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.

McCalls M6885 Only Shorter

Hello, Friends!  If you follow me on Instagram you know that I have been gah gah over this fabric from Joann.  It is a 100% cotton floral jacquard that was hiding in the shirting fabrics.  It is lightweight much like voile or lawn, and though slightly see through, I was able to make it in to a tunic with no need for a lining.  It is the perfect lightweight fabric for Summer, and just look at that color!

McCalls M6885

When I was trying to figure out a pattern to use for this fabric, I was trying to decide between M6885 or self drafting something.  Debbie from over at Stitches and Seams talked me out of drafting something from scratch, and I am so glad that she did.  I still had to tweak M6885, because M6885 is actually a dress pattern.

Line Drawings for M6885 from McCallpattern.mccall.com

I first made M6885 back in September of last year just before Labor Day, for a beach trip we were taking.  Even though I added four inches of length to view B, the side slit came up so far that I was flashing my Spanx and that is not a good look!  You can read about that version here.

M6885

For this new version, I cut the pattern down to tunic length.  I am a tunic kind of gal, in case you haven't noticed.  Another change that I made was to remove the full collar and to only use the collar stand as the collar.  I thought at first that this would end up being a Mandarin style collar, but once I finished the tunic, I decided that I liked it better as a small turned down collar.

M6885

My edge stitching is a little wonky.  I think my machine needs a tune up, because some of the stitches are walking around lately.  Also, I should note that my button holes have been on point lately.  The thread is a perfect match so I am not sure why it looks so much darker here.

M6885

Here you can see the different textures in this fabric.  It is really such a great fabric for Summer.  I can see it made in to maxi dresses, beach cover ups, the list goes on.  I chose plain white buttons because this floral print has a lot going on.  I love how they more or less blend in from a distance.

M6885

Here is a shot of the back of the tunic.  I made the shirt tail a little longer than the front of the shirt.  I chose to make the armholes nice and fitted so that my bra doesn't peak out from under the shirt.  I think that I need to cut the armholes deeper in the back next time to keep keep it from pulling in at the under arm.

What you can't see here is that I used French seams on the inside.  I didn't want to serge off this thin fabric, so a French seam was the natural choice for keeping fraying to a minimum and not having to bind every seam.  I used a rolled hem.  I think I am in love with rolled hems right now.  White bias tape was used to bind the armscye.

I am loving this tunic and I see more hacked up M6885 tunics in my future.

Friends, what are you sewing right now?  Are their any fabrics out there that you are totally in love with?

For the Love of a Tunic - A Sewing Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, there was a haberdashery known by all in the land as Cold Water Creek.  Princess Pandora loved to peruse the apparel at Cold Water Creek.  It was a rare haberdashery where most of the garments fit Princess Pandora well, and the styles were timeless, so Princess Pandora didn't mind spending the Prince's gold for the lovely garments.

Then one day an Evil Sorcerer began casting spells on the Cold Water Creek haberdasheries.  First, he made the seamstresses hands less nimble so that the stitching was wonky.  Next, he made the cotton grow huge fibers so that the weavers could no longer weave it in to fine cloth.  Finally, he cast a spell of delirium on the fiber artists so that their prints were no longer timeless.

Alas, one day a purple grey mist fell over the land and when it cleared all of the Cold Water Creeks in the land had disappeared.  It was a sad day for Princess Pandora.

Shortly after the stores had closed she went to retrieve her favorite tunic from her wardrobe only to find that it was so thread bare from wear that it had rips that could not be repaired.

Princess Pandora was devastated and swore she would never be a slave to RTW fashion again.  She would learn to make her own garments.  Thus a new hobby and love of cloth was born, and Princess Pandora lived happily ever after!

This fairy tale is based on a true story.  The tunic in the story was made of a silk cotton voile.  It had a light tan background with a leaf like print in shades of rust, grey, and little pops of yellow.  There was a front placket with pearl snaps, the sleeves were gathered at very narrow cuffs that also used pearl snaps and could be turned up and held with D rings and a strap that was attached inside the sleeve.  It had a rounded hem and a smallish Mandarin style collar.

I am determined to remake this tunic.  I wish I had held on to it to make a pattern from, because it was perfectly proportioned for me.  Instead, I am going to use McCalls M6885 in view D with quite a few changes.

Photo from http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/

It will need to be shortened, I will lose the chest pockets, and I will change the collar and cuffs.  I will use d-rings instead of buttons to hold up the rolled cuffs.  Also, I think I am going to square up and shorten the placket.  This pattern was one of the last things that I sewed before the injury, and the placket just feels long on it even as a dress.  I sewed a lengthened view B in navy blue with small gray polka dots, and maybe I will get some photos of this up if I can get my camera man to take some pictures this week.

I intend to make the tunic in this great voile from Mood.  It has similar colors to the beloved tunic, and I like the print.

Photo from Moodfabrics.com

I think voile is a great fabric for Fall.  I know that a lot of people consider voile a Spring or Summer fabric, but I like that it is a great transition fabric.  You can layer it on chilly days, or wear it alone on warmer days and still get away with pairing it with cute boots.

Have any of you ever remade a beloved RTW item?