In service of my goal to make some shirts for myself, I tried out a woven t-shirt pattern: McCall's M7285. I made it out of a quilting cotton I got at the
Hancock's going out of business sale last summer, and I'm thinking of it as a nice wearable muslin. I was able to cut this and the
Roller Skate dress I made for my cousin's daughter out of a 2-yard cut of fabric.
I measured the bust of an old sleeveless blouse with a similar fit and closure and then cut a straight size 10 using the A/B cup front pattern piece. It's a little snug in the hips, even though I narrowed the seam allowances by 1/4" at the bottom of each side. The back is also a little tight across the shoulders.
The bust darts are in the right place, but as you can see in the next picture, after I lift my arms I get a fold of fabric stuck above my bust. I'm not sure whether that has to do with the non-drapiness of the quilting cotton, or because I made a size that is too small, or what.
It's not very visible in the pictures, but I'm also getting a little bit of gaping at the front neckline.
Even though it's not perfect, I'm planning to make at least two more of these, and I have some ideas for what I'm going to change:
- lowering the front neckline by about an inch and eliminating the button closure at the back neck. I don't need the button to get this one over my head, and when I wear my hair in a braid it gets knotted around the button, which is no fun.
- adding a back yoke. I'll make the seam between the yoke and the back piece about half-way down the armscyes, and put some gathers in the center of the back piece. This should give me some extra room at the back shoulders, so I can move more easily. I'm also hoping it will fix the fabric getting stuck above my bust problem. I'll cut both the back and back yoke pieces on the fold.
- shortening the sleeves by at least two inches.
I'm excited for the next version, but in the meantime I've been wearing this one a lot!
