ELEVATED FABRIC PIECING: USING SCRAPS TO MAKE AN EXTRA SPECIAL McCALL'S 7977
Chances are, you’re sewing a bit more than usual during Shelter in Place. And that often means working with whatever you already have in your stash. Sometimes fabric loses its magic after a couple years on your shelf. Or maybe, like me, you hang on to scraps forever because you might need them one day…. Well, it’s one day. It’s time to use the scraps!
I’ve already written a post about my four versions of McCall’s 7977, a blouse pattern I absolutely love! But I wanted to expand up on it and show you how simple it is to make a pieced version, with more than one fabric, like this one.
Both of these fabrics are remnants from previous projects, and both are very beloved fabrics!! The embroidered eyelet lace is from It’s A Material World in Manhattan’s Garment District, and I used it to make McCall’s 7948. I kept this fabric in my stash for a long time before using it, because I loved it so much. Luckily, that dress is a perfect pairing, and I have worn it a ton. The floral is a Liberty Tana cotton lawn that I used on this vintage cream puff of a birthday dress. To say this fabric and this print were a pleasure to work with would be an understatement!
I keep all of my white fabrics together, so I can find them easily and so pigments from other fabrics don’t accidentally transfer onto them. After a while of staring at my shelf, I started to wonder, which of my white fabrics matched? Who is the same exact color? I took them all to the window for bright natural light. And to my delight, these two were a perfect match!
I had very little of the embroidered eyelet, maybe a half yard. My first instict was to make this pattern, and I assumed I would only have enough to use the eyelet at the front yoke. But when I laid my modified sleeve pieces on top of the fabric, I realized that if I placed the eyelet at the right part of the sleeve, I had just enough fabric width to make it work!
To learn how I modified this pattern before adding piecing, see my previous blog post about M7977.
Here is how I modified the sleeve prior to making this version of M7977. I had already made it 3 times, so I had made changes throughout the pattern to suit my preferences. You can see that I have drawn horizontal lines directly onto this pattern - those are to indicate where I wanted the seam lines in my pieced version.
Both photos show the same pattern pieces. On the left, they are layered with seam lines matching. On the right, they are separated to show the seam allowances.
I then traced the pattern, making 3 pieces, one for each section of the pieced sleeve. I added 5/8” seam allowances at each seam, as the rest of the pattern is drafted with 5/8” seam allowances. I also lengthened the sleeve by 1” at the cuff, and added 1/2 to the height of the top shoulder edge of this sleeve, for a bit of additional lift in the shoulder gathering puff.
When cutting the fabric, it is important to maintain grainline across the different materials. I also took the step of placing my eyelet so the stripes matched on both sides, and so the eyelets were not in the seam allowance at all. If you have ever sewn fabric with giant eyelets like this, then you know: your machine won’t like it! I avoided it by only having solid cotton voile in the seam allowances.
When piecing these fabrics, I wanted to ensure the seam allowances wouldn’t show through the eyelet holes. On the sleeves, I pressed them away from the eyelet, so they would be hidden. At the front inset, you must press the seam allowance toward the eyelet to maintain a perfect “V”. I used a 3 thread narrow overlock stitch on my serger to trim down and encase all seam allowances, so it is minimally visible.
To finish the neckline, I made narrow double fold bias tape. The bias tape encases the raw fabric edge, and the machine stitches enforce the neckline. I also added a rouleau button loop at center back, and a little flower shaped button.
I love how this project turned out. Pairing a favorite pattern with beloved fabrics is a winning combination! And it always feels good to use up all of your scraps. I look forward to wearing this one! XO, Martha