In an effort to use some interesting fabric I got at the NYC Craft Mafia Swap in Brooklyn this summer, I made McCall’s 5388 (View D). The fabric is super, super soft and flowy, but I had an odd amount of it, as I don’t think it’s a standard width. I knew I would have to combine it with something– which I wanted to do anyway, because why not? There were some safe choices, and then there was the cute faux quilted fabric I bought at the Reprodepot outpost at Renegade last summer. I ended up using that because I thought the patchwork and the strange 80’s-slash-Native-Americanesque designs worked off of each other.

Here’s the result. I really like it, but the bib collar is *big*. If I were smart, or patient, I would have made a muslin. That’s just not my way.  I don’t mind the largeness too much, though–especially for summer.  (It was -7 yesterday. I like to think about summer!) I looove supersoft flowy shirts to layer.

Things I altered in my version:
-Left out the sleeve elastic because I don’t like my arms to feel cramped (& I was out of the correct size).
- Changed the bib to a contrasting fabric.
-Made my own bias tape for the back collar instead of using packaged tape.
-Took in the sides at a slight curve (I guess you could call it a dart) to make it a bit less boxy muu-muu.

Things I’d do differently if making this shirt again:
-Take in the bib collar (I’ve already marked the pattern for next time) + possibly chop off a bit of the top of the collar too. Patterns are always too big in the shoulders for me.
-Make it at least a size smaller.
-Try a sleeveless version, because this looked pretty cute w/o sleeves, too. And since this one had generously sized puffy sleeves, I could stand to put some elastic in them next time. I generally cut sleeves a size larger from whatever size I’m making, but I really didn’t need to for this pattern.

As far as patterns go, I’d give this one a B. I’m not sure who exactly that wide bib would flatter, and I had a few WTF moments when consulting the pattern. There were little things left out that a beginner might not know (like how to gather the fabric, or what understitching is) . But overall, I’d probably use it again. I should probably actually do that one day– make something twice– to see how different the results would be.

And there you have it, the last garment constructed on my old machine.

By the way, my friend Nikki, who co-wrote the fabulous book Fashion DIY, took the other half of the grey fabric at the swap. I can’t wait to see what she makes with it.