Tuesday, May 25, 2010

McCall 5708, Hilary Duff Tie Neck Blouse

McCall 5708 Thumbnail

It appears that the Hilary Duff/McCall relationship has ended--all trace of her has been wiped from the website and this doesn't appear even in the out of print section. It's a little too bad; while I don't have any feelings about Hilary Duff as a person or actress, the pattern line had some fun pieces in it. This is actually the second Hilary Duff pattern I've made, the first being my M5880 silk chiffon negligee dress.

The tie neck blouse for the office has been back for some time so I decided to get in on the action. I made this around January, I think, out of some of the luscious silk/cotton I got in November from fabric.com. At $11/yd for this batch (with discount coupon) it is among some of the more expensive fabrics that I've purchased, but I didn't want it to get Too Good To Use--in this case, I would have to look for the Perfect Classic Pattern I Can Wear Forever--so I went ahead and cut into it for a trendy piece. Shocking.

This is an easy pattern, just front, back, sleeves, tie, and bitty front facing--no closures. It's a bit of a fabric hog because the tie is cut on the bias.

Topstitching at Front Opening The slit that makes the neckline wide enough to pull over your neck is meant to be finished with a facing. While I normally try to engineer my way around using a facing, in this instance finishing that edge with bias tape would make it thicker and more unwieldy so I stuck with the facing. The pattern directs you to understitch that front facing, but in my experience with facings understitching is completely ineffective to keep them from flopping around. I absolutely did NOT want this facing flipping to the outside. I decided to topstitch it down, figuring that the tie would cover the topstitching anyway. In fact, the topstitching looks fine and it would be fine even if it showed. This is what the facing looks like from the inside.

French Seams Because the fabric has silk content I sewed it in French seams. I still don't quite know how to handle an armscye in a French seam. This time, I sewed the shoulder and side seams in French seams and then set in the sleeves with French seams. It worked pretty well.

Original Sleeve Cap Except that the sleeves were just way, way, WAY too gathered and puffy. Anne Shirley would have loved them. I had lengthened the sleeve because I was thinking I might wear it as a 3/4 sleeve. In fact, it looks terrible with the sleeve going beyond my elbow, so it doesn't help that it's all pushed up either (I put elastic in the sleeveband). In the photos it's hard to tell a difference between the version at left (as drafted) and the finished version, but I cut about an inch and a half off the top of the sleeve cap after seeing the drafted version (which entailed undoing all those beautiful French seams). I might go back and shorten the sleeves eventually, which will help reduce the volume a little more, but I haven't bothered yet (and it's about to get retired for the season; too hot to wear that much silk!).

M5708







In the end, I was surprised by how much I liked this top and how well it was drafted. I mean, there's not much to the drafting, but the facing in particular surprised me by being not horrible. I actually like it better than the Burda 08-2008-119 tie neck top and may try it sleeveless this summer, maybe even out of that same silk chiffon as the earlier Hilary Duff pattern, just to be strange. In case you're curious, the skirt is a Knip Mode from last year.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

39 comments:

Claudine said...

Great blouse! The tie neck / big sleeves trend has a few more years, at least, until it starts to look dated. You will have lots of opportunities to wear it.

Myra said...

Actually, it looks more 30-40's vintage to me, so I wouldn't worry about it looking dated. I love the sheen.

Marie-Christine said...

Actually silk, while warm in winter, is perfect for DC-sauna weather :-). That's why the Japanese wear silk so much, same climate.

But anyway, I don't think you're going to get less volume from shortening alone. If anything, it might look like -more- volume from a visual trick, similar to very wide beds (that Napoleon slept in or something) that look 4' long even though they're 6'. So be careful with that... And I have nothing to say about the pain of ripping out French seams so as to be able to take out width.

They could grow on you, they look pretty cute actually, if you can stand cute?

Olga said...

Cute blouse! I am perpetually "into" the tie-neck blouses (dresses are also welcome), and this is a great example. I don't know about shortening the sleeves -- do you think it might throw the style of the blouse off-balance because the bodice is a bit voluminous as well? Good idea to let it marinate in your closet until fall and then decide -- in my experience, clothes start looking better after hanging in my closet for a while.
About the french seams for garments with sleeves, I don't think you are supposed to do french seams when you set in a sleeve (although, if you have a dropped sleeve with an almost straight attachment seam, which you attach on the flat before side seams, french seams are great). I am with you on always doing french seams for silk garments (serging silk looks cheap, at least when I tried it), and when I get to the sleeves, I set them in as normal and then trim the SA and finish it with a bias strip. If your silk is thin enough to do french seams, it should not be too bulky for this armhole/sleeve seam finish.

Maryissewfast said...

Love the blouse, but the skirt really caught my attention. Thanks for sharing your source for the skirt!

Trudy said...

Your top is gorgeous. I love it with that skirt. Thanks so much for visiting. I have a really fun post planned for tomorrow. It's a what I'm wearing post. The poses are fun and crazy. Hope you'll stop by.

lsaspacey said...

Can we see the sleeves at the 3/4 length? I'm actually a big fan of my gathered sleeves at that length (seen here) I'm about to use that same Vogue sleeve and BBW pattern combination to make a summer dress, with in-seam pockets and maybe a flounce at the bottom. I agree, let the blouse marinate for the summer.

