McCall's 7900 - Pattern Review

Hello again sewing/fashion enthusiasts! I know it's been awhile since my last blog post, but as you know, there's a LOT going on in the world right now with the spread of Covid-19, and my focus and attention is being pulled in so many different directions. Through it all though, I have been sewing, and it's been a welcome escape to help calm my mind. I finished this project up last week and since then I've been batch sewing face masks to donate to family in need as well as hospitals and other medical facilities that are running low on supplies. But enough about that, let's get into this pattern review!

I'll admit that fitting has been the hardest part about fashion sewing for me. In a perfect world, I would just pick a pattern, choose my size (no grading needed lol) and sew it up for a perfect fit! That would be a dream come true, but alas, we don't live in a perfect world. So, I must continue to make adjustments so that patterns can fit my body. I just feel like I need sooo many adjustments that I get frustrated and want to simply quit the project, but that's nonsense talk because I'm not a quitter lol. What I can do, however, is find small ways to make my life easier. One of those small ways is to pick a pattern that includes bra cup sizes. That eliminates my need to do a full bust adjustment and allows me to focus on the mountain of other adjustments I need.

So, enter M7900. It's a fairly new pattern and I'm not in love with the way it looks on the pattern envelope, but I was digging the line drawings and it comes with cup sizes!! No FBA needed!

I'll quickly walk you through the adjustments I made. First, I traced off the pattern and sewed it up in what I believed to be the correct size. I chose a 14. I tried it on and as you can see from the picture below, I had a host of fit issues.

Muslin 1:

There was entirely too much fabric in the back and a fair bit of gaping at the back neckline. The front didn't have any issues though. So, I pinned out the excess fabric as best I could. It's a bit tricky to do it for yourself. I have dress forms, but they aren't petite like me, so I had to pin a little, try it on, pin a little more, try it on again, you get the idea. I ended up taking a good inch or more in at the center and then tapering it to nothing at the side seams. Then I pinned up the back neck to eliminate the gaping.

I made those adjustments to my pattern, plus a small narrow shoulder adjustment. Then I stitched up another muslin. You can see the fit is already much better!

Muslin 2:

From there, the only other changes I made were to lower the back neckline a tiny bit and lower the armhole by maybe a quarter inch, and to be honest, it still feels a little tight under the arms. I probably should have lowered it a bit more. But I didn't want to over fit it. That's a thing right? lol.

Anyway, by this time I was just so ready to cut into my fashion fabric. I've had this fabric in my stash for at least a year and a half and I was getting WAY too precious about it lol. It is a gorgeous rayon blend from Fabric Mart that feels buttery soft to the touch and has some stretch to it. It was perfect for the #sewtheprecious challenge happening on Instagram. And this pattern didn't need much fabric, so I'm saving the rest to hopefully make a pair of pants at some point. We'll see if it takes me another year and a half to finally get around to it lol.

I realized after I had my husband take photos of my outfit outside, that I didn't get any good ones of the back bodice, which is what I worked so hard to perfect, so I guess we're settling for this bathroom selfie with bad lighting lol. You can see that the fit isn't perfect, but it's way better than where I started, and a hell of a lot better than the fit I get with most ready to wear clothes, so I'm gonna call this one a win!

I absolutely love how this top came out! It's pretty much exactly what I envisioned in my head. The sewing process was easy, the armholes are finished with bias tape and the neckline has facings. Of course I had to re-draft the back neck facing because of the changes I made, and if I ever make a different view, I'll have to adjust the sleeves, but I can definitely see me making this top again. It can be worn as a top or a vest which means it's a very versatile piece of clothing!

See below for my full pattern review:

Pattern Description: Fitted button-front tops have neck and front facings and length and sleeve variations. A: Purchased bias tape to finish armhole. B: Elasticized sleeve, purchased bias tape for casing. Note: Separate pattern pieces are included for cup sizes A/B, C, D.

I made View A without the ruffle sleeves.

Pattern Sizing: 6-14 and 14-22. I made a 14.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yep.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn't really read them. This pattern is very simple to put together.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the neckline and the cropped length of Views A and B

Fabric Used: A rayon/lycra blend from Fabric-mart

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I did a narrow shoulder adjustment, took length out of the back bodice, lowered the armholes and corrected the gaping at the back neckline.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, and yes!

Conclusion: Super cute top that I definitely think I'll make again now that I've taken the time to fit it properly to my body.