This is my cute scrap fabric top using the Mccall’s 6839 pattern. I had originally made a really high wasted skirt with this cute yellow cotton brocade fabric, and I’ve being holding onto the left over fabric ever since. Randomly one Thursday night, I decided to go through my scraps. I pulled out some of my top patterns to see if I could make something fun without having to go to the store to buy sewing supplies. When you’ve been sewing as long as I have and tend to be a sewing pack rat, that’s usually pretty easily accomplished. I am currently storing fabric in my New York apartment, at mom and dad’s house in Kentucky, and also in storage. I guess it’s time I used some of this extra fabric up. Since my blog is kawaii themed(because of my love of Japanese things), I try to keep everything Japan-themed. That’s why I’ve featured a section below with what I would pair this with keeping that in mind.
McCall’s Pattern 6839 Review
I had only this one, strange shaped piece of fabric to work with, but I knew it would be enough to sew a top without sleeves or a peplum. You can see from the photos that I had an interesting time positioning the pieces, but it worked! Using the 6839 McCalls patterns, I chose the shirt option C to work with. For myself I usually cut all of my pieces at a size 12, except for necklines, shoulder, and sleeve pieces. for the neck, shoulders and sleeves, I always need the smaller size 10 sewing sizes. Use whatever works for you obviously.
Cutting The Pattern Out
Laying my pattern pieces over the fabric was interesting. As you can see from the photo below I had to fold my fabric piece over on the sides to cut each piece. Luckily for me this was perfect in that it only had 3 pieces total. The front and back piece, and then a bias cut pattern piece that eventually became my ties at the back. Now that I’ve finished the top, I will give you a heads up.
That tie piece is supposed to be made in the same fabric, but I actually recommend that you don’t do that. I think the tie in the back of the top would look better if it was ribbon or even a thinner bias strip. I sewed this pattern in a lightweight brocade, which admittedly is a little thicker, but I still think with other fabrics I would recommend that same change. A thin ribbon or even a very pretty piece of lace would work just as nicely and add some more texture to the design. It will also lay better in back.
Sewing McCall’s Pattern 6839
I’m really surprised at how fast I finished sewing this shirt pattern. I had all of the pattern pieces cut out, pinned, fabric pieces cut, and the top sewn in around 3 and a half hours. That includes my weird floundering of the fabric to try to figure out cutting out the fabric pieces from my strange shape. As you can see from the photos, the finished sewn shirt design is a bit longer in back and shorter in the front. Do you see the tie in the left side of the photo? As I said before, I really think a long piece of lace or thin ribbon would look nicer than this.
If you have a lightweight, but thicker fabric, like the one I used, it will help add shape to your garment. Depending on what you’re sewing, you may find that thinner or thicker fabrics work better to produce the affect that you want. If I had used a thin fabric the garment would move a bit more freely and probably be a little more comfortable to wear. With the said, that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted a thicker fabric to produce a stiffer, more modern shell look that maintained it’s shape while I wore it. By using a slightly thicker, but not heavy fabric weight, I was able to accomplish that. You can see in the photo how the piece still pushes slightly outwards at the hem, and this fabric helps to do that. I was very, very pleased with the finished look.
Where to get supplies and materials
I’m a huge fan of fabric.com. I live in New York so I do have a vast array of stores to pick from when I’m fabric shopping, but are they cheap? Well yes and no. Most of the fabrics stores I can get to in Manhattan aren’t the most affordable places to purchase fabric in the city. I can get some cheap sewing fabric in NY if I have a weekend to take the subway down to Brooklyn or Queens, but man what a trip. Plus lugging it all home? Ain’t nobody got time for dat’! So truly, most of my fabrics I order online, and Fabric.com is my first stop.
If you want the McCalls’ dress shirt pattern, you can find it online at Joann fabrics or in their store if there’s one in your area. If you want an old pattern (like I so often do!) that they’re not selling anymore, check Ebay here.
How do I make this a kawaii Japanime look?
Well obviously my Japanese Japanime updo was a must. One amazing thing about living and working in NYC, is being able to wear and look however you want. Granted in you were in a full anime costume then yes, you’d have some people staring. This look was fun enough to put some pep in my step without drawing too much attention. For a kawaii look to finish this kawaii sewing project, I paired my homemade top with a cute fitted black a line skirt from Ann Taylor, and of course my beautiful baby blue Club Monaco jacket. I love the mixture of pastel clothing with a serious side of black to make it just wearable enough for work.
