McCalls 7435 cowl-neck top

McCalls 7435 is a ridiculous pattern.  And clearly, everyone knew it but me, because it is out of print, and I've only found Internet evidence that three other people ever made it.  I'm sharing this review mostly just to talk about the sheer insanity that is this pattern, and also to talk about why I kind of love my finished garment and am going to be wearing it all the time.

This post contains affiliate links, all of which are clearly marked as such where they appear. If you click on my link and buy something, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you.

My McCalls pattern size is an 18/large. I take a size 14/medium shoulder, which is what I sewed in this pattern.  I didn't do any grading, because the finished measurements indicated I would not need to.

You guys. This thing was ginormous.

So I took out 1" from each side seam from the hem through the armscye, tapering to nothing a couple inches down the sleeve, for a total of 4" removed from the bust and hem. I then took a further 3.5" out of each side seam at the hem, tapering to nothing at the armscye, for an additional 14" removed from the hemline. It's still quite a large top. In this low-recovery fabric, I think I honestly could have sewed the smallest size - an XS. That's insane.

Do you like my butt cape? My husband isn't a fan. I'm not sure I am either - I've never really loved the high-low hem.  But the butt cape would make this a more acceptable top to wear with leggings, and since the comfort factor of this piece is so darn high (especially when potentially worn with leggings), I think I will leave it for the time being.

Wondering why you can see my ugly serger seam on the right side of the cowl? Yeah, me too. I quadruple-checked the instructions afterward to make sure I had sewn it properly, and I had. I could not figure out why the pattern would be drafted to have that seam showing, until I re-read through the pattern and saw that the cowl piece is not called a cowl, but a hood.  Nowhere on the pattern art or line drawings does it indicate that the cowl is meant to be worn as a hood, but that's the only way that this seam makes any sense.  So I tried it.  What do you think?

I look like a Star Wars extra. But more pink.  Not sure about that?  Yeah, me neither.  Incidentally, here's another styling option:

Did I mention the cowl/hood was large? I guess if you want to wear it as a hood, you need it to be this long. As a cowl, I probably could cut off a good 6-8" and still have great drape.  The length is a bit excessive.

Also, the neckline of the top itself, where you sew the cowl on, is ridiculous.  You might be able to see from my photos how wide it is, on the photo below, the neck seam stretches almost to my left shoulder. I stabilized this seam with SewKeysE knit stay tape (affiliate link because, despite the unusual name, this stuff is fabulous and I use it on nearly every knit project I make). It's a good thing I did, because the fabric has no recovery, and I'm sure the cowl would be down around my shoulders if I hadn't stabilized.

The only pattern adjustment I made was a high round back adjustment, and this time I did it the right way. I created a center back seam and added lengthened it 5/8" at the neck seam line.  Then I created another slash 6" down as instructed by the Complete Guide to Fitting (affiliate link). I added 3/4" of an inch here.  Because the back of the shirt is cut in panels, the back adjustment required a little more work folding back seam allowances and matching up the seam lines. I had two adjust two pattern pieces instead of one. But it actually really didn't take that long, and the difference in fit is huge. I'm not constantly shrugging this top forward like I do pretty much every other top I've ever made.

I had to cut my sleeves short due to lack of fabric. I added the widest cuffs I could manage from the scraps of fabric I had left - they're about 3.25" deep. I also had to cut the center back panel in two pieces.

The fabric, from Fabric Mart in August, was billed as a cotton/lycra interlock. I don't believe there is actually any lycra in there, though. Despite that, it's nice stuff.  Thick and cozy.

Issues with the wide neckline, the silly neck seam, the butt cape and the giant tunnel of a cowl aside, I actually really love this top. I think it's cute.  It feels like wearing a large pink sleeping bag.  I will be wearing it a lot in appropriate weather.  That said, I don't have any plans to make this pattern again, and certainly not as-is.  I do really like the humongous cowl, so I need to figure out if I can graft it (perhaps shortened a few inches) onto another pattern.

I've long had my eye on the Itch to Stitch Bellavista Top (affiliate link), but never bought it because it is so similar to this pattern, which I already owned. However, the Bellavista does not seem to have the ease or neckline issues that plague McCalls 7435, and it has set-in sleeves instead of raglan, which I think I would prefer. So I may end up buying that one after all.

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!