Stash buster Saturday McCall's top

Oh today was just perfect for re instituting my former stash buster for a Sat or Sun--which ever day it gets done!   It is uncomfortably cold with a wind chill of below zero and a blizzard going on, perfect for not wanting to set foot outdoors!

So the rules for a stash buster are that EVERYTHING must be from your stash--you can't go anywhere for anything at all, button, thread, zippers, nothing and you've had to have all materials on hand for at least several weeks--notice the huge leeway!  Any fabric that is more than a week old is considered 'stash' and any pattern purchased over a month ago is also 'stash'.



So, when I was deciding what to do, I have been just so excited to create McCall's 7018 and see if I liked it or not and I had the beautiful chili colored knit left over from this Vogue tunic I made and I had the buttons from my stash as well.  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!  Hence the birth of McCall's 7018.






What I love so much about this top is the shape and the fact it is so very on trend right now.  Everywhere I go I see tops of this shape and style and decided I want one--no make that I need one!

Here is a description from the back of the envelope: Misses' Tops and Tunic: Loose-fitting tops and tunic have front button closure, back yoke, sleeve, pocket and collar variations, and narrow hem.  A, D: Sleeve with buttoned tab and side slits.  A: Pockets with flaps.  B: Contrast collar and cuffs.  C: Left front pocket.  E: shaped hemline, wrong side shows.  F: Sleeve with buttoned tab.

I made view D, which is the one the model is wearing.  And, thank goodness I was set on that view as I had to squeeze that out of the fabric I had remaining with some very creative laying out thank you very much!  Since I loved the fabric so much I am glad it worked out and there weren't any scraps worth salvaging--I used all of it on this top and my Vogue tunic which you can see here.  I basically consider this top to be FREE!  Amirite?  I already had the pattern (which I purchased for a buck 99), left over fabric and buttons.  Free!

So this pattern is rated as easy and it is easy to put together.  In my on-going quest to figure out the FBA so it works for me, I added a slash to the pattern piece where I would need a dart, spread it 1/2" to try and accommodate my needs.  :)  I still see wrinkles on the front of the top but then again, the model has those too!  My only thought is that I'd need an actual dart?  For you fit experts, am I on the right track?

 My only other alteration was to make my usual 1/2" swayback adjustment.  I completed the remainder of the pattern as it was designed.

The directions are easy to follow and it was sort of logically written.  I like to put the collar or neckline on before sewing up the side seams and did that step out of order of the pattern.  And, I did manage to set in the sleeves by pinning them in and not putting in ease stitching.  I probably could have gotten by with putting them in flat but I thought I'd give it a whirl with setting them in and am happy with the result!

So this is an instant gratification project--oops and I almost forgot an important point!  The center front is folded over twice with no interfacing.  I was a little concerned that sans interfacing would stretch out the button holes so I took a precautionary measure and put stabilizer I use for embroidery between the garment and feed dogs.  I tore it away when finished and it worked like magic!  I will say the embroidery stabilizer I used is meant to be torn away.  Not sure if it would work with any other type.

So this is a comfortable top with so many styling options that I can't wait to make this pattern again!
Thanks for reading and I hope you too will take on a stash buster at least once a month!

Sue