McCalls M7575 Shirt

Okay so this was an obvious choice of pattern, but I wanted to chose something simple and wearbale to really showcase this beautiful fabric gifted to me from Minerva in exchange for a blog post. Easy work!

The fabric is a lightweight viscose, in my monochrome colour palette! The fabric feels quite drapey and delicate against the skin but doesn't turn into a frayed mess the moment you cut into it! I would advise using SHARP needles to avoid any snags or laddering while sewing the seams (particularly when handstitching).

The fabric is quite easy to manipulate without stretching it out of shape - so I ended up with a curved hem I was super proud of.

The randomness of the print meant that I could cut all my pieces out on the fold (yay!) without having to worry about pattern matching. This made for speedy cutting out. 

I would advise DEFINITELY pre-washing the fabric (I know there are a few inpatient stitchers out there!) as I could tell this fabric was eager to shrink when I was applying heat to fuse my interfacing to the collar and cuffs. I made a shirt in similar fabric once and that definitely shrank in the wash so I have learnt my lesson!

To jazz the shirt up a bit and add a bit of variation to such a tried and tested pattern I decided to add these cute heart-shaped buttons 😍 I thought the splash of red would look good teamed with a red skirt and accessories. I found it quite tricky stitching these button holes to fit the buttons though. Buttonholes are probably my least favourite part of making anything, especially with the added fear of the fabric laddering straight down the centre front!! My machine is pretty basic and I'm considering upgrading to something that can be more precise with buttonholes- any ideas? I think aything would be an improvement!

My fabric laddering nightmare became a reality and those annoying white lines of pulled thread appeared between my buttonholes!! SO, here is my sneaky tip...... Sharpie Marker! simply colour over the threads that have pulled. It's naughty and I recommend ALWAYS doing a tester on scrap fabric as the ink tends to have a blue-y tinge to it. Obviously this only works on black fabric and might need topping up after a few washes. Just don't tell a soul and we'll keep this one between you and me.

The shirt is cute and totally wearable for work. I maybe struggled again matcing the right weight of interfacing to the fabric for the button band. Too heavy and the band sticks up and feels a bit cardboardy, too light and the band can distort and go wobbly! I cut out the interfacing without the seam allowances to try and avoid unnecessary bulk, with the intenetion of this also making sewing the button holes a little easier too. 

Big thanks to Minerva for the fabric! It's very "Me" and I can't wait to wear this shirt to work!

Check out my Minerva profile on their sassy new interactive website:  https://www.minerva.com/people/1133569

x

Location: Livesey Street, Hillsborough/Luke's Place, Infirmary Road
Currently listening to: Bug A Boo, Destiny's Child

New Look 6107 Blouse

Whilst uploading past posts onto my Minerva account I was reminded about the New Look 6107 blouse pattern that I made before but never quite felt like I'd hit the nail on the head with it. I wasn't a very experienced sewer when I first tried this blouse, and although my attempt wasn't bad and the result was certainly wearable, I think I tried to cut a few corners and as a result I am always aware of the weak spots whenever I pull this from the back of the wardrobe.

This luscious crepe de chine from Minerva was the perfect weight for my second shot at this pattern, it's SO light and airy! The fabric doesn't crease easily but it actually presses really well, meaning that the gathers on the chest and sleeves sit so nicely with a bit of a bounce to them. The gathers hardly create any bulk in the seam allowance though as the fabric is so light!

I really love the unusual geometric design of the print. I was a little bit intimidated at the idea of pattern matching this! But with a bit of careful cutting out it was possible to create symmetrical pieces which really helps keep your sewing accurate when putting it together. I cut the back yoke 'upsidedown' if you like so that I could create a cool mirror-imagey seam across the shoulders. 

I used a sharp needle for sewing all my seams with this fabric as it was so light I didn't want the machine to eat it.

For this version of the blouse I decided to to the cap sleeves.... the long sleeves are just tooo poofy for me! I was worried I wouldn't like the sleeve gathers as I'm not usually a fan, but I think they look quite cute! 

My favourite part assembling the top is probably the button placket. The button holes are loops not holes (yay!), so you just have to be super accutare matching all the raw edges of the hoops and the placket up when sewing- a few millometers out and you might not be able to push your button through! Shhh I fixed it though okay!! 

Marking the pattern dots and clips on this one is really important, particularly at the neck opening. You want to be able to tuck all your raw edges into the inside of the neck tie without anything peeking out. If you abide by the dots you should be okay! I chose to handstitch the inside of the neck band to the neck seam as it just felt like it would be more accuarate than stitching in the ditch the whole way around.

My second shot at this pattern is a definite improvememnt on my first! I love how the creaseless-ness of the fabric helps with it's tuck-in-ablity, so absolutely perfect for work.

You can buy yourself some of this fabric HERE, why not try a different colour way?

Follow my Minerva page HERE.

Happy sewing for 2021!

x

Location: Livesy Street, Sheffield
Currently listening to: English Summer Rain, Placebo