McCall's 4659 - V-neck sleeveless top with asymmetrical ruffle

I'm on a roll, people!  This is my second garment in as many weeks.  I'm really hoping this roll keeps rolling.  It's starting to be fun again!  

My serger is in the hospital, so I've been trying to think of projects I can make with wovens, specifically tops, because if I make pants or skirts, I would really like to have my serger.

I dug out this old pattern.  I feel like it's from the 90's, but alas, it's merely from 2004.  Still, it's rocking that ruffles/roses vibe that we had going on back then with all the long full skirts and slouchy hats.

 I decided to make view A, without the lace.  When I make stuff with girly details, I like to use only one of those details, so I don't get overwhelmed by frou frou.  Fluffy girly stuff isn't really my style, but I've been stepping outside the box lately, so this kinda fits it with that.

 I checked the finished garment measurements, and it looked like it would fit me perfectly across the bust.  I measured from the shoulder to the bust point, and decided to add an inch of length to the top of the shoulder seams.  Turns out I didn't need to.  It fit perfectly.  But it's always easier to make it longer to start with and then take it in if needed.

 I made my muslin in a very drapey stretch cotton from the depths of my stash.  This stuff has been around, let me tell you.  We pinned this to an ironing board at one time, and it had stains and burn marks on it.  I just cut around it.

 The front piece, especially, fit really well.  The bust darts and armhole shaping are perfect.  But in this fabric, I thought the neckline was rather gaping, so I adjusted it.  In my final fabric, it would have been fine.  Funny how every fabric is different.

 The back was a little more challenging.  I didn't like the way the shoulders were falling off, so I opted to draft a regular neckline.  I also took out a 1" swayback tuck and added a centre back seam.  And, you can't tell by these pictures because I only have it pinned on the side with one pin, but when I had it pinned all the way up, I could tell that I needed to let out about 3" at my muffin top area, which sat right below the bottom seam of the bust darts.

 This is the adjustment I made to the neckline.  It would have been fine the way it was.

 So, technically, aside from this little adjustment on the lower side seam of my front piece, the entire front was perfect right out of the envelope.

 These are the changes I made to the back.  Swayback tuck, let out side seam, add centre back seam, draft regular neckline.

This was the fabric I chose.  The yellow is very bright.  I bought this years ago hoping to make a cute A-line skirt out of it, but I wasn't really feeling it.  This isn't really my kind of print either, so again, I'm stepping out of the box.  But I knew it was a lovely drapey fabric, and I had just enough.

 It was just a tiny bit short, so I wasn't able to lay my fabric out like they suggested; I had to do the whole thing in one layer.  Which totally worked, cuz I'm a puzzle master.  But that's the second project in a row that I've cut in a single layer.  Next time, I'm hoping for normal double folded fabric!

I had to decide how to finish my seams.  This wasn't like the cotton I worked with last time, and I had a lot of flounces sewn to the bottom, and I wanted them to be pressed down.  So, I figured out how to do a serger copycat by trimming my seams to about 1/4" and then zigzagging them.  Worked like a hot damn, except I really miss how the serger cuts off all the pesky little threads.  Sigh.  First world problems.

I tried it on as soon as I had the side seams and the shoulders sewn to check for fit.  Perfection!

 I have maybe an inch or so of ease around my muffin top/waist area, and it's the perfect amount to skim over and hang really nice.  And I use the term muffin top with utmost affection.  I have no issues with my body, and now that I'm a full size 18, my patterns are fitting me wonderfully.  It's hard to describe.  With 16's, I fiddled a lot more with length in the shoulder/bust area.  Now everything seems to sit right where it should.  

 I put in a centred zipper at the back instead of the side seam zipper they suggested.  I will avoid side seam zippers at all costs.  This is way more comfy.  Plus, I had a perfect black zipper in my massive zipper stash.  Yay!

 The back, which I sorta feel is like a reverse mullet, is a little bit short.  Yes, I shortened it by 1" from the swayback tuck, but the waist seam is sitting perfectly straight on me.  And the swayback tuck turned out perfect, by the way.  I love it!  Anyways, next time I make this, I will add 2" to the back flounce, and taper it to the side seams, and then it hopefully won't look like it's scooping up.

 After another couple hours of finishing the neckline, armholes, and hem, it's done!  Isn't it pretty on the hanger?

I did the neckline with the bias binding they suggested.  The front is sewn in a V before you attach it, and it worked really well.  The only problem I had was that in some spots, I had less than 1/4" left to stitch down, and it was tricky.  Next time I will sew it in a 1/2" seam allowance so that I have more like 3/8" to turn and stitch down.  Otherwise it is perfect; it sits really nice.  But in this picture you can see that the original neckline would look more proportional.  This one seems a bit small now.  Oh well.  Live and learn!  They design them like that for a reason, and I'm slowly learning to trust that.

At the last minute, I decided I didn't want to bother sewing the bias binding to the armholes.  It adds at least 4 extra layers of fabric.  So, I stitched at 5/8" all the way around, trimmed to 1/4", zigzagged, and then turned it under and topstitched.  Worked wonderfully.  

I'm so pleased with how well the bust and armholes sit.  No wrinkling or anything weird happening.  That's a big success in my books.  I finished the hem of the flounce with a rolled hem.  I do mine the way they taught me in college.  Stitch at 1/2", turn on that line and stitch at 1/8", then trim that really close, and then turn that and stitch it all down.  Takes time, but it's always accurate, and always looks nice.

This thing is so comfy to wear!  It's 100% polyester, but I'm okay with that because it doesn't have sleeves.  It feels really breezy.

And of course, I had to thrown in a sassy pose, just for fun.

The armholes at the back look a little wide, but I'm really happy with them just the way they are.  I'm always tempted to change things and make them 'my way'.  Sometimes it's pleasantly surprising to just trust the pattern and go with it.  

I love how the back fits.  The centre back seam is a straight line, except for the 1" swayback tuck, which gives it just a tiny bit of curve.  With 2" added to the flounce next time, it will be perfect.

I had to do a swirly skirt photo.  I took advantage of the 10 frames my iPhone shoots when you do a selfie with the timer.  This was the neatest picture.  It really shows off how drapey this fabric is.  I love this top!  I'm thrilled with how well it fits.  

Project by project, my mojo is being restored to its former levels.  It's interesting how long it's taking me to look at sewing as a fun hobby and not as work.  I'm still leaning heavily on the work side, but every time I finish something, I get more and more of that spark back.