Nearly Identical

Last year as I was shopping for patterns, I couldn't decide between McCall's #7920 and #7976. Sure, the first is a dress and the second a top, but they have a lot of similarities. Both feature a v-neck, button front, and cut-on sleeves. The first appeared a bit more fitted and could be made as a dress, while the second included options for a ruffle and a tie front as well as more traditional shirt styling like a bake yoke and pleat. There was a sale going on, so of course I ended up buying both. I've made #7920 already, so I'm now sharing #7976.



Pattern: McCall's Misses' Tops #7976

Fabric: 2 yds cotton woven

Cost: $20

I'm sure it's easy enough to draft a tie front, but I really wanted a pattern for it, so that was my main reason for getting this pattern. After trying #7920, I was also curious how this one would fit. 

Overall, this style is a LOT more oversized. While #7920 has darts and a more fitted shape, this #7976 has a lot of wearing ease and sleeves that fall almost to the elbow. To further give it volume, it has pleats along the shoulder seam. You can make it in a cropped length, but the tie-front view is also quite long. 

I ended up shortening both the sleeves and the hem, but otherwise keeping the size as-is. It works fine as a casual shirt, though looking at the picture of my back I do wonder if a more fitted style might work better with the ties. You can see where it's pulled tight across my lower back at the hem by the front ties. 

I did have fun making this. A cotton shirt without all the details of a collar and cuffs is quite easy to sew. This one is a fabric hog though, especially if you are pattern matching. I ended up having to piece the ties together, which is fine because you can't tell when they are tied anyway. I also modified the pattern to create a hem facing that finishes off the ties - it seemed much neater that way. 

This garish color combo is my school colors, so it worked out nicely for game day, along with a new face mask. The shirt is definitely a keeper, though for my next project I think I'll go back to the more fitted look of #7920, and perhaps will borrow the ties.