Archer Button Up in White Linen

This one has been in the in-box of my mind for quite a while. I cut it out and took the pieces to NH to visit DS and family. No real sewing occurred there. DGD and I retrieved the sewing machine I've stashed there and made some scrunchies she wanted. I will cheerfully sew anything with her!

When I arrived back home, I decided to take my time making this Archer Button Up. What a pleasure it was.

I made one other Archer, the view with the back peplum. I like it quite a lot and picked up some ideas for improvement.

The view I selected this time is almost a classic shirt. It contains a double layer yoke with forward shoulders as well as a collar with a collar stand, though it's not at all obvious from their line drawing. The back contains an inverted pleat and no peplum.

The line drawing looks like a Peter Pan collar. The pattern contains a collar band and collar.

The not-so-classic characteristics include separate right and left fronts. The left front has a cut-on front placket and the right front has a separate placket pattern piece. This could be quite handy if you're working with a plaid and want to position the front placket on the bias, or if you want to highlight a second fabric down the front.

It's not handy if you're trying to match a pattern because you have an extra vertical seam to match. I cut two left fronts - there was no need for a separate button placket piece. In this solid white, the top-stitching makes it almost impossible to determine if the front band is a separate piece or not, IMO.

Another not-so-classic characteristic is the continuous bias sleeve placket.

Although this is faster than a typical menswear shirt placket, I don't think it is quite as sharp-looking. I have fun making conventional menswear shirt plackets every time I don't screw up. This time the sewing goddess was watching over me and I got each completed in a single try. Hooray!

I do like the notched corner of the Archer shirt

I used my modified collar stand from my previous make of the Archer. It's a little deeper than the collar stand included in the pattern envelope. I'll make another version with the classic collar and stand at some point in the future.

I shortened the sleeves per my notes from version 1 of the Archer shirt. My arms are not proportionally short. Reviews over on pattern review indicate this is an issue for lots of people.

It's worth noting that the sleeve edge has a lovely curve where it attaches to the cuff. It is such a nice draft. It has just the right amount of poof and looks better on the body, I think.

I made one other teeny-tiny change in the pocket, something no one will ever notice. It's the little things that make sewing fun for me. I top-stitched each pocket onto the shirt in what is mathematically a continuous loop. That is, I started and stopped at the same point. The appearance is just 2 rows of top-stitching. It secures the top corners nicely.

I used flat-felled seams throughout the process. The seam allowances are only 0.5" so a mock flat-felled seam was tricky. Midway through I realized this was an opportunity to make real flat-felled seams by positioning the back seam allowance below the front seam allowance.

Of course, it's a bit anxiety-producing to sew that flat-felled seam from the shirt hem, under the armpit, finishing at the sleeve hem. It's like a journey to the center of the earth. Woot! when I successfully arrive at the center.

Woot!

I made a change in the order of completion. I prefer to finish a shirt tail hem before sewing the side seams. This reduces the size of the wings at the hips, I think. Otherwise the shape of the hem tends to flare out at the side seams when the hem is finished.

It was fun to press it this morning and look at it, all crisp and white on the dress form. That won't last but I will definitely enjoy having this basic in my wardrobe.

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London Shirt

London shirt with my new cropped Helix pants

I think that my London Shirt from the Sewing Workshop is finished. I'm not certain. Something feels off and I cannot put my finger on it. When I do, I may make some changes.

London shirt with Quincy pants

The London Shirt came out at the same time as the Cottage shirt. I made that one and love it. It may be the difference in the fabric. Mama always said it's all about the fabric. My London shirt is a soft gauzy cotton; my Cottage shirt is a light weight (perfect weight) linen. Both pieces are from Marcy Tilton, I think. Both are gorgeous; both were impulse purchases.

The cotton gauze is a design by Naomi Ito and has an interesting border print, as well as a cool selvage.

From the selvage, Made in Japan is now cool.

The London shirt is tunic length with quite dropped shoulders. I worried a bit about the dropped shoulder line as I saw the inevitable bump in the forearm even on Erin, the gorgeous model at the Sewing Workshop. And it bugs me in my version too.

