McCalls 6604

So far for Jungle January, I've sewn snakeprint and zebra, but to me, the quintessential animal print is leopard.

This fabric is a poly chiffon from FabricMart that I have had in the stash for a while. I don't love sewing chiffon, particularly poly chiffon, and it isn't a very practical fabric, but I just love this print, so its time had come.

The pattern I chose was McCalls 6604. I actually had this pattern in my to donate box, but it really was perfect for this so I rescued it. I wanted something with few seams (only 3 pattern pieces - check) and minimal details. Since chiffon makes me twitch, I simplified the sewing as much as possible.

Instead of a facing, I finished the back neckline with a self fabric bias strip. Spray starch tamed that beast.

I used a serger rolled hem on the sleeves and hemline. Wooly nylon thread in the looper makes the coverage nice and dense.

The cowl facing was skimpy, so I deepened it 2 inches, but with the floatyness of the chiffon, it was still flipping out all over the place, so I added a weight to keep it tamed. In this case, I used a nickel, sewn into a self fabric pouch and stitched onto the lowest part of the facing. It does a great job keeping the facing in place.

See how well it stays put?! I actually took this pic to show how deep the cowl actually is. Since this fabric is sheer, I will always wear it with a shirt or cami under, but without a cami, my bellybutton is clearly visible.

When I originally envisioned this top, I pictured it with skinny jeans or leggings, but when I got ready to take pictures, my skinnies just didn't look right with it, so I pulled out this brown skirt (Vogue 8603) which I seldom wear. I really like this skirt and it fits well, but all of the tops that look good with it look better with something else. I really like this pairing though, so hopefully this great skirt will see more life now that I have a great top to go with it.

As a parting shot...Rawwr!

And don't forget the giveaway for the Perfect Fit book, mint green linen and New Look pattern! Go and comment to enter if you haven't already! I'll be drawing a name tomorrow and posting the winner on Wednesday.