Royal Winter Top

Another weekend over, another work week starting. Oh, Monday, why must you come so soon?

So since I have a case of the Mondays, I’ll start with some sad news – but don’t worry, there’s a new sewing project ahead! Just bear with me.

A week and a half ago, we had to give away Buckbeak, our only surviving Silver Laced Wyandotte. She was molting and the other two ladies were bullying her so much, she was traumatized and wouldn’t eat or drink. This is more than just high school bullying, this was all-out head pecking, ripping out feathers, clawing, etc. Mean, mean girls! Poor Bucky was on a swift decline, so there was a loving no-kill farmer who took her in. I hope she’s happy now. Chickens can be so cruel. 😦 What a bummer. I miss you, Buckbeak!

OK, let’s get into sewing! I revisited McCall’s 6796 – this time with a beautiful royal purple spandex cotton knit from GirlCharlee.com.

The fabric is more stable than the first time I made this pattern, so the cowl stands up more. It’s a fairly thick fabric, so it’s perfect for Arizona’s cool winter days.

Sneak peek of chickie butts behind me.

I sewed this up in a day (including cleaning house, running errands, etc.). I used the joint forces of Odin (sewing machine) and Freya (serger) to bust this out. The only thing that took some time was hemming, but that’s because I don’t bother with a twin needle and I don’t have coverstitch machine.

Bustin’ a pose for you.

I like how this is also a decent top to wear to work. I wore it last week and got so many compliments on it. It must be the collar because I’m not sure what else is awesome about it, haha. Speaking of the collar, check out the fun buttons!

I think for my next make of this pattern, I should do some kind of embroidery or applique instead of buttons. What do you think?

Since I used my serger and am so proud that this feels and looks like a “real” shirt (i.e. from the mall or something), here’s a peek at the guts:

OK well I guess it would be prettier if I hadn’t just taken it out of the dryer, still damp, with cat hair all over it. I swear, how does cat hair happen AFTER I wash it?

I deviated from the pattern a bit and used twill tape on the underside of the shoulder seam which is why you’re getting a glimpse of white there. I also stitched my shoulder seam with the lightning stitch on Odin first, then went back to serge the seam allowance so the shoulder wouldn’t be all weird and wobbly. It looks like I need practice on serging straight, LOL.

Another way I deviated from the pattern is I under-stitched the collar seam so I wouldn’t have the seam allowance just flopping around and peeking out. I forgot to get a picture of that… my bad, but I highly recommend under-stitching!

I definitely want to make more of these, especially the short-sleeved and sleeveless versions. It’s such a comfortable and cute top for work (and real life, too!). I think drapier fabrics are best for this style, but with a more stable fabric like this one, you can really have fun with embroidery and whatnot! What kind of buttons/embroidery/applique would you put on a collar like this? Give me inspiration! 😀

-RED