McCalls M7575, Shirt

Any stitcher with an office job will tell you the best way of getting through those excruciating 8 hours a day is to turn up to work in something sassy that you made yourself.

I made a McCalls M7575 shirt when I started my current job, and it's true, it does make me smile when I catch sight of myself. Annoyingly my first shrunk a tiny bit in the wash (or maybe I ate, I duno) and the button band was gaping a bit between buttons. It was easily fixed by unstitching the band and adding in some thicker interfacing... and then I took out the front darts. I swear it shrunk okay!!


I kept this in mind when I started out on my second M7575. The fabric I chose had a bit more body than my summery tropical viscose. When facing my button band I chose a heftier interfacing but decided the front darts would remain.


Cutting out using vertical stripes can make things easier as you can match up the pattern and make it really symmetrical, but also have to remember if darts are slightly misaligned then it's going to be much more obvious that you are asymmetrical.



I didn't really make any changes to the pattern, the shoulders fit really nicely and the length is perfect for tucking into my work skirt. I decided not to cut the front band on the bias as my last one stretched out a little. Straight grain all the way.

The only bit I messed up (!) for not really paying attention to the instructions was when sewing the underarm panel to the sleeve, I stitched the wrong seam to begin with (ie, not the actual underarm seam but the other side of the panel). It makes adding the cuff on a little tricker than it needed to be, but wasn't the end of the world and the end result is still the same. Would like to save myself the pain of making the same mistake again though.

I chose some super simple little buttons which I thought would compliment the bold stripes of the fabric. Love that cheeky stripe of maroon in there!


I used the button guide for gauging the buttonhole placement but made sure that I started with the button at the bust point so as to avoid any gaping.

Yay! Another finished shirt to brighten up the office. Want to make more with some fun geometric prints.

x

Location: Leppings Lane, Sheffield // Love Square, Sheffield
Currently listening to: Express Yourself, N.W.A.

McCalls M7484, Cardigan

If you've ever had a conversation with me for longer than five minutes I've probably told you that I get really cold. With what feels like another 4 months of winter still to come I wanted my next make to be something that would hopefully shut me up moaning for a bit.

My mental brief for this make was 'comfy, warm, snuggly, casual. Must have pockets'. I set about searching for a solid pattern that would tick all my boxes and settled on the McCalls M7484 cardigan pattern. I was excited about how easy it looked to wear, just pull on then snuggle up! Plus how easy it looked to make- no fastenings!

I particularly like the big fold out collar that doubles up as a scarf and the way it turns into this super cute waterfall front. I struck lucky with this fabric from Abakhan, the underside is plain black so creates a bold contrast where it folds in and out. I decided to use the reverse for making the cuffs and bottom band too.

I'd spotted this pattern online and hastily added it to my wishlist. What I didn't pay attention to, was the sizing of the pattern. Ooops, I'd ordered the large sizes!! I talked myself out of buying the pattern again after taking a bit of time to open it out and assess the pieces. I worked out what size I would need then traced the pattern, shrinking it down as I traced. It sounds kind of tricky, I think if the pattern had been more complex I would have struggled, but I tried to draw the inside to match the difference in sizes that were already shown.

I made a quick toile so I could check I hadn't done anything crazy with the sleeves but it all seemed to fit together pretty well. Can't believe I thought about rebuying the pattern! As the style is pretty loose anyway I didn't want to make it extra extra roomy!

The pockets are sewn into the side seams, with the pocket bag being attached straight onto the inside of the front piece. I think a free moving pocket might have been a bit cooler as you can see the stitching from the front, but I was super neat with my curves and luckily my stitching it pretty much hidden by the colour of my fabric.

The hardest part of assembling is probably attaching at the collar. As with pretty much every McCalls pattern I've ever used (coincidence??) you have to reinforce a corner and then snip into it, making the seam allowance very tiny where you join the back neck to the shoulders. It works though! Which I was relieved about after feeling like I'd blagged it a bit when I reduced the size of the pattern.

The other tricky bit I found was getting over the bulk around the pockets and side seams with the overlocker. As the fabric I chose was quite thick it was a bit of a climb to get round when attaching the bottom band.

