She opened her presents this morning. I did not give her the big box of gifts from my sister who lives in Henderson, Nevada (also Heather's godmother) until this morning. Heather and I have discussed it's not just the presents that make this a special day for her. This is also a special day for her father and me. I asked her why.
"Because it is the day when I popped out of your tummy and lived on Earth." She knows that she is a GIFT from God. Everyone are gifts for each other. Nobody can buy love, happiness, joy, and any of our life experiences...
She read and adored the card we gave her describing the positive characteristics she possesses and brings to our lives.
She also enjoys receiving goodies from my sewing machine.
This is her new favorite top fr
om a McCall's pattern.
I was excited to sew the trendy semi-detached top. Because it ended up being a tad tight and uncomfortable, I sewed the long sleeved version in the same fabric, but in the next larger size, a girls' size 8.
Pattern Description:
Girls' coordinates: knit tops and skirts. Views A and C are the knit tops and views B and E are the skirts with a flounce at the lower edges. Views A and D are "semi-fitted" and views B, C, and E are "close-fitting". I figure top A is looser than top C.
I originally intended to sew view C, the top with the bare upper sleeve, or what I call the "semi-detached sleeve" look. After the "close fitting" experience which I will describe later, I ended up with both styles of the top in the same fabric.
Pattern Sizing:
I sewed view C in a girl's size 7 (122) and view A in a girl's size 8 (128).
Fabric Used:
Hello Kitty cotton t-shirt type of knit from fabric.com. I discovered that this fabric with the neon pink Hello Kitty faces is already sold out. The one with the lilac Hello Kitty faces was available the last time I checked.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, they were because there were illustrations that accompanied the steps. The dots on the lower part of each armscye are the placement positions for the semi-detached sleeve of view C.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Favorite Features
* Simple to sew
* View A is a versatile basic knit top pattern. I could easily modify the sleeve length and style.
Not-so-favorite Features
I originally sewed View C, the one with the bare upper sleeves. The neckline facing strip (cut on the straight grain of the fabric) really stabilized the neckline to the point that it did not stretch much when my daughter slipped the top over head. I joked about her still having a big skull (it was noticeably large when she was an infant with a circumference that ranked in the 110% percentile at the time). She also experienced some tightness in the armscye, which is contrary to her usual experience in RTW size 7 tops being slightly baggy due to her slender frame. It seemed as if this top would fit her better in a poly knit fabric. Although this style is trendy, Heather did not think it was appropriate for school. So I traced the pieces for the other top, and cut one size larger , an "8". Heather was barely able to slip the second version of the top over her head. It would have been wiser to abandon the neckline self-binding in favor of a coverstitched or topstitched neckline for more wearing ease.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
* I did not the cut the pattern tissue paper. It was more convenient to me trace the pieces with a particular size onto gift wrap tissue paper and make any necessary adjustments. I traced a "7" of the pattern pieces from View C and an "8" of the pattern pieces from View A.
*Shortened each sleeve of the second version(view a) 1 1/2".
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I plan to sew more of the view A top and possibly the flounced skirt using knits from my stash. The combined time for both styles of tops took one full evening for me (less than four hours). This is a wonderful first-time knit project.
Conclusion:
I really like the Burda patterns for kids. Unlike my experiences with the big 4 patterns, I have encountered very few or no adjustments.
Happy Birthday to you, Heather, and also to Albert Einstein who was also born 131 years ago on the day of pi (3.14)!
