February 23, 2018

A THROWBACK WITH MCCALL'S 7687...

...of course I bought this pattern
as I imagine lots of us did.  SLEEVES are still trending, I love them all. View D of this pattern really caught my eye,but, I sometimes practicality comes into play.   I could see myself at work fighting with that sleeve all day long.  I might still make it at a later date, but for now the flounced View A brings back memories of a sleeveless top I made way back in the 80's.  I loved that top!  The weather in my area keeps teasing with us (mid 80 degrees) but it's not quite time to go sleeveless. I made  View A to be part of a Carol's Sewing Corner's Facebook Challenge.  She wants to encourage people to sew more wovens.



I'll just call this top a jump start on summer sewing. I'm still sewing mainly from my stash, because let's face it, although I'm thankful to have a Joann's in my city, I'm not having very much fabric purchasing luck there.  I can't tell you much about this fabric, except I think it's some sort of cotton blend.  It raveled a little, but I tamed that with my serger.

I love sewing knits - they are so forgiving.  But when I do venture into woven territory I have to start pulling out references to help manage the fit.

I used this reference to help with a SBA on a princess seam.  It blew my mind when the book suggested a horizontal rather than vertical adjustment; but it makes sense now that I've done it.   I have lots of reference books in my sewing room, but to be honest - I'm not using them to their full potential.  Promise to self: I will commence studying my references more - starting with this one.

What is your favorite fitting reference book???


18 comments:

  1. I have my sewing books elsewhere in the house (space constraints) but might move some older Burdas elsewhere and have the sewing refernece books in the sewing room again.

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    1. My books can be found on the living room book case, there's Burda magazines on the floor next to my bed, and the majority are housed in the sewing room - there's space constraints here too. I'm going to try to concentrate on the Fast Fit book to get to know it a little better. It's funny that this book is the first one I purchased when I resumed sewing again in 2006 - so it really should be my favorite.

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  2. That's such a lovely top Faye. Like you, I don't use many wovens so I find fit more of a challenge when I do. For fitting reference, I have an old Vogue magazine called 'Fine Sewing' with lots of info in it and I also love 'Pants For Real People' and 'Jackets For Real People'...both by Palmer/Pletsch

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    1. Thank you Diane - knits have spoiled me. I love them so I will continue to use them but I will be venturing into wovens more and more. I'd never heard about the Fine Sewing Vogue magazine so thank you for mentioning it.

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  3. I love your top and will be perfect for hot weather! My go to fitting reference book is Palmer/Pletsch's Fit for Real People and the Fast Fit noted above. Between those two I am able to get a better fit.

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    1. Hope you are enjoying your new retirement status Linda! Fit is a constant challenge for me and it's helpful to know what reference are being used by other sewists.

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  4. Beautiful blouse Faye! I agree with you...I don’t use mine enough either and it sure would help a lot!! The one you have referenced here is always on my sewing table for quick reference too (but I rarely use it!)

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    1. Thank you Myra. It's good to know that I'm not the only one. I find that I'm always running into a new and different fit issue with wovens. Thanks to Carol's suggestion,I'm going to keep the Fast Fit Book OFF THE SHELF and on the sewing table too.

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  5. Very beautiful top, Faye. I love the flounce.

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    1. Thank you! I am so in love with flounces and ruffles for spring and summer. I think I'll need a couple more.

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  6. I love this top Ms. Faye!! The flounces are awesome! I bet you were bouncing around in them back in the 80s, lol! I plan to get to woven this year, and use Fit for Real People as a reference. They have a pants fitting version that I am using as well. I definitely gravitate more to knits though. I love working with them.

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    1. Thank you Vanessa. Yes I take knits to heart but I plan to work with wovens more often now.

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  7. Yep the fit for real people books are my favorite too.

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    1. Those are really great books Casey.

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  8. Great looking top! Like all sewists, I have lots of reference books that I'll check for a particular article but really need to read to get their full potential and know just what's inside.

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    1. I have promised myself to do this too. Most of my books are just gathering dust!

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  9. These tops are so cute. I like the book that you have shown - it's one of my favourites, and the only one that has the alteration I needed for my narrow back!

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    1. Thank you Sarah! The book is a wonderful resource and one of the very first ones I purchased when I first started sewing again in '06. I just need to blow the dust off my books and start using them.

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