of the length of the sleeves to make them more of a capped sleeve. 

Using the fabric stripes meant that I could ensure my pieces were symmetrical and also that the side seams would line up and match perfectly 😊 

The hardest part of the top is that polo neck opening, it's pretty much the first step in the pattern, I like that we're thrown straight in there! That said, if you have marked your pieces well and you follow the instructions, the construction does make sense and the end result is very satisfying. Would not suggest winging it without transferring the pattern markings as I found these super essential. 

Constuction from there on is as you would expect, shoulders, side seams, collar, sleeves, hem. I used a zig zag stitch on all of the seams to allow for stretch. I found the sleeve caps a little too large for the arm holes, even with substantial easing-in. If I use a similar fabric again next time I could get away with taking a little out of the sleeve width for easier easing and a slightly closer fit. I increased the under sleeve-seam seam allowance to 1.5cm, and I hemmed them flat before inserting them to the top. 

This sportly lil top was a quick and satifying make, which is what I needed! Would love to make more on other coloured rib, (yellow and black anyone?), maybe play around with the length / add a bottom band for a different look. 

x

Location: Arley Street, Sheffield
Currently listening to: I Like It, Cardi B

So, Zo... Strappy Vest Top V

Velvet and bodysuits definitely feature in my top 10 sexiest things (right next to bob haircuts and David Gandy in that Dolce and Gabana advert), so it seemed like a natural pairing to use this black velvet from Minerva alongside the bodysuit pattern hack I'd been working on, using the So Zo free vest top and Simplicty 8513 bodysuit patterns as a base. 

This fabric is a cushed velvet which catches the light from all angles. What I really like about this velvet, is it doesn't instantly get my heckles up if I stroke it the wrong way 😅 Don't get me wrong, there is a clear nap to it, but it's very comfortable to wear. 

The fabric is described as 80% stretch crossways and 10% stretch lengthways. I must admit when the fabric arrived and I did a test stretch, the lengthway stretch felt pretty non existent (Have I overestimated what 10% stretch feels like?). The alarm bells were already going off that a fabric with only 2 way stretch was probably not going to work for a bodysuit. The Simplicity 8513 bodysuit pattern however did say that it was suitable for 2 way stretch on the packet (spoiler; it's not) so I thought I would cut it out anyway, with the option of cropping the 'leg' area off if needed and therefore elimiating the necessity for lengthway stretch. 

With this issue in mind, I did cut the body pieces out with a couple of extra cms in the length (hmmm, not enough). 

I was excited to try my new little hack to this pattern by inserting a powermesh panel into the front section. I drew out on my pattern piece the depth of the triange I wanted and then added a 1cm seam allowance to both the new neck opening and the edge of the triangle. I fiddled around a bit then trying to remember how to line up the triangle and exactly where to clip to at the V-point so the triangle sat flat. Any creeping seam allowances here were put in their place by using a straight stitch and topstitching around the panel. 

I used a lovely picot edge elastic around the back/underarm/front neck and attached pre-made straps pinched off of a Primark Bra (sometimes a lot cheaper to buy and deconstruct than it is to buy supplies from scratch). I hand stitched the straps at the front for an invisible join and also cause the fabric gets a bit bulkly there where the elastics all meet. 

With straps on, I could try on the bodysuit. I attempted pinning at the crotch to see what comfortable range of motion I had. The front looked OK, though a lot shorter than I would wear my bodysuits. The back however was pulling at my hips, meaning the fabric wasnt fitting to my lower back, the curve in the centreback was too high as the fabric wasn't stretching the way it would with 4 way stretch. My mind was made up to convert to vest top, but I did get some photos of the garment as a proposed bodysuit to remind myself I was right - this pattern and velvet was definitley scoring the sexy points. 

I tried on once I'd removed the bottom part of the pattern and felt the vest top would benefit from a slightly curved hem. I chalked the curve onto the velvet following the natural contours of my body, making sure both sides were symmentrical when I snipped away the excess. I added a cute trim of picot elastic to finish the bottom edge and we were good to go! 

I love the velvet and the mesh working together, and I think the velvet is super flattering. Looking forward ot having a go at the full bodysuit version when I get my hands on something with a little more stretch. 

x

Location: Home Sweet Home

Currently Listening to: A Pile Ou Face, Felipecha