NancyDaQ said...

I think it's a gorgeous blouse. And if you don't mind me saying so--the voluminous sleeves really balance out your figure. You look great!

KID, MD said...

Beautiful! That color is wonderful on you. I do appreciate the decreased volume in the sleeve (and I loved the Anne of Green Gables reference!).

Angela said...

Super cute blouse!! I've been meaning to make this blouse since I first purchased the pattern... I think it was like 2 years ago. LOL. :) I love the red on you!

Little Hunting Creek said...

What a pretty blouse - I especially LOVE the sleeves! It looks great on you too

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous outfit -- I love both pieces!

Karen in Paris

Adelaide B said...

What a great color! I think this pattern will look both cute and professional without sleeves for the summer.

Andrea said...

That is an awesome blouse and a great color. I have to get one of those knitmode magazines, that skirt is too cute. By the way, I ordered Kwik Sew 3760. I'm thinking of using that for the polka dotted fabric we got with cherries on it from PR Weekend. What do you think?

Carol said...

I'm a bit of a sucker for tie neck blouses. The colour of this is gorgeous. I haven't tried any Hilary Duff patterns (and I have no idea who she is) but I like the look of this one so it's shame you can't get it any more.

Eugenia said...

Oh this is so gorgeous. I love a statement blouse like this one - a delicious red, fabulous tie neck and extravagant sleeves - it's perfect!!!

judidarling said...

What a fantastic color for you. Warm colors make you glow--great choice--this is definietly a three season blouse at the very least.

kbenco said...

The colour is beautiful, and the whole outfit looks on trend and professional. I don't think you need to shorten the sleeves.

Faye Lewis said...

Love that pattern. I made it once too. Your blouse is gorgeous.

Victoria said...

Lovely blouse! It looks stunning in red!

Sheryll said...

Love this colour on you!
The sleeves look nice as they are, but if you don't think they are 'you' maybe you are better to slim them down slightly - I think it is a personality thing!
For french seams in an armhole, it helps to clip into your stitching around the curve on the first round.

AllisonC said...

I love it, quite impressive how the sleeves turned out so puffy in a silk, but I think they look fantastic.

Stitchy Witch said...

Very cute! I like the tie neck. I noticed the Hilary Duff patterns were gone - you're right, some of them weren't bad! I think I have that exact fabric, being saved for some sort of dress. I can't figure out how I should deal with pretreating the fabric... did you wash yours?

Gail said...

Very nice blouse. You look fabulous in red.

Vicki said...

Lovely! I bet it feels luxurious on :)

Sue said...

The fabric looks beautiful and is a great red on you. I have this blouse pattern and this motivates me to dig it out!

senaSews said...

Very nice top. I LOVE the color on you and the fabric looks rich and expensive. Well done!

Clio said...

I think the sleeves are great as is. The volume of the sleeves/top makes your figure look very hour glassish, in a good way. And the color is great!

Orchidophile said...

Lovely! Well done! Hilary Duff...who knew?

Uta said...

I really like the blouse on you! Cute style, gorgeous color. I'm too chicken for a really trendy blouse, so far. Keep them coming and I may get up my courage, too!

Hatty said...

Yes, the sleeves mya be outside your 'comfort zone' but just stretch that zone a bit because they look great. And great shape of skirt to balance it. With the same-shaped skirt in a lightweight fabric and something more summery on your legs and feet it (and so you) would look stunning in the summer too.

Don't give up on it. It suits you so well!

Tany said...

What a fantastic looking blouse! You look so great in it!

Sew-4-Fun said...

Yet another lovely outfit! I don't know how you do it.

Today I've decided to spread some love, and I'd like you to know how much I enjoy reading your blog. Your posts are always so detailed with lots of information. My favourite part though is seeing your photos of an entire outfit. I know this takes lots of time and energy so I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to do this. It always brings a smile to my face.

scarabee said...

You know, the sleeves *are* very puffy, but the girliness of those seems to work well with the whole pussy-bow thing, and you aren't top-heavy, so it isn't an overwhelming look, in fact it looks quite balanced in your pics. And the kick-ass red gives it the power to offset the girliness that would be overwhelming in, say, pink.

I think it's awesome!

HeathersSphere said...

I adore this color and style on you!

ELMO said...

This combination makes you look thinner, maybe what one of the previous posters commented it balances your silhouette, even though the style isn't fitted. The negligee dress was adorable.

Anonymous said...

So strange the Hilary Duff has been completely eradicated from the McCall's site!

I really like this top. I've been a little obsessed with tie neck tops lately. They're so perfect for work: it's a blouse, but with interest. More feminine and fun. I just need to get around to making one!

glorm said...

Love your blog, filled with photos and descriptions. I am trying to decide how to update a McCall's outfit from the 80s only to find this post with a new pattern very similar in style! Thank you for allowing me to link to it.

Cennetta said...

Another beautiful addition to your spectualr wardrobe. BTW- I like to "puff" too. Hmmm.., I need a little red in my wardrobe too. ;-)