McCalls 7969 Top in Chiffon

McCall’s 7969 has been doing the rounds on Social Media for the last few months or maybe longer.  It has become immensely popular and my interest has been growing.  When Minerva offered me a copy in exchange for a review, I was quick to say yes please!  I wasn’t really drawn to the dress so much because I don’t wear a lot of dresses in my every day life but actually a top.  This pattern doesn’t have a top as part of the pattern, but it was a very simple change simply by reducing the skirt length.

Fabric was my next issue because even though I was wanting to make a top, I didn’t actually have quite the right fabric in my stash.  I am currently all about using what I have so that is how this version using some lovely floaty chiffon which had become a long time stash resident came about.  

I soaked the chiffon in a mixture of gelatin and water for half an hour and then drip dried the fabric on the line.  This made the chiffon a lot easier to work with.  It was while I was cutting it out that the decision to add lace was made.  I figured making bias tape out of chiffon was something nightmares were made of and I had the cotton lace already in my stash so I decided that I wanted to incorporate it somehow into my finished top.  After the top was finished the gelatin was then washed out.

To do this I simply attached it to the wrong wide of my fabric and stitched it before flipping it over to the right side and top stitching it down.  I did this on both the neckline and also the sleeve, although I did gather the sleeve first.  I am really happy with the look of the lace but also it adds some weight and stability to both areas as well.

Would I make this top again?  Absolutely, and I think I would make it again in a chiffon as I love the way it falls.  It is a bit like wearing butterfly wings.