Over all the cardigan is exactly what I was after. I think maybe it is just a little bit too long- the bottom band certainly affects the way it hangs, and it was perhaps a little easier to wrap around before I added it. I like the colour contrast though and the way the length hugs my bum a bit at the back so I'm not complaining!

Oh yeah and did I mention it's super warm?

x

Location: Burgoyne Arms, Langsett Road, Sheffield
Currently listening to: GO GO GO, Coco Don't

Simplicity 8513, Bodysuit

I've definitely got the Simplicity 8513 bug! This was the fourth time I'd cut the pattern, but this time I really wanted to try out those lush bell sleeves.

This time I opted for the more modest neckline which was just a case of using the same pattern piece then rounding it off higher up. This version also means you can omit the facing, meaning more fabric left over to cut those sleeves!!

Instead there is an additional pattern piece to attach as a neckband which you stretch around the head hole. I would usually attach this with the overlocker but this ribbed fabric I chose was sooo stretchy I was really worried it would stretch out as I stitched.


Instead I used a narrow zigzag on my normal machine then top stitched the seam allowance down. This felt a bit risky as it would be REALLY obvious around the neck if my stitching was off! I was super cautious not to stretch it out of shape when I stitched. Not gonna lie, there was a moment I thought I was gonna fuck it up, but I pulled it back!


Onto those sleeves, they are beautiful no?


I've seen some really sassy velvet ones online which I could certainly be tempted by. I cut and attached the sleeves only to find that they realllly didn't need hemming. Yesss! I was worried adding a hem would make them a bit too weighty and distract from how lovely they are. Also from bad experiences with hemming rib in the past I was full of fear that they would stretch out and be completely ruined!

I used the same 1cm seam allowance that I used on my other body suits, though I think I could have upped this to 2cm or maybe more due to the stretchiness of the fabric. Ooooh sewing with knits can be so hard to judge sometimes! My bodysuit didn't really suffer from it though, it still fits nicely, but there is perhaps just a tiny bit too much fabric in the underarm.


The fabric was also stretchy lengthways too, so I made the gusset area a little shorter to ensure a snug fit.

Love it! I love how simple this one is, but how the sleeves add that extra bit of interest. Definitely one for gigging now the new band is up and running :)

x

Location: The Mount, Broomhill, Sheffield
Currently listening to: Speed Of Pain, Marilyn Manson

Simplicity 8513, Bodysuit

Having made a toile and then a second wearable toile, I was so PSYCHED to make my perfect Simplicity 8513 body suit. Still too scared to snip into my gold and black stretch jersey, I decided the best way to tackle this fear was just to buy more lovely fabric. That's logic right?

I picked up this spangly lycra from Abakhan, it was a tough choice between an abundance of sparkly stretch fabrics in the stash bins downstairs, but after much deliberation, this beauty made it to my basket.

My fabric was thinner and loooads stretchier than my first so I wanted to be mindful that I didn't make the bodysuit too large. As my first was a little on the tight side though, I followed my amended pattern without making any further changes and was really happy with the fit.

I had to be careful cutting out as there were some slight anomaly gold blobs on the fabric that I really didn't want running across the centre front of my garment. Due to pattern piece layout the blobs were unavoidable, but they are now carefully placed on my right bum cheek! No one need ever know eh.

I decided not to TOPSTITCH the neck line as the pattern suggests, as on my previous two attempts the jersey had stretched a little on one side of the V. The topstitching is meant to stop the facing from peeking out but as the top is nice and snug and my understitching was pretty sweet, there was no chance of me flashing my facing.

I used some cute elastic from The Button Shed to finish my leg holes by sewing wrong side of the elastic to the right side of the garment, then flipping to the inside to hide the seams. I hand stitched my snaps to the crotch, making sure the 'male' part of the popper is on the inside of the front and the 'female' half of the popper sits on the outside of the back.

Thread through a piece of lace to keep the Vneck from being quite so revealing and then there you go! Love using this pattern alongside this sparkly fabric. Anyone for some fancy sleeves next time...............?

x

Location: Heeley Millennium Park / Lumley Street, Sheffield
Currently listening to: Dance All Night, Ryan Adams