McCall’s 8557

Today is a quick post about my McCall’s 8557 tie front blouse. It has large puff sleeves, tie front and was made from a pretty red colourway of Liberty’s iconic Betsy print with the contrast ties made from solid red lawn.

Tie front tops have been so popular in both RTW and sewing. There are loads of patterns available to try and you can easily create your own with a few simple hacks. I chose to use McCall’s 8557 because it had an option for a simple bodice hem. Lots of the versions out there have a peplum hem that hasn’t tempted me.

There is also a shirt collar option which is fun and a variety of sleeve styles. It goes up to a size 28W. I’m rather tempted to use the peplum version to make a dress view! I cut the size 12 with no adjustments.

I got my Liberty Betsy print from Abakhan but it’s now out of stock. They have a few other Liberty prints at great prices – they rotate discounts so look out for the print you want going on sale!

I actually think it’s a bit of a fail because  I don’t think the big sleeves suit me. They’re so lovely and airy. A total blast to sew. But thinking maybe I should unpick them and recut into something less full? Or just leave them off entirely. When I shared this idea on instagram lots of people agreed with me, though there was a strong group saying to keep them.

I’ve been making a version without sleeves where I repurposed the fabric from an old mustard and blue floral dress. I loved the colours and print so much that when the dress shrank I thought let’s cut it up to salvage the fabric. I think that will be cute with jeans in late Summer and back when Spring comes around.