Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Two For One: Butterick 5997 and McCalls 7204

Friends, these are two projects that have been sewn for ages, but I just hadn't gotten around to photographing!

McCalls 7204 and Butterick 5997


Occasionally, I sew something that my husband just goes ga ga for.  This is one of those outfits!  When I downloaded the pictures, I realized that he had taken over 200 shots.  I can always tell how much he likes something I have sewn by the amount of photos he takes.


Butterick 5997 View B is actually quite long


As you can see here, McCalls 7204 (the cardigan) ended up being quite long.  I am five foot six inches tall.  This thing nearly drags the ground!  I did sew view B which is the longer of the two cardigans, but I was expecting mid thigh to knee, not mid shin!  I love it though.  I wish I remembered where I had purchased this Cerulean Blue knit fabric, because I would order more.  I just love it!

The tunic underneath is Butterick 5997.  This isn't the first Butterick 5997 that I have made.  I went sleeveless with this version though and it is so comfy.


Butterick 5997 Tunic in a Nani Iro Japanese Print


The fabric for this tunic is a double gauze that was purchased from a local quilt and fabric shop called Crimson Tate.  It is a Nani Iro print, and I love the combination of flowers and birds.  The color palette is just beautiful, too.  Unfortunately, it does not appear to still be available on the Crimson Tate website, but there are some other great Nani Iro prints still available.




I added three inch side slits to the shirt since I made it tunic length.  That just helps with some extra space for when you sit down.




Couldn't resist throwing in this photo taken during the golden hour!  Probably should have pressed the center line out before taking the photos, but I kind of forgot.

Would you believe that in August I cut almost 8 inches off my hair?


Yes, my Sperry's match.  The ground was much too soft for cute shoes.  In this photo you can see how the waist comes down at an angle on the cardigan.  You can also see just how long the cardigan really turned out.



One last photo for good measure!  The cardigan is so soft and lovely.  It will get plenty of use this Fall and Winter.

I won't go much in to the construction of Butterick 5997.  Aside from making the shirt sleeveless and using self binding to finish the armscye, I didn't make any changes from my previous version.  I keep saying I am going to make the pintuck version, and then I get lazy.

For McCalls 7204, I mostly followed the directions on the pattern.  I did add clear elastic to stabilize the shoulder seams and the waist seam.  I am really glad that I did this.  I think with this fabric the waist especially would have gone all wonky had I not.  I also cut the width of the front band/collar in half.  I didn't want it to fold back on itself.  I am glad that I made this change, and would continue it in to the next time I make McCalls 7204.  This was a really quick cut and sew.  Even with me hand rolling the hem (I also hand rolled the hem on Butterick 5997), the cardigan was made cut to finish in less than 3 hours.

I am really enjoying hand sewing lately.  Have any of you been doing much hand sewing?  I started my sewing career (ha) hand sewing at four years old.  I did a lot of embroidery and cross stitch back then.  I think now, I like the control that hand stitching gives me.  Sometimes I feel like my machine has a mind of it's own, and I am it's muse.

I think that I would like to next sew McCalls 7204 in a chunky sweater knit.  Let me know in the comments if you have seen any great sweater knits that I should have a look at.

16 comments:

  1. This is a great fall outfit! Hopefully you are finally getting some fall weather, it seems to be fully winter time here! I need to make some cardigans soon, for some reason I keep procrastinating even though they really are easy, like you say.

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    1. We are getting sleet today. So yes, I guess we are finally starting to move in to the cooler weather. Can't wait to see which cardigans you make!

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  2. Love your outfit! I've had my eye on that Nano Iro print for a while (Miss Matatabi gets it in sometimes) but wasn't sure how it would look made up in a full garment, but I really like how it looks in your tunic. The cardigan is great, too--the whole outfit looks very put-together.

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    1. Michelle, that double gauze is awesome. So worth the money.

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  3. Awesome ensemble! I actually like the cardigan being so long:) The colour scheme really compliments you - you look so radiant in these photos!

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  4. This is a great outfit! Love the tunic - I'm going to have to look at this pattern since I'm getting ready to go on a top sewing binge!

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    1. Thanks, Carolyn! The tunic is fairly easy to grade. If you make make a version with sleeves, I found the armscye to be accommodating, but the sleeves needed more space in the upper arm.

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  5. Really great outfit! Your photographer also gets credit for interesting photos.

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    1. Thanks, Eileensews! My photographer has learned a lot in the last year or so, and he does a great job.

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  6. I love this outfit! I continue to love all the versions of the butterick top! I might need to get this pattern. ;)

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    1. Thanks, Andie! The Butterick pattern is great, but you absolutely have to change the sleeves.

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  7. I love this outfit! I continue to love all the versions of the butterick top! I might need to get this pattern. ;)

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