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Friday, February 28, 2014

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!

xoxo, Tasha