How To Make a Pattern Twice as Difficult as it Should Be...

Choose a sheer fabric that needs complete underlining, requiring a ridiculous amount of handsewing, and be sure not to check the fit until you are half-way through!!


I just finished McCall 5809, a blouse to augment my summer work wardrobe. Overall, I am happy with how it turned out, but there are a couple of things that I ran into that frustrated me.


First, there were some issues with the pattern drafting. There were notches on some pattern pieces that did not have corresponding notches on other pieces, and the drafting of the lower part of the shirt was not great...the pieces were quite a bit wider than the waistband...which because of the oddities with the notches it was hard to tell what was the top and what was the bottom.

Second, I added a center back seam, cutting out about two inches at the back neck and grading out towards the waist. Lately it seems that all the McCalls and Butterick patterns that I have been using are made for incredibly broad backs. I had the same issue with Butterick 5331 and had to take out a significant amount of fabric from under the arms.


Here you can see just how much I had to cut out of it, represented by the black line on the pattern piece:


Third, I lengthened the front and back pattern pieces by two inches. I decided on this based on flat pattern measurements, and found that I needed a lot more length to cover the "girls." I didn't do an FBA because there was already significant gathering at the shoulder and where the bodice meets the waistband, but my bust is lower than the pattern was drafted for.


Fourth, I changed the zipper to an invisible zipper. I finally found an invisible zipper foot for my Singer 401. I picked up a little plastic gadget from Coats and Clark. It worked just fine with the slant shank, but a hint....if you get this, you have to turn the presser foot pressure allllll the way down, otherwise it pushes the plastic foot forward and the needle won't go through the hole in the foot.


Finally, I left the ruffle off the sleeves. It was just a bit too precious for me. I also left off the "decorative buttons" in the original instructions...I think I will be able to survive without any artsy-fartsy crap sewn to my shirt.

Because the white eyelet (is it really an eyelet if it doesn't have holes? Is it just an embroidery?) was soooo sheer, I underlined the whole thing with white Sheermist lining. In order to hide the seams, I sort of did a combination of a standard lining and an underlining, you can see here where I put the zipper between the layers from the waist down:


Above the waist, I used bias strips made from the lining to bind the edges of the seams. I also bound the armscyes, and where the seams were visible used french seams. By the end, I had all the seams finished or hidden, even though I was kind of flying blind as far as how to assemble it. I would probably do a better job if I were to remake it, but overall I am happy with it.

In response to LaKaribane's questions below:

LaKaribane asked, 1) The lengthening you did. Did you lengthen for bust/torso length only or for a 2-in-1 with the FBA issues? Because you go on to say that the gathers eliminated the need for a FBA.If it's for length only, why not lengthen the midriff only?

I only lengthened the bust because I have a very low bust point. Probably about 2 inches below that of my dress form. For that reason, my dress form has one of my bras stitched to it, and padded out, so that the bubbies are where they should be. (But, let's face it, if my bust was where it should be, I wouldn't have to lower it on the dress form!). I didn't do a full bust adjustment because there were already plenty of gathers at the shoulder and at the under-bust seam, so it wasn't so much a matter of coverage that I was looking for, but to make sure that my bust was actually in the bodice, and not in the waistband.

I didn't make any alterations to the midriff or the peplum, because there I needed no extra length, I sliced the bodice just under the armscyes, and added the additional tissue to allow the waist seam to fall under the bust rather than cut across the bust. I then added the same ammount of length to the back, so the waist would be even all the way around.

2) The peplum width difference with the midriff. So you cut it down to fit the existing midriff or, a contrario, ajusted the midriff to fit the peplum? Was it the case for both front and back?I'm short so I guess the length will not be a problem. Rather the back width.

I didn't make any alterations to the peplum, but just stretched the fabric as much as I could while sewing. In re-examining the shirt, I think I may have actually attached the waistband upside down, and that is the reason that the peplum and waistband notches and length did not match. So, I think that if you mark clearly what is the top of the waistband and what is the bottom...you will not have any problems at all.

The back width is something that I SHOULD have fixed prior to cutting the shirt, and had I done a better job of flat pattern measurments, I would have known right away that the back was too wide.

Good luck on your version! I can't wait to see it on Pattern Review!!

--Michelle