Thursday, September 11, 2014

McCalls 6928 Skirted Tunic in Royal Blue!


First, credit to Mary, of Biblioblog...several weeks ago, she updated her Pattern Review of the tank version of this pattern with her skirted version, and I fell in love with it. It is so pretty!

Bonus - the pattern comes with a bunch of versions, all for woven fabric (although I plan to use it for knits as well, since it has no bust darts).



Really liking this with jeans, the way Mary styled it.



This fabric is a beautifully embroidered eyelet from fabricmart.com. It's a thick cotton and feels very rich. I'm not a big fan of blue, but one morning Robin Roberts, co-host on Good Morning America, was wearing a stunning royal blue dress. After that, I was on the lookout for something in royal blue.


The unexpected challenge with this fabric was matching the parallel eyelets vertically and horizontally when I laid out the pattern pieces! The color is soooo pretty with white. 



Sewing notes - I did struggle a bit with the bodice of this pattern. The straps are very narrow, and I don't like peek-a-boo lingerie straps :-) And there are no bust darts, always a challenge for me with a woven top.
  • I sewed View D in Medium. This is the skirted version that does not drop in the back.
  • The bodice was lengthened by 1", front and back.
  • The front bodice was cut on the fold, rather than seamed.
  • I widened the straps, but had to rework the armholes and shoulder seams quite a bit to get a nice fit. 
  • And I added about an inch to the skirt. Just for good measure because I'm 5'7" and generally add a couple inches to a pattern.

After finishing this top, I knew I wanted to make a couple more in light-weight woven fabrics. It's such an easy piece to wear over pants, and it's a little dressier than a T-shirt. But I wasn't happy with the bodice. So - yes, I redrafted it for wovens. I've redone the shoulders and armholes, and added a bust dart for my full B-cup. I'm much happier and will share a new version soon.

But meanwhile, one more look, with Virginia leggings...



September is National Sewing Month! And I'm on board - it's all I have planned...

Ciao! Coco

17 comments:

  1. Coco, it's so pretty every single way you styled it. I love yours, and now want to see if I can make one in knit. I did a lot of alterations to this pattern and fiddled with the straps just as you did. Again, beautiful top and so striking on you. Thanks for the mention of my review :-)

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    1. Thank you, Mary, and you're welcome! Hope you do the knit version soon!

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  2. What a pretty blue eyelet. Love it Coco, it is too cute.

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  3. That is a beautiful color on you, and it goes with everything!

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  4. Gorgeous on you - beautiful color!
    By the way: here's a model - Chantelle Brown-Young - with the different coloration on her skin. And,like you, she is beautiful:
    https://www.yahoo.com/style/chantelle-brown-young-an-unconventional-beauty-97225599143.html

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  5. The very first thing I noticed in the 1st picture was how perfectly straight the eyelets were!!! The challenge of matching them paid off!!!

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    1. PS...and it is a beautiful top!

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    2. Judi, thank you. It was a bit of a beast! I thought it was going to be one of those simple layouts...

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  6. So pretty! I love the subtle peek-a-boo effect!

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  7. Lovely and that is a fantastic color on you! Good call on ditching the center seam and can't wait to see the modified version....:)

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    1. Thanks, Val. Won't be long, I've cut out two more already. As long as the roof and slab don't leak and we don't get a hurricane...

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  8. This top is a surprisingly versatile style and so is the color. It looks great with the leggings and the cropped white pants. I can see why you plan to make some other versions.

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  9. The vibrant blue looks amazing on you! I like this breezy look, and the various ways that you have paired with with other items in your wardrobe.

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I love it that you came by...and thank you for your comments! Coco