Comfy Casual Take 2

Thank you for freely sharing your thoughts on the last New Look t-shirt fit issues.  I am going to make another version this week, taking your comments into consideration, and see how it goes.  In the mean time, I've made another version of McCall's 4590, but this time I made view D and had some slight modifications.  See my first version here.

The tissue weight knit came from Fabric.com.  I love the mint green combined with grey in this print, but working with tissue knits is not for the impatient!  For View D, I lengthened the bodice by 3 inches before attaching the waistband, and I finished the neckline with a self-fabric neckband instead of folding over and stitching down as the pattern instructs.  I actually finished the front and back neckband before stitching the shoulder seams together so that I wouldn't have any puckering issues at that seam.

What I love about this pattern is the long fitted cuff on the sleeves.  Last night I bar-b-qued with friends, and there were a lot of mosquitos out.  I knew I would be fairly protected with my torso well covered.  I also felt I wouldn't get too hot with the loose fit on the bodice.  Yep, a comfy casual top indeed!    

Neckband shoulder seam.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving this week, I hope you are looking forward to a special week too!

Back on the Sunny Side...

...with two "new looks".  Those would be New Look 6753, view D and New Look 6388, view B.

I once made New Look 6753 a long time ago, before I began this blog.  I had used a bamboo/lycra knit and the top just didn't work.  The v-neck was too low, and overall it felt too big even though I used the size 6, when I normally cut a size 10 in New Look patterns.  This time I used a light-weight cotton/lycra knit.  The pattern calls for two-way stretch fabrics.  Because I used the size 6, I was afraid the armholes would be too small.  Therefore, I cut the shoulder seams at the size 10 marking.  I don't think I needed to do this.  I can see some diagonal lines around the neck, that I'm thinking should go away if I take up more of a seam on the shoulders.  Or maybe I need to widen the shoulders...Hmmm...  If you have any thoughts, feel free to chime in.  

Here is a close-up of the top.  I used my coverstitch machine for all of the top-stitching.

And a close-up of the front neckline finished with a self-fabric neckband.

For the skirt, I used New Look 6388, view B, in a size 10.  I made it in a poly/cotton aloha fabric.  This fabric seemed to have the perfect stiffness to hold the pleats when I pressed them.  I did not alter a thing on this skirt.  The pattern states that it sits 1.5" below the waist, and it does sit low.  Instead of inserting a lapped zipper, I installed an invisible zipper.  When I top-stitched the pleats down, I doubled the thread in my needle so that it would stand out.  For the most part the stitches look good, but I did have a couple of spots where one thread did not catch, so I ended up with one loop popping up.

 Here is a close-up of the top-stitching and invisible zipper:

I'm very happy with the overall look of the outfit.  This could be considered my "uniform" here in Maui.  I love to wear t-shirts and skirts!