McCalls M7575, Shirt

It's the same pattern but this time a little more casual! Essentially I really like my friend's denim short so I made my own!

I found this denim in Samuel Taylors in Leeds, its lightweight and perfect for shirts. I was pretty excited to make this shirt without the added challenge of having to pattern match! It shaved sooo much time off of cutting out and sewing up. I think I spent two full days spread across a day and two halves to get the shirt finished.


This is my 4th time using the McCalls 7575 pattern, but my first time adding the pockets. It took a good few attempts to get those bottom corners folded in properly but I think I got them looking pretty sharp in the end. I struggled a little knowing how to place something flat over something shaped with darts??? All I could do was match the top corners to the dots and try and make sure the side of the pocket was parallel to the shirt opening.

I think it looks fine but was a little bit worried it was going to be one of those things that revealed itself as Not Fine at the final stages! Might be cool to have a play with the pockets on version C- they have flaps! There is no fastening on the pockets for version B but I added come cute little buttons for decoration.


This shirt also differs from the others as I decided to add top stitching to the seams, creating a kind of faux welt-seam and a traditional denim look. I added double rows of stitching to the pockets, yoke and shoulder seams, side seams, sleeve seams and collar. It was all going well until I realised topstitching the underarm seam was going to be really hard once the rest of the sleeve was sewn up! Luckily though, I found I was able to stitch from the top down and then start again from the bottom and meet the rows of stitching somewhere in the middle.

Phew! I'm glad because I really love the effect of the double rows.

The cuffs were a dream to sew, I absolutely love how professional it looks every time with that pleat above the button. Also topstitching meant I didn't have to hand stitch the inside! Yay!


I made a tiny alteration to the sleeve pattern, that was just taking some out of the underarm seam, but grading back out to the original arm hole. I noticed on my last shirt the sleeve was maybe a bit baggy there and thought this might look really obvious with a plain fabric. I'm glad I did! The sleeves fit perfectly so must have made the right decision.

I love the way the fabric hangs on me. It's the perfect weight but doesn't get too creased, in fact it was super well-behaved all together really. Top stitching was a little tricky over bulky seams, specifically the under-collar (I would probably take this off and do it again if I wasn't always so eager to get it right first time.


Before reaching the shop, I couldn't decide if I wanted silver or gold buttons. I knew I wanted something subtle, if I'd have had a stash I would have been tempted with some cute snaps. I settled on these brassy metal ones from the market, with two of the smaller size for the pocket decoration. They are understated and maybe a bit predictable but perfect with the denim and the yellowy topstitch.


And that's about it really. I'd hate to think I'm wearing out this pattern, but it's just so versatile, it's a tried and tested classic so perfect for making sure lovely fabric isn't going to be wasted. I still have more b&w stripes that I want to make this shirt from, so keep your eyes peeled for another coming soon....

x

Location: Magpie Mine, Sheldon
Currently listening to: Missing, Calexico