DIY Linen Crop Top + Slacks Set | McCall’s M7937 & Simplicity 8749

A suit, a set, a pair of coordinates! I’m slowly creating a chic black collection out of this fabulous linen. From the 5 heavily-discounted meters I bought at a Cloth House London warehouse sale, I have made trousers with Mimi G’s Simplicity 8749 and a bustier with McCall’s M7937. Together it’s a summer work-to-play outfit that can be layered, accessorized, and mixed with more garments left to make from the fabric.

I started to make this bustier practically the minute I finished my last make of McCall’s M7937. While that version uses a mix of fabrics in fun prints, the detail here is the tie front. The tie is just like the detail of my Carrie Purse, so it needed to be in my collection. Plus a sexy black crop top will match practically anything in my wardrobe.

One thing is certain about the pants…I do not have the same body type as Mimi G! While her make on the envelope cover shows pants fitted through the thigh and calf, my pants are loose along my long, skinny legs. When I first sewed them in Spring 2019, they fit perfectly. But by the time I was ready to wear them outside, the linen had grown and my waistline had shrunk making them far too baggy to stay up. This spring I went back in, removed the waist band, and took out 1″ from the back waist on each side, tapering to the hip. Though these Simplicity 8749 slacks were meant to be my first pair of slim cut trousers, I’ll accept this looser fit and search for a new pattern to get the look I really want.  

What do you think of my outfit? Think I can layer on a blazer and get away with wearing it in a professional space? Let me know in the comments.

Pattern

• Bustier – McCall’s M7937, View A
• Sewing Diffculty – 2/5
  • I upped the difficulty in the bustier by enclosing the zipper between the 2 layers of fabric. I wish this were in the pattern instructions because it’s really the professional way to finish it.
• Fit Difficulty – 2/5
  • Thankfully I had made this bustier twice before and knew just how to get my fit.
• Pants – Simplicity 8749, View A
• Sewing Difficulty – 3/5
  • The waistband, fly front, and ankle detail all up the difficulty level of these trousers.
• Fit Difficulty – 3/5
  • I wasn’t able to get the fit like the pattern envelope. I love Mimi G, but perhaps Simplicity should also have a fit model for their patterns to better show how the fit of one design compares to another.
• See my blazer using another view of this pattern, here. 

Fabric

• Black middleweight 100% Linen from Cloth House in London
• The bustier is lined with black cotton broadcloth, except for the middle front ties which are also linen.

Fit & Modifications

• Bustier
  • I made 1/2″ straps by cutting the fabric at 1 3/4″ in width and sewing with 3/8″ seam allowance.
  • Since much of my extra tall-girl torso length is above my bust, I was able to add length to the straps instead of other sewing tall adjustments.
  • See more fit adjustments on my first make of M7937, here.
• Pants
  • These pants were cut originally at a size 18 with 2″ of length added at the rise
  • If I make these again, I’ll definitely use a smaller size at the waist, grade up to the hip, and grade back down for the length of the legs.
  • I chose not to include the V cut in the back of the waistband.
  • Additional length was added to align the split of the hem line with my ankle.

Tips

• How to straighten boning in the bustier:
  • Featherlite Boning is often sold in a roll which leaves a curved shape as it’s sewn into a garment.
  • First, sew the boning into the seam allowance of your lining, following the instructions. A zipper foot is great for this.
  • Heat an iron to the cotton or linen setting. Press the boning down straight. Quickly press a clapper or heavy book onto the boning to straighten. 
  • Flip over the garment and repeat on the other side, as needed.

Tutorials That Were Helpful

• Instead of leaving the seam allowances exposed along the back zip, I took a few extra steps to enclose the seam allowance between the layers. This tutorial for sewing a zipper into a lined skirt gave me an idea of the steps to take.

• Mimi G has a full sewalong for making these Simplicity 8749 pants.