But I love the rest so maybe I'm fixating on something minor. The collar is a simple rectangle that I interfaced with cotton batiste. The side seams are forward and create an interesting grain in the back side seam. It has a cut similar to TSW's Liberty shirt, an all-time favorite of mine.

Liberty Shirt

London Shirt

The sleeves are fairly plain. I extended mine so that I could roll the sleeves and see the pretty border print of this fabric. I also played with the border print down the front and down the back.

I'm thinking that maybe the buttons overwhelm this a bit. I may try some shell buttons that will perhaps blend better with this super soft fabric.

This super soft fabric does feel great to wear!

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Cottage Shirt

The Cottage Shirt is one of the newer patterns from the Sewing Workshop. I'm such a Sewing Workshop groupie that, of course, I wanted to make it right away.

Honestly I was not that taken with it at first. It seemed so similar to their Trio vest. But once I got into the project, I fell in love. The deep hems and vents are my favorite design feature.

It is a fundamentally different cut than the Trio Vest. It has details from men's shirts but exaggerated and stylish. The yoke is a traditional double yoke installed with the burrito method. The overall silhouette is a wide rectangular shape. This creates soft side folds when worn so that the hemline is not one continuous horizontal line. The deep hems and vents add just the right detail to the overall look.

The shoulder extends into a cap sleeve and there are cuffs attached. That part reminds me of the Eureka top which I've made a number of times. The Eureka has deep enough armholes that the bra tends to show. The Cottage has smaller armholes and a different armscye curve, making it a better summer top for me.

The high for today was 92F (33C) so I'm happy to have a new summer top. I omitted the collar, keeping the collar stand. That is cooler in the summer and I like the look. But I've seen some online made with the collar and those are pretty too. I will need to make it again, I'm sure.

This light weight soft linen from Marcy Tilton was just right for this top, I think. Because of the print and the soft hand, it hardly needs ironing. I can probably wash with cold water, hang to dry, and wear it.

I have another new Sewing Workshop pattern ready to cut - the London shirt. I've traced the pattern pieces and now I have to check out deep stash to see if anything will work. I'm feeling a little uncertain about those dropped shoulders. It reminds me of the extremely popular Liberty shirt with exaggerated details. I'm not always in love with extremely dropped shoulder lines, especially if it creates a little bubble where the sleeve joins the shirt. But, then again, I was uncertain about the Cottage shirt and I love it.

So what do you think about the London shirt?

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Orange and Purple

I volunteer each Wednesday at a food pantry. It's quite a large operation, providing a market-style experience to about 200 families each Wednesday. Several times a year we volunteers participate in city-wide activities that raise money for our operation and others providing a similar service. And we receive brightly colored T shirts. This year's is bright orange and last year's was purple.

These T shirts are sized for men, wider through the shoulders and more narrow through the hips. I am not shaped like that and I never end up wearing these shirts. But I do like to combine them into a shirt that fits.

I was not terribly adventuresome with this project, using Grainline Lark T shirt pattern pieces. This is a basic (ladies) T shirt pattern that fits me. I cut the front and back from the body of orange T shirt (sized XL), and the sleeves from the body of the purple one (sized M).

Orange and purple is a cheerful color combination, I think. Makes me smile.

This is a good reminder to always have fun while sewing. This was all fun.

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Real Man's Shirt

I love making shirts.

I even have a shirts tab on this blog, though I've not updated it in a while. I find all the details fascinating from the button plackets on the sleeves to the double row of top-stitching on the cuff. The latter is especially fun since the double row shows on the outside, but not the inside!

I guess I qualify as a sewing nerd when it comes to shirts.

Though I've made many a shirt for myself and a few for the grandboys, I had never made a regular man's shirt until last month. My guy wanted a shirt to match one the 2 year old grandson wears. We all looked high and low for a similar shirt with no luck. The obvious solution was for me to make one for each of them.

Now I knew DH would discourage me from this project, so I kept it under wraps until Christmas. This was both good and bad. The down side to such a surprise is that I could not take his measurements. The next best thing was to use one of his many existing RTW shirts. The man loves shirts and has more than a few.

