One white shirt, two pockets

White shirts have a shorter life span than some pieces, I've found. The white becomes dingy and the stains are in a place where no amount of boro design will save them. And so I will cut them up for quilts and other small pieces.

I added a button to an otherwise weak juncture in the construction at each sleeve cuff.

And, as it happens, white shirts are great fun to make. This one is based on a tutorial in Sew Confident from the Sewing Workshop. It is a hybrid of the Liberty shirt and the MixIt shirt. Their version is more of a tunic length but I kept the original length of the Liberty with its deep hems and pretty miters.

If you are familiar with these two patterns, you can probably see that the neckline is from the MixIt and the rest is the Liberty with shorter sleeves. I think the V neckline of the MixIt is sweet, especially when the tiny collar is omitted. And the Liberty hem is always appealing to me. I really like those diagonal seams in the front and top-stitching the facings creates a faux princess line.

The tutorial suggests that you shorten the sleeves at the shorten-lengthen line but I was pretty sure that would make the sleeves too tight on me. So I shortened mine 3" at the hemline and redrew the cuff portion. You may be familiar with this easy formula for redrawing the hem facing/cuff: fold the tissue along the new hem line and trace the side seams.

The fabric is a cotton shirting purchased at Gail K in Atlanta. They have such wonderful men's shirting. This one has a dolby weave so it's not just a plain white shirt.

Of course, Diane Ericson's pocket challenge is on-going so I added a pocket. It's placed too high in the picture at the top but I fixed that. It has an inverted pleat and a flap. The first version was too large so I'll save that for another project. It was fun to just play with a small piece of fabric, folding until it pleased me.

The pocket structure is a little more visible here:

I am enjoying following along with Diane's pocket challenge on Instagram. Hers are always so artful, whereas mine are more utilitarian.

This zippered pocket was added to my jeans vest after I wore it for the first time. Originally I constructed it with only one pocket - the breast pocket. I decided then that I'd enjoy it even more if it had another larger pocket. I was able to harvest a pocket from the scraps remaining from the raggedy jeans, as well as the zipper. The panel above the zipper is from the fly! I simply top-stitched it down, but it does not show much at all on the exterior. I like that it is behind the shadow of a pocket from the original jeans.

Now it's even more fun to wear!

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Artist In Motion, Revisited

Though I love trying out brand new-to-me patterns, it's also satisfying to use a familiar pattern in a new way. Artist In Motion (AIM) was published some years back by Cutting Line Designs. It includes that distinctive *vestie.* Incidentally I had the pleasure of supplying the name for this pattern.

This time around I was interested in creating a basic pull-over with some light-weight pin-striped linen. Using the basic lines of the AIM top, I constructed this piece:

The AIM top is almost rectangular in its shape with slightly dropped shoulders, perfectly straight side seams and a hem that cuts straight across. The pattern includes a hidden front placket. I eliminated that and cut both the front and the back on the fold. I created facings for both the back and the front pieces, with a slit in the front. It slides easily over my head.

I added a minor design feature, inspired by Diane Ericson's pocket challenge. I loved her circular pocket and hoped to create something similar. However, mine evolved into a different pocket.

Pocket constructions: First I cut a pocket facing and identical pocket bag. I added interfacing to the area of the pocket facing where I intended to cut the pocket opening. Then I used chalk to sketch the shape of the opening, sort of an extended kimono shape.

I placed the facing on top of the shirt front, carefully positioning the opening shape. Then, using a shorter stitch length of 2.0, I stitched around the shape. I cut the center of the design and flipped to the inside.

To complete the pocket, placed the pocket bag over the pocket facing on the wrong side of the shirt front. Then I stitched around the perimeter of the pocket. It looks a little like a longhorn. I like that.

The sleeves on this top run a little short on me so I did not turn in the recommended hem. Instead I added a double fold bias strip in the same brown and white gingham as in the pocket and the neck facing. I like the sleeves best folded up anyway.

I love this rich chocolate brown linen. I'm trying it here with my other *neutral,* red. I'm not sure about the brown and red combo, but it's growing on me.

See some of the pockets inspired by or created by Diane Ericson on Instagram.

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