Animal Print - McCall's M6839

Wellll it's the end of February and the perfect time to finish the

February Sew-a-long project for the Mimi G group on Facebook.

We used McCall's M6839 for the first group sew-a-long.

I decided to sew view A which is the one that the model is wearing on the envelope.

I wanted something I could wear anywhere.

The next time I sew it I'll probably do View B.

I got this fabric from Hancock's.

It's a knit but the gold is metallic (and un-ironable) while the wrong side is solid black knit

It also has a little bit of weight to it. I really like it.
I'm probably going to use the rest of it in some jeggings or leggings.

I cut the 16 according to the finished garment measurements for my bust.

When I first tried it on, it fit, but I looked like a box and I needed to add some shape.

Unfortunately I don't have a before pic.

I used my hip curve ruler to take off 1.5 inches on both sides of the waist and and inch on both sides at the bottom .

As you can see in the above pic, the sleeves are not even which is very confusing to me lol

I sewed the sleeves in flat like Mimi G does in THIS tutorial.

I was too scared to insert them the way the instructions said and I'm glad I did it this way.

Anyway, I had to take about an inch underneath the left sleeve to get everything pretty much even.

I really like it!

And I got tons of compliments when I wore it!

I was so surprised *blushes*

Things I've learned

1. Why grading makes sense

When I had to take in the shirt to fit me, I realized that I was adjusting the shirt to the waist and hip measurements that I would have had if I had cut the 14.

The sleeves were also kind of big around my arms but I think they would have fit perfectly had I cut the 14.

I think from now on, I will cut one size around my bust, then cut a size lower around the armholes, waist & hip.

2. Different terms and techniques

Double-stitched seams, narrow hems, pleats, etc.  This pattern was asking me to do a bunch of stuff I had never heard of lol

And at one point I had to just walk away and read the instructions another day for them to make sense.

Thanks for reading!

I'd love to know what you think!

And follow me on Bloglovin'!

xoxo, Tasha