D.I.Y. Linen Top with McCall’s 7899

One of my favorite places to buy cute shirts is New York and Company. They always have a great range of colors and styles to choose from. If you realize how easy shirts are to make, many people would definately be making more. The price tags on some tops literally have me scratching my head.

Linen shirts have always been hard for me to find. Linen clothes in general, are a tough one for me. The fabric is so wonderful in the heat her in New Orleans. It is very breathable, and I love natural products. As I started my quest to make more tops, I knew a linen top would be first on the list. When I saw McCall’s 7899, I instantly fell in love with view A.

The pattern is described as a loose fitting to with neck facings, a back opening with hook and eye closure, and sleeve variations. While I love all of the options of this pattern, I choose to sew View A.

This was a quick and easy sew. The instructions were easy to follow, and the diagrams are very helpful. Based on the size chart, I cut the pattern on the size 14. I used a medium weight 100% linen fabric that I had in my stash. A similar fabric can be found here. I like the weight of the fabric, although I think a lighter weight fabric would have more of the flowy look I was going for. I will pair this with a pair of loose fitting linen pants in the future.

My final thoughts after making the top is I love it. I am not a huge fan of the hook and eye closure, but it works. There was a bit of a gap in the armholes, which i did not like. However this an be eliminated by going down a size. I will make another version of this shirt and grade down to the size 12 and see if I like the fit better. The length of the shirt is perfect, and pairs wonderful with a pair of jeans, or even better with a nice pair of linen pants. On to find the perfect pants pattern to match with this top. If you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments below.