McCall's 7571, Another Cat Top

I hope you dog lovers can stand another cat top.  I loved the fabric so much of the last one , but ended up donating the top because the bulk of the collar and facing disturbed me too much.  So like a true fabric fanatic, when Fabric Mart offered it up for one their challis sales, I grabbed some more to make a different top.  Enter McCall's 7571, view A. 

The pattern says these are loose-fitting pullover tops with a gathered neckline and little V-neck opening.  It also has a gathered waist.  When they say loose-fitting, they mean it.  I sewed an 18 based on my measurements, wanting a loose-fitting summer top.  I could have easily gone down a size and still be loose.

The neckline was especially huge.  I thought, "No problem.  It's going to be gathered onto a bias binding strip."  Despite careful handling, the rayon challis grew.  The bias strip was near-equal measure to the top's opening.  I decided to continue sewing it down and made a narrow tie to go through it to pull it all in.  This ended up working well.  The top was so comfortable for a hot day at the zoo with the grandkids. 

Lessons learned for next time:  go down a size and use a firmer fabric than challis which grew a little at the neck and neck binding. 

Next up a couple of Burda tops....