Shirt Making Adventures III

And then I added buttons, and then it was done.

Mostly. I swear I followed the directions for the cuffs to the millimetre, but somehow they still ended up backwards. In that the continuous lap/placket looked beautiful, and everything on the cuff matched up gorgeously, and then I followed the directions for which side got the buttons and which side got the buttonholes, and now it is reversed. It’s not a big deal. Definitely one of those “no one else will ever notice it” things (except now that I’ve told all of you, all of you will notice it) but it irked me just the same.

And here are the requisite silly pictures, this time spoofing off of single working mom stock images. They all looked much too perky and well-rested. I also couldn’t help but notice that the eldest child featured in such a stock picture was six, and most of them ranged from infancy to three. Apparently once the child of a single working mom reaches the age of seven, they become completely self-sufficient, and we go back to our regular lives. Someone needs to tell Frances that.

None of the pictures really turned out very well. The shirt is so light and my house is so dark this time of year, that they just show this white floral blinding object in the middle surrounded by sharp shadows. You can’t make out any details. These are the best of the lot.

At any rate:

What I Like

The fabric. Holy cow. Incredibly soft to wear. Has a slight silky sheen and feels like silk, but presses and sews like cotton, so it’s really the best of both worlds. Plus the many, many colours means I can wear it with everything AND clash, at the same time! Brilliant.

The shoulder seams hit right where they should. The bust seams are just what I wanted; not too loose, but loose enough that the front plackets fall to the centre and stay there all by themselves. No gaping and no straining.

The sleeves are the right length. The collar looks ok, even though I mucked it up.

The underlining: the fabric is no longer sheer, but it’s still incredibly lightweight and the fabric layers work together as a single piece.

What I’ll Fix Next Time

Next time I’ll take the length out of the sleeve before cutting, and ignore the pattern directions for which side gets buttons vs. buttonholes on the cuffs.

I may change the angle of the sleeve head to give me slightly better range of motion. As is typical for tailored shirts, arm movement isn’t really great.

The front waist is a bit baggier than I’d expected. I may fix this at some point. In the meantime, I put a note on the pattern that the front seams should be taken in 1/4″ on each side below the bust. At the same time, I want just a bit more room in the back, so I’ll add a 1/4″ there.

Overall, though, it’s just what I wanted: a very colourful but still practical work shirt with buttons that close and stay closed. All of the pictures above were taken after wearing the shirt to work. The underlining is preventing it from wrinkling even with the cotton content. It’s comfortable all day. Huzzah!