This top was rough when I picked it up on a thrifting binge. With the wide collar, honkin’ cuffs, and questionable fiber content, it felt like it was left over from the Brady Bunch’s Department of Sad, Ugly Clothing for Extras.
Seriously! Is this even the front?
Look at this thing. I mean, I can’t honestly tell if it’s on backwards or not. But the print is cute! And it’s a great shade of blue! And it’s a $1! Surely, I can save this disaster from itself… in 8-12 months. The enthusiasm with which I cart home thrifted “treasures” rarely lasts long enough for me to actually complete the projects I have in mind. At one point, I had an entire closet pretty much dedicated to “This is going to be SO AWESOME … at some unspecified date in the future” projects.
For this one, though, I loved McCall’s 6711 so much when I sewed it previously that I decided I could crank out another. Cutting this polyester beast up wasn’t too hard; there was enough fullness in the sleeves to get all the fabric I needed, with no real adjustments required. I did take some fullness out of the gathering in the back, but that’s about it.
There wasn’t much fabric left, but that’s a good thing in a refashion, right? It makes me feel oddly virtuous, like I recycled to the max.
Despite the fact that I did *not* notice a couple of small spots on the fabric until it was too late to stick them in the back, I’m really happy with this top. It’s silky, the print looks great with florals and a range of colors, and it was pretty easy. (Real talk: there was some swearing involved with matching up some seams, but that has more to do with my cutting skills than anything else.) I’m putting this one in the “win” column. Jan Brady, in all her martyred practicality, would be proud.