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....
