McCall's 5977 - Mad about Plaid

Is everybody ready for the week ahead?  I know I'm going to need my running shoes to keep up with all my boys and their activities with school and soccer in full swing now.  But hey, I was able to get my top done before the mad rush.  That's a plus!  I decided to use McCall's 5977 to make a plaid top to go with my khaki Butterick skirt shown in the previous post.  It is a pattern for a semi-fitted, shaped with darts, woven tank top with various ruffle options.  My fabric is a lightweight polyester/cotton blend from Fabric.com.  I made View C.

I cut a size 10 and added about 1/2" to the back shoulder seam to bring that seam forward a little bit.  That made the bust darts sit a little low, so I took up an extra 3/8" on the shoulder seam to raise them.  I thought I might have to trim under the arms to compensate, but it turned out I didn't need to. 

The instructions were easy to follow.  But I did sew my neck and armhole binding differently.  Instead of folding the binding in half and then attaching it, I kept it one layer.  I had a raw edge on the inside when I wrapped it around my seam allowance.  However, since the binding is cut on the bias, it doesn't ravel.  The reason I did this is because I wanted to stitch in the ditch rather than slip-stitch the binding to finish.  Once the binding was attached this way, I trimmed the excess leaving about 3/16".

Here is a close-up of the finished top. 

I have about 4" of ease in the bust, since I cut the size 10.  It's more than I like, but it is probably necessary to get the blouse over my head and shoulders without any fasteners.  Also, I think the ruffle does a good job of hiding the extra room.  Plus it keeps the blouse cool for a tropical climate.  Here it is styled with the skirt.  All I need is a cardigan, in a complementary color, and tights for it to transition nicely to mainland northwest fall weather. 

I want to say thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on my last few posts.  Sheila asked, "any tips you can share on how you achieve a perfect fly front?"  There was a time that I dreaded the front fly.  But now, I actually enjoy making them.  I don't think it is as clear trying to explain how to do them in words, so I will try to put together some pictures the next time I make a fly.  In the mean time, here are three tips that have helped me enormously. 1) I always use a zipper that is longer than what is called for.  That way I don't have to stitch around the zipper pull.  I just trim the excess when I have my waistband ready to apply.  2) I always baste my zipper before I stitch it in permanently.  It works so much better than using pins.  3)  I always topstitch over a piece of tissue paper to prevent any bunching.  Check out this blog post to see a picture of what I am talking about.  This is such a great tip!  I hope that helps a little until I can do a proper picture sequence.  Have a great week online ohana!