I found a beautiful crepe de chine fabric on the sale rack a couple of months ago and finally got it out last week to make a quick summer top. I chose McCall’s M7359 pattern with the gathered cap sleeves and the tapered hem.
I was delighted to find that even commercial patterns are now downloadable so I decided that I would safe myself a trip to Staples (I often have them print out my downloadable patterns) and just print it out at home. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was 30 pages, not counting the instructions!
After taping all those pages together (whew!) I carefully measured myself, read the body measurements to figure out my size and started cutting. This pattern has a dolman sleeve and also has a LOT of ease. I tend to be pear shaped so often end up with tops being much too roomy at the shoulders and underarms. Sure enough, that was the case here. Fortunately, because of the design of the sleeves this was very easy to fix.
I took out the gathers at the shoulders, moved them up a couple of inches, cut another inch off the sleeve edges and stitched the upper sides with a wider seam allowance, and stitched the arm holes up a little higher than instructed.
This top still has a lot of ease and the crepe de chine just floats over you without clinging. I absolutely love this top. I’m so glad we finally have some beautiful weather so I can wear it!
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