I’ve been on a mini sewing binge.
My last shirt got me pretty excited about the collar/stand directions Jalie gives with this pattern and made me want to make their actual design right away.
Lucky for me, Fabric Mart was having a timely sale on challis, so I ordered this fabric and made it up as soon as it arrived. It’s a very fine and floaty rayon, just right for swingy Rose.
I did some measuring and was happy to discover that I could cut a straight size and did not need to enlarge at the hemline. What that means for everyone else is that it has a very A-line shape. It also has the back pleated into the yoke, for even more hip room. Bust darts give it a bit of fit but overall it is very loose, very cool, very nice for hot weather.
The front button band is tiny – only about 5/8″ wide. If I understand the instructions, following their procedure would result in two layers of interfacing on both sides. That would have been too much for my lightweight fabric, so I cut and installed two really skinny strips. The little collar has a pretty shape. And then there were the collar stand instructions that I read very carefully to be sure I got it right this time. On the previous shirt, I mixed up an interfaced and uninterfaced layer. Still got a pretty darn good result. This time it was even nicer.
The yoke and neck fit me very well. No forward shoulder adjustment needed! The forward yoke seams actually lie forward of my shoulder. These last two shirts have sat exactly the way they are supposed to on my shoulders without shifting around. That’s gold.
The armholes are faced with narrow bias – which brings me to my one complaint about this pattern – the armholes are too low. Wait…one more whine…I still like 5/8″ seam allowances for most seams, and Jalie uses all 3/8″.
I won’t be making another one of these right away because autumn is coming, but will take the time to make a nice tracing (cut this one from the PDF printout) with an altered armhole to have ready to make again next year.
I think it looks great with jeans.
Your Rose looks beautiful on you Robyn, you chose the perfect fabric for it. I wonder if you could have gone down a size, it looks pretty loose through the bust. That would make the armholes fit better, too. As a garment sewist from wayyyyyyy back, it took me a while to adjust to that 3/8″ seam allowance too. Very pretty, thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Yvette – you may be right about the size. The idea of needing a smaller size is a really foreign one to me – I never think of that!
Great blouse and beautiful sewing. May have to check out this pattern.
Thanks, Linda. It’s a great “beat the heat” top.
