Over the years I have purchased many Marfy patterns, but I have only sewn 2,
a blouse and an unblogged pair of pants. Motivated by a recent Marfy Challenge sponsored by online fabric retailer Sew Much Fabric
Marfy Challenge and a Facebook group that was having a Marfy blouse sew along, I decided to sew several Marfy blouse patterns. Sort of like an intensive self directed study of Marfy blouse sizing, drafting and ease for by body. And to document it in writing for future reverence, something I don’t usually do
Marfy patterns are described as offering a “high-fashion, sophisticated home sewing experience for expert-level sewers”. They are available from McCall's Pattern site
McCall's Marfy and
Marfy's own site.
Marfy Patterns:
- Do not have cutting layouts
- Do not have seam allowances
- Do not have hem allowances
- Do not have instructions for assembly
- Are expensive...…..But they have such unique styles.
First sewn was Marfy 5187
Description: “This shirt has a little collar, front placket, yoke and sleeves with low-cut armhole. To be made of various colors, or even in a crew-neck version with box pleat and hidden fastening. I made the collared version. The fabrics are sand washed rayon’s and silk ( dark blue). My Marfy size for blouses, based on my bust measurement, is 46. For reference I make a size 42 in Burda and a Size 14 in Vogue for tops. For some reason I had purchased this pattern in a size 48. So I made a muslin. It had loads of wearing ease, and the cross-back width and shoulders were too wide for my body. I reduced the shoulder width 1/2 inch and took out some of the upper side width allocated for side bust tissue, where the side seam curved out. I essentially moved the armhole in ½ inch on each side. I like the look of the extended shoulder seam of this blouse, but will have to play around at styling the blouse since I do not usually wear loose blouses like this.
 |
| Marfy 5187 front |
 |
| Marfy 5187 back |
 |
| Marfy 5187 |
The second blouse was Marfy 8509.
This was purchased from the 2002/3 catalog and is not available either in the current catalog or on either website. This pattern too was a size 48 . I did not make a muslin. Again the shoulders/back width were way too wide. I decided in my confidence to reduced the width in the hips as well as the shoulder. This was before reading the description ”
tight-fitting single-breasted tunic has a shirt like collar. It has 2 pleats at the back which are closed at the waist and open into a slit at the bottom. It is closed by cross strings as are the flared cuffs.” I should have double checked the hip width before cutting. The hip area is too tight, even using ¼" seam allowances on side and front princess seams. The fabric is a thrift store find. I am guessing rayon/cotton. Wrinkles like crazy. So this one is a wearable muslin. Love the style. I plan to make this one again in a firmer fabric with more room in the hips.
 |
| Marfy 8509 |
 |
| Marfy 8509 Side |
 |
| Marfy 8509 back |
The third blouse is Marfy 5209 described as “Sculpted blouse and shirt-style stand-up collar forming a bow.”
This is one of the patterns sewn in the challenge. I was intrigued by the bias-cut side panels used to shape the blouse. Darting is built into both the back and front side panels. To emphasize the bias, I chose a blue check silk from my stash. Only problem was the check was very uneven. They were not square and there is a faint white line woven in on one side of the check. So matching was difficult but IMHO, still better than RTW. This pattern was a size 46. Surprisingly the shoulder seams were still too wide. I removed width from the back and shoulders, and after checking the hip width, added some extra in this area. I love the fit through the bust. The length is a bit to long for my preferences.
 |
| Marfy 5209 Front |
 |
| Marfy 5209 Back |
 |
| Marfy 5209 |
This was a fun exercise, I feel more confident, and incented to sew some of my Marfy dress patterns. Especially since I have received "Save the Day" cards for two winter weddings. One for the palindrome date of 02/22/20. Isn't that cute, and easy to remember?
