Cowl, Not Scowl

I'm a bit in love with McCall's 6563.  Seriously, I've made 3 of them in about a month, mainly because there's a lot to like about the pattern.  The cowl neckline is a classier twist on the standard T-shirt (IMO), and it's relatively easy to put together.

Another feature I like is how the cut is meant to be a bit looser, so it skims fluidly over your body instead of hugging it.  (A bonus for the zaftigly inclined.)  I don't know how it performs in a woven, since I've been going through a bit of an ITY knitsession lately.  Right now, don't care.  I needed new knit tops, so I made new knit tops.  Go me.

The first was in a blue that I loved so much I may have bought the remaining yards from Fabric.com to hoard like a cave dwelling critter with a serious OCD.  

Precious....

 I think it was the fourth shirt (?) that I've made since embarking on this whole "seriously getting into garment making and not just for the occasional costume thing that you rush through 2 days before Halloween" thing. 

The base pattern itself is pretty easy.  It's 2 pieces cut on the bias, with different sleeve options.  I decided to do the shoulder tabs on the first shirt, because I liked the idea of the gathered effect.  For the most part it works, but the sleeves and tabs slip all over the place like a drunk on a frozen sidewalk.  Eventually I'll arrange and tack them down, but it's winter, I live in Northern climates (read: we live in sweaters and cardigans this time of year) and I have more interesting things to tackle. (Like more cowl-neck shirts!)

I will own up to making a mistake in the construction on Shirt 1 on the back.  

It's not supposed to do that.

 I had originally intended to turn the back neckline once more so the bias tape wouldn't show, and I was counting on the weight of the fabric to help ease it into place.  But of course the fabric wouldn't behave so I ended up with the twist you see here.  Fortunately it's not terribly noticeable when worn, and it looks like a part of the design.  (Construction mistake....or design genius?!?!?)


On to Shirt 2.

I feel like this image doesn't adequately capture the bright CORALness of the fabric.

Another ITY knit in coral with black polka dots.  For this one I thought I'd like to draft a longer sleeve (it is winter after all).  But that was a LOT of coral to wear all at once, so I cut them down to a short sleeve length.  Since this is a special color (thread matching was "fun"), the closest matching bias tape was only available in double fold.  It wasn't too difficult to trim down the excess with a rotary cutter to make a single fold.  

And for the third, I chose to do a cap sleeve in (yet another) ITY jersey in an animal print.  (I picked up this one and the coral from Vogue Fabrics.)
 

Mew.

The neutral palette of the fabric easily lent itself to a longer sleeve, which was considered and ultimately rejected.  My personal style and preference is to use animal prints as an element of my outfit, not the main focus.  What made me fall for this fabric is how it will mix well with a bunch of different colors, either under layers, or on its own in the summer.  

I kind of regret not picking up more yardage, since there are couple of different design iterations I'd like to make to this pattern.  Fortunately I have enough remaining fabric that I can add pieces to other projects.

I suppose I should stop here for a while, but the pattern is great and I'm a fan of pieces that can work through a couple of seasons.  So, it's almost guaranteed that McCall's 6563 will wander its way onto my project board again.