McCall's 7095 X 3

Alright then!  I am finally on summer break.  Hallelujah.  I've been off almost a week now and all I've managed to do so far is... well, nothing.  And it has been glorious.  I love teaching, I really do.  But I can't tell you how happy I am to see the back end of this school year.  It has been a rough one.  Rewarding, yes, but tough.  I am definitely ready to recharge.  My only plans for the summer are to sew and play with my two year old.  We joined our neighborhood pool, so we've already spent quite a few hours splashing around over there.  Anyhoo...

Here is a trio of tops I made at the end of this school year.  All three are winners in my book.  This should be a really extensive review of this pattern because I made it three times in different views and fabrics.  Also, I think I'm going to format my posts in a 'pattern review' sort of format from now on so I make sure I list all crucial info.  We'll see how it works.  I always appreciate when I google search a pattern and come across a blog post formatted this way.  Makes it easy to see info at a glance.  So here goes!

Pattern Description:  McCall's 7095.  Loose fitting, pullover top with yoke and lots of different options.  It's a groovy, bohemian smock.  Which is exactly what I was looking for.  It's a great art teacher top.  No, it's not a traditionally 'flattering' silhouette.  It is a great big, flowy top and I love it.  Plenty of ease.

Pattern Sizing:  I cut a M.  I made some small alterations to the yoke, but really there is not a whole lot to worry about when it comes to sizing.  I thought it was true to size.

Fabric Used:  I made view A in a mid-weight linen, view D in rayon challis and view C in gauze.  All three yokes were done in linen.  I used the self lined yoke for all three.

Likes/Dislikes:  I love the self lined yoke.  Such a clean way to finish the yoke.  I did not try out the collared version, so I can't comment on that.  I thought the ratio of gathering in to the yoke was perfect.  I did not love the gathered sleeve heads on view C.  I think if I made it again I would remove the extra sleeve cap ease and get rid of that gathering. But it does work with the pattern.

Alterations/Deviations:  I made view A first.  I used a heavier linen than is recommended for the pattern.  So I opted to crop it shorter.  I actually cut the hem at the shortest line, the line for view C where the hem ruffle is attached. Then I attached the hem band differently, cutting a facing as well and attaching it cleanly to the bottom with side splits.  The hem band per pattern instructions is actually attached over the bottom part of the top.  Phew, that was confusing to write.  Hope that made sense.  I kind of made it up as I went along.  I actually really love this first version, even though it sits far away from the body.  It has such a breezy swing.  Fun to wear.  I did make changes to the yoke after sewing up this version.  I actually removed my original yoke and attached a new one after making some changes.  I took a 1/2" wedge out of the back neckline as it was too wide and gaped.  This made the bottom of the back yoke curve slightly but I left it alone as I figured the curve wouldn't interfere too much with the design.  I did straighten the shoulder seams after taking out the wedge.  I have no idea if this is a proper way to fix a gaping back neckline.  Probably not.  But it worked.  I am pretty happy with the fit of the yoke after this fix.   The neckline sits nice and flat against the back of my neck.

I made view D next in a rayon challis.  This was my least favorite of the three. Although now that I've looked at photos, I like it more.  My biggest complaint is that there is a whole lot of volume to gather in to that elastic waist.  I have to shuffle it around when I put it on.  I prefer to have most of the gathering pushed towards the back.  I may arrange it just right and then sew the elastic in a few places to keep the gathers in the right spot.  I also don't like how the elastic waist casing is sewn after the side seams are sewn up.  It is a messy way to do it.  If I made this view again (and I might!) I would create a seam in the body of the top where I wanted the waist casing to go.  That would allow more precision when it comes to sewing the casing.  You could even do it within the seam allowances if you wanted.  I do love the long length.  It could be a mini dress.  I'm 5'9" for reference.

The elastic casing runs through the yellow stripe, which you can see a little better in the closer photo below.  I placed it where I thought it should sit on my waistline.  I didn't pay attention to the placement in the pattern, just fyi.

I made view C last and it is my favorite.   I used a cotton gauze.  I made the sleeves just as the pattern intended, but left off the elastic in the sleeve hem. This definitely feels like a groovy, art teacher top.  Right up my alley.  And like I mentioned before, I am not a huge fan of the gathered sleeve heads.  They work in this soft gauze, but any more stiffness and they would look really juvenile, I think.  I have the yoke split ironed open in these photos.

Conclusion:  Great, easy pattern if you are looking for funky, bohemian top like this.  Lots of options included.  I am hanging on to this one.  I can see myself coming back to it in the future.