Men's patterns are not plentiful so that was a challenge too. I wanted a shirt pattern with ALL of the conventional men's details. Vogue 9220 comes pretty darned close. It has the button plackets on the sleeves and the instructions are quite clear. It has a yoke and forward shoulders. It comes in three views - standard, slim fit and formal wear.

The sizing is not conventional for men's shirts from RTW. I was really hoping it would be sized by neck size and sleeve length like DH's shirts. But I guess it makes sense that the sizes are listed by chest size, as that is a good place to start fitting.

Comparing his RTW shirt with the pattern tissue, I chose size 40, standard fit. Sleeve length was easy to adjust. The neck size seemed about right.

The fabric is a lovely cotton shirting from Gail K. With a plaid or stripe, I like cutting the top yoke in two pieces with a center back seam. This allows me to create a solid line where the yoke joins each front. It also creates a chevron in the back.

Plaids are such fun, especially on a man's shirt, because there are great places for bias.

The little guy's shirt was made with an OOP Ottobre pattern.

It was child's play compared to my guy's shirt. Some of the conventional details were missing from the pattern including the yoke and the sleeve placket. I think that's OK for a  two-year-old.

In the end my guy's shirt is too tight and the little guy's shirt is a bit large. But they were sweet to pose for the picture anyway.

By the time I remake DH's shirt, the little guy will have grown into his. Fingers crossed.

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Review of Gift-Making December

Or, why I haven't blogged in over a month.

Where did December go? Well, it flew by me. For the past month, I've been focused on making and buying presents for family members. The truth is that it was not all fun in 2017. And this was a monster of my own making, so-to-speak.

Next year, there will be few handmade gifts. I promise. I do love the idea of handmade gifts but I obsess over it. I don't think that fits with the spirit of giving. So unless it is zen sewing and gives me selfish pleasure, I must step back and allow time to breathe and enjoy the joy.

Here are the gifts I made, and honestly, some really were fun.

This jacket was requested by my granddaughter. It's made using Kwik Sew 3818, a medium-weight wool and lined with a medium-weight silk-cotton blend. I blogged about it here so I won't rehash it, But isn't she cute in it?

Next up were two robes. These were also by request. And they were so simple to make using Simplicity 1562, now probably out-of-print.

They are both made from polyester fleece, so easy to sew. The owls on white background is for my 8 year old granddaughter; the Clemson-themed robe is for my 11 year old grandson. The Clemson version was a HUGE success. He almost wore it into a movie theater. The owl version will be used too but did not garner great enthusiasm.

The last requested gift was this super-simple pillow case for a youth-sized pillow:

Here it is in its first use with 2-year-old grandson:

Now a sensible person would have stopped there. Those were requested and so pretty much guaranteed to please. I did not stop. Next I made these two (2!) patchwork pillows for another 11 year old grandson and his 13 year old brother (who wears glasses like these). They have two dogs of this breed.

If they look simple, then please, please look again. They took FOREVER to piece. Each contains half-square triangles no larger than 1 inch. Yikes! What was I thinking?

The pillows finish at standard bed-pillow size. I put a zipper in the back to allow for machine washing. When the 11-year-old opened it, he said, "Oh, look! A pillow." And he proceeded to unzip it and remove the pillow. Hmmm...

And then I could have stopped, yes? But for a long time now, I've had this great idea. My husband wanted a shirt to match one that the 2 year old had. Such a shirt simply did not exist. So I made each of them a shirt using this lovely cotton shirting from Gail K in Atlanta.

It took some research to find a man's shirt with most of the conventional details. I settled on Vogue 9220. Then I took measurements from one of my husband's shirts and tried very hard to make them match. In the end his was a bit too tight and the little one is too big. Of course, too big is not a problem with a two-year-old, so now I'm thinking about ways to remake the one for DH. Or maybe not.

The little one is from one of my old Ottobre magazines. I have used and used those patterns making many things for grandchildren with the enclosed patterns. I must say that was joyful to make.

I should probably write a separate blog on DH's shirt. I learned a lot about the fit of a man's shirt and I should document it before I forget.

As I reflect on making gifts this past month, I realize that the simplest were perhaps the most joyful to make. There's a lesson there.

So that was my December. I'm so glad it's January now.

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