I am so proud of my newest make, McCall's M7542, a trendy bell sleeved pullover blouse in blue and white striped shirting. This top is one of my favorite makes this year and I can certainly see myself making a few more yet this fall. And best yet, this is one of the patterns I won from the #royalweddingsewalong; thanks McCall's!
I cut out a standard size eight and added two inches to the length of the bodice. I love the fit of the finished garment and it is the perfect transitional, summer to autumn top. The fabric is light and airy with a nice drape and with the right and wrong sides of the fabric so similar the inside of the bell sleeve is just a cute as the outside.
I found most of the curved sections of the pattern a bit difficult but manageable with much pinning, ironing, and hand basting. Setting in the sleeve was more challenging for me on this project than it has been in the recent past, feeling like there was just too much fabric to slightly gather into the armscye. With so much gathering the serged seam finish was effective but not very pretty. At least I had a cute companion!
As I said, I'm thrilled with this top and plan to wear it all fall. What are your favorite transitional pieces?
Time estimate: 6 hours
Size: 8
Material used: shirting, 68% cotton, 28% nylon, 4% spandex
Care instructions: machine wash gentle cold, non-chlorine bleach, tumble dry low, cool iron
Cost to make:
pattern - free to me
fabric - $13
*hook and eye, thread from my stash
TOTAL: $13