McCalls 5522 -- Top #2 -- Done!

There were 2 button front tops in my haul from Faye's giveaway, and originally, I had planned to make the Simplicity one for this challenge. In a last minute change of thought, I went with McCalls 5522 instead. I made View B, without any sleeves.

I really had not anticipated it taking me all week, so I'm a little behind schedule in both this challenge and the RTW Jacket sew along. Hopefully, this weekend, I can make better progress. Luckily, I have a couple easier knit tops that will be next in line (and have just been added to the queue), to help that along.

This was my test photo and other than the lighting (doesn't it look sunny?), and I wanted to show off the iris behind me. I had nothing to do with them as they came with the house. Right after the self-timer went off, it started raining and my outdoor photo session came to an abrupt halt.

Back to the top... I love it! The fabric is chambray from fabric.com. This envelope had the sizes 12-20 in it, and it was perfect. I started with the 12 at the shoulders, used the size 12 line for the armscyes, ending at the size 14 line for the rest of the upper pieces. For the lower pieces, I started at the 14 line, and graded my way out to the 16 for the hips. I ended up using more like 3/8" seamlines for the lower pieces, except at the top where it connects to the upper, because while it fit, it just felt a little snug.

Inside now. The back fits pretty well. I possible should have scooped in just a bit for the sleeveless-ness look, but that's a minor quibble.

I tried to crop in up close for the topstitching which is kind of a light khaki color that I feel like blends really well, but still adds some interest. The "buttons" are really snaps that I just found for a quarter at a recent estate sale. You can really see them that well (can you click on the photo and see it larger--maybe) but they look like regular white shirt buttons. They probably didn't go on any quicker though, because there was a learning curve for getting them "installed". One button was crushed from over vigorous hammering. When they mean place it upside down on a thick fabric pad, well, they kind of mean it.