Hi all – I love a good challenge and so I couldn’t resist the #Tops that Pop challenge, created by the talented Faye of Faye’s Sewing Adventures. What a brilliant theme! Who doesn’t want to sew a top?
I’ve been wanting a kimono sleeved wrap top for the longest time, so I was thrilled to find McCall’s 7627 on sale at Joann’s.
When I first looked at it, I didn’t think it was the pattern of my dreams, primarily because I was focussed on the statement sleeves that went with view B. Yes, those sleeves are interesting and very fashion forward, but I can tell you, they are just too much for me :). So I combined the sleeve in view D with the short wrap bodice of version of View B.
Fitting Challenges: Because I’m short-waisted, fitting a wrap dress/top is a bit tricky. On this dress, after a paper fitting, I could see the waist was way too long, so I shortened the bodice by a full inch. My other fitting dilemma on wrap dresses is that I usually get a front gap at the neck because I have narrow shoulders. To prevent this, I took out a 5/8″ in the back shoulders. This helped tremendously.
Fabric: McCall’s suggests crisp fabrics for this top. I chose a softer rayon (Fabric Depot) because I wanted it to look drape-y. I love this rayon – it’s so soft and comfortable and was a dream to sew.
The pattern was pretty well designed and the instructions were clear. I’m not wild about the darts at the shoulder though….not sure why they’re necessary since they aren’t very flattering.
All in all, I do think this pattern is a keeper. I may make the dress version at some point, and may take out the shoulder pleats. But there are so many patterns and so little time, so who knows if I’ll make it back to this one again.
Thanks to Faye for creating this fun challenge. She’s posting all of the #Tops that Pop on her blog, and there’s lots of inspiration there.
Happy sewing, and thanks for stopping by!