Tag: sewing knits

McCall’s 8244 Top

This is another project I made for my monthly Minerva make. While I didn’t get the fabric from them, I was gifted the pattern from Minerva. This is part of the #SewnWithMcCalls Minerva Challenge. I’ll add details for that challenge down below. I decided to make this McCall’s 8244 top. The only change I made to this was to leave the hood off of the long-sleeve top.

The Plan

Because this is a color blocked top, I wanted to make sure I kept everything organized the way I wanted.

Sketch and plan of McCall's 8244 top

The first thing I did was to make a sketch of where I wanted the fabrics to be. Part was based on how I wanted it to look, and part was based on the amount of fabric I had available. All of the pattern pieces are cut out on a single layer (right side of fabric faces up). One of the easiest and fastest ways of cutting out all of the pieces is to use a rotary cutter.

Sewing The McCall’s 8244 Top

McCall's 8244 top front

Although the pattern calls for a 5/8″ seam allowance (standard for the Big 4), I used 1/2″ for the most part. I wanted to make sure that the top had enough room. There was no way I was going to attempt to do an FBA on these pieces. Thankfully, everything worked out really well.

M8244 knit top back

Things worked out so well that this came together in a couple of hours. I sewed everything on the serger except the hems. Trimming the hems with applique scissors or curved scissors is really helpful to reduce bulk. Twin needle for the win to do all the hemming. I used scrap fabric for all the pieces in this.

I actually have leggings that match the paint splatter fabric at the bottom, so that could be another look for this top. This was actually more fun and less stressful than I thought it would be.

Minerva Makes and Challenge

Here are some previous Minerva makes I’ve made recently.

As far as the #SewnWithMcCalls Minerva challenge, anyone can enter if you have used a McCall’s pattern. You can check out their site to learn about the challenge rules, etc. And you can also get a free dress pattern (PDF).

*This contains affiliate links…

McCall’s 6796 Made With Minerva

This is an out-of-print pattern, but it is such a classic style. This is the second time I’ve made this sweater and I just enjoy it so much. For this version, I made McCall’s 6796 with Minerva fabric that I was gifted.

M6796 sweater

This is a slub sweater knit in burnt orange. Here’s a link the fabric if you’re interested. The fact that this material is lightweight and orange, reminded me of the cover photo on the pattern envelope. With that in mind, I figured that these two would be a good match.

Woman wearing M6796

I did not add buttons to this sweater because I wanted this to have a more casual look. This fabric is soft and comfortable.

Woman wearing M6796 back view

Because the fabric is light and somewhat sheer, I would line it if I were to use it for a dress or skirt.

This color is definitely the bright spot I needed in my life! While many people are afraid to sew with knits, I LOVE having a knit memade wardrobe. The comfort and ease of care is almost unmatched. And, you can find a knit for almost any occasion. I have found that most knit fabrics are very easy to sew.

The exception to that might be some of the more “slippery” knit fabrics.

This is the previous sweater and blog post I made using this pattern…

Woman wearing white sweater M6796

Woman wearing orange sweater made with M6796

I hope you will give this pattern a try if you have it. It’s a lovely classic style and quite versatile.