McCall's 7660 - Three Views from Mood Fabrics'

 Okay, it is cold here, which really is normal for the end of December and all I want to wear is warm and cozy.  This Mood Fabrics' Italian Gray French Terry is perfect, it looks just like a chunky sweater knit but it is really a comfy sweatshirt!

  In November on Instagram I started seeing posts about One Week One Pattern and that interested me.  What is One Week One Pattern?  One Week, One Pattern is a photo challenge to try and get as many sewists as possible making the most out of their sewing patterns, by wearing garments made from ONE pattern for ONE week. (this from Sewisfaction's Blog) I had plenty of Archer Shirts that would work for a week but wanted something different.  McCall's 7660 came up as a new fall pattern and I knew I had to make View D.  I started searching Mood Fabrics for the right fabric - which includes sweater knits, Ponte Knits, Cotton Knits (must have 35% cross grain stretch).

  I love a good french terry, which Mood has a great selection.  I found the great french terry and then went with this rib knit trim and it was a perfect match.  Note that you need three sections of 7" x 36" sections for this top.  Gray not your color?  Mood has other options of rib knit trim.  Now this is an easy to construct garment with only a few tips.  First off lift and press the rib knit trim, you don't want to stretch it out.  Also, carefully mark the v of the neck.  I use a frixion pen to  mark the stitching line.  Once the rib knit is in place, I stitch right along that marked line.  Makes for a great "V". My rib knit is a bit stiff and you can see the collar away from the neck but I know with a couple of washings, it will soften up.

    Now are you thinking, hey, Lori, that is one look and you are going to do a week of this pattern?   No worries, I am not done with it yet.  Let's look at View C - a turtleneck version with fuller sleeves, hem and sleeve bands.  I went with a soft sweater knit for this one - Mood Fabrics' Italian Green and Pink Sweater Knit - so soft and warm.

  This is another easy make and really what I need for December, between the holidays, three family birthdays and very busy work schedule, I am just happy to get to sew in December!  A couple of tips with the sweater knit - 1.  test the iron on a scrap piece of fabric, it might be sensitive to warmer heat 2.  Lift and press the sleeve and hem bands and the turtleneck  3.  I like to sew the seams on the hem band and then fit it to my hips, sometimes sweater knit can be extra stretchy and you might need to adjust the width. Here is a good photo of the fuller sleeves and my only change would have been to narrow the turtleneck.  I think that depends on the thickness of your knit, this one was thin and a bit tighter would of held it in place.

  Mood Fabrics' has a great deal of other sweater knits and I think a solid would be perfect for View A.   One more tip, if your sweater knit is soft with alot of stretch, go down a size, which I didn't follow this tip and should of.

  Okay, that gets me two days for One Week One Pattern.  Now to a third day and View E, which has eyelets and a drawstring.  A fun look and I went with a ponte - Mood Fabrics' Dusty Rose Ponte (more colors available) and heavier ponte.

  I do get some extra drag lines from this heavier ponte but really for a casual top I am okay with that but will go with a softer ponte next time.  I did have to narrow the sleeves quite a bit - they were full.

    For the eyelets, I carefully measured and marked the placement.  The thicker ponte worked really well for inserting the eyelets.  My fitting change on this pattern will be to pinch out some at the shoulder seams - eliminating some extra fabric from shoulders to top of bust.  Adjusting the sleeve, too.

 I have read about the adjustment and think it would apply here.




    Do you have a favorite top?  My favorites go in order  from left to right

    Now I have three days ready for One Week One Pattern but my mind is full of ideas for four more days using only McCall's 7660.  Does this concept interest you?  If so what pattern would you use?  What other fabric should I use for this pattern?  I am full of questions, aren't I?  My 4 year-old grandson left and he is always full of questions, I think it rubbed off on me!    



Disclosure - I receive a monthly fabric allowance from Mood Fabrics to make a garment.  These garment are blogged at Mood Sewing Network first and then I will blog here about this garment.