McCalls 8067 shirt

Have you ever found a fabric that you like so much that you buy it twice? That's what happened to me with this star print cotton that I bought from Threadquarters!

I originally bought a length of the fabric back at the end of last year and used it to make a Vogue 8772 shirt. If you're interested in seeing it, there's a photo on my Instagram, and you can find my thoughts on the pattern in this blog post from a couple of years ago. It's a lovely fabric and the print and its colours are so "me" that when it was on offer recently, I decided that I deserved to treat myself to another piece so that I could make a summery top and enjoy wearing the fabric all year round.

Having bought the fabric, I then needed to settle on what pattern to use. I contemplated making the short-sleeved view of Vogue 8772, but I decided that I wanted something a bit looser and more relaxed. In the end I opted for McCalls 8067.

McCalls 8067 features four different views for loose-fitting V-necked button-front tops with pockets, sleeve and length variations. Two of the four views also have a collar. It's available in two different size ranges covering bust sizes from 30.5 to 44 inches.

I went for view A - the shortest top length with short sleeves and no collar, but I kept it super simple and omitted the breast pockets.

Sewing the shirt was pretty simple. The instructions were fairly standard for a commercial pattern - they assume a certain level of knowledge and understanding and don't hold your hand too much, but if you understand basic sewing terms then they're easy enough to follow. The view of the pattern that I chose is also not the most complicated, so it was actually a fairly speedy project. 

In terms of sizing - I made a straight size 14. That's a size down from what is recommended for my actual bust measurement, and two sizes down from my waist and hip measurements. While this is intended to be a loose fitting pattern, I think if I'd made the size recommended for my measurements it would have just ended up being a bit too baggy as I've got plenty of room in the shirt as it is. I'd definitely recommend checking the finished garment measurements (on the pattern paper itself) and judging what size would be best for you based on those.

The only alteration I made other than sizing down was to alter the button placement and use a couple of extra buttons. The pattern only calls for four buttons for this view, and that looked a bit too spaced out to me personally so I used six instead. I also needed to alter the spacing a bit to make sure I had a button level with my bust point to prevent gaping.

I really like how this top turned out - it's easy to wear and will be nice and breezy for hot weather. I think the shape could be nice worn open as a cover-up over strappy dresses so I might be making a plain version at some point for that purpose. And I like the look of the long-sleeved version too, so you may well be seeing more M8067 shirts from me in the future!