Lolly Pop Swirl--A Review of McCall's M6787

 Lolly Pop Swirl=Candy fit for a Tween and designed by a Tween

She asked for an outfit made from fabric with swirls in it which would remind her of lolly pops and I think I delivered.

Why candy do you ask? Because it's Candy Inspired week over at Project Run and Play

The requirement I gave Sophia was that her design needed to use this pattern, because I wanted to give a trial run in order to write a review. It's McCall's M6787.

Sophia came up with this outfit (which she sketched out with her fashion design thing), which she said reminded her of the swirls on the really big lolly pops with lots of different colors.

I think I was able to capture her vision. I just wasn't able to find a good contrasting patterned knit for the leggings so I went with a solid purple.  And since the fabric for the top was a little see through I made a little shirt for her to wear under it out of the same fabric. I found both at JoAnn's. 

Pattern--McCall's M6787 (as of the time I wrote this, the pattern was on sale for $3 at McCall's site, which is a pretty good price.)

It comes in sizes 7-14 and there is a plus size version as well.

Materials--No special materials needed beyond fabric and elastic

Skill Level--The pattern itself is very easy to sew together and only requires basic skills, but it is all done with knit fabrics which can be tricky at times (especially if you are like me and pick a knit for the top that is kind of lacy like and is a pain to sew). When it comes to knits I highly recommend using your serger or at the very least investing in a double needle.

I picked this pattern up because it goes with my daughter's style of clothes and it seemed like it would be pretty versatile. There are 4 different versions of the top. What I learned was that it was a really easy sew. The pants came together in less then an hour (thanks to using the serger) and the top wasn't that difficult either. 

The only thing I did different was that I did not make the casing for the elastic at the waist of the shirt or even use the elastic. My daughter is more of a belt person and does not like the riding up effect that comes with shirts that have elastic at the waist. The belt is some stretchy ribbon stuff I found at Hobby Lobby sewn on to a set of 'D' rings.

The Good--This was a great pattern to make, simple and straight forward. It would be a great learning to sew with knits pattern. It also came together super fast. I will definitely be doing this one again and try out some of the different variations for the top. The top is the highlight of the pattern. The leggings are really just your typical 2 pattern piece pants with an elastic waist.

The Bad--Really there isn't much bad to say. The only thing wrong with it was probably my fault. I sewed a size 10 and it gapes a little at the neck line and I probably should have gone with an 8. She kind of fell in between the sizes for most of the measurements so I went with the bigger size, giving her room to grow.

What do I think of this pattern?  Definitely lightening bolts     !

Because the top gapes, I gave sewing a undershirt a try. I just used some of the left over fabric from the pants. I wish I had just a little bit more to make it a little longer, but you make do sometimes.

I just used a shirt of hers as a guide and cut out the neck, the side and the arms. I left the fold at the top (the fabric you see here is folded into fourths) for what would have been the shoulder seams and I didn't cut out sleeves. Use the whole shirt to cut out one big piece for the front and back each. Then you sew up the side seams and finish the edges as desired.