McCall's 7094 Striped Pullover Top

Have you been watching Peggy Sagers'  PBS TV series- Stitch 2 Fit?  I have, and I love it.  My husband thinks I'm crazy- "So, if you aren't sewing, you want to watch sewing on TV?"  But, I truly learn something from every episode, and I think Peggy is so accomplished and knowledgeable that I can't wait for the next week's episode, as soon as the current episode is over.

So, on her last show, she said that what you should do before choosing what size to make is measure a similar piece in your closet to get an idea of how much ease you prefer.  She said that if she had 3 women with the same bust measurement, but they were age 20, 40, and 60, that they would all want a different amount of ease.  If you are new to sewing, ease is the difference between your body measurement and the finished garment measurements. You need a certain amount of ease for movement, but certain styles include more ease than others.

A light bulb went off in my head.  I've been seeing lots of people make woven shirts on blogs, and loving them, but whenever I've made a woven shirt, I've felt like they were way too constricting.  So, I went and measured a RTW linen shirt that I own and wear frequently, and it measured 48" across the bust.  My bust is 39", so that means that I like 9" of ease.

Well, no wonder!  Most of the shirt patterns that I've been making only include 3-5" of ease.  So, I started looking through my shirt patterns, and found McCalls 7094 had a finished garment measurement of 48" for the size Medium.  Perfect.

I had bought a striped shirting in January from Hancock fabrics, so I played around a little bit with the stripes.  I cut the sleeves on the bias, so the stripes would be diagonal.  I cut the placket, sleeve tab, and yoke with the stripes going horizontally, and the main body with the stripes going vertically.

The pattern has some great details.  I love the pleating at the shoulder, and the shaped hemline.   I will probably be wearing it with the sleeves rolled up.  The pattern really was designed for drapier fabrics than this, such as challis, crepe, and georgette. 

It's so comfortable.  This is View D, and it is long enough to wear with leggings.  Here it is on me.

One thing to note, is that the front placket goes pretty low.  I need to wear either a cami or a sports bra under it, or else it would be way too revealing.  You could always add a button to keep it closed half way up the placket.

Here it is from the back.  You can see how long it is.  I'm 5 feet 9", and did not add any additional length to this one.   There are other views with shorter lengths though. 

So, thank you Peggy Sagers for sharing that bit of wisdom about ease! You can see some of the episodes on You Tube, or you can order DVD's of the whole series that come with some of the patterns that she designs for her company- Silhouette Patterns. 

Do you watch Stitch 2 Fit or any other sewing shows?

Happy Sewing!

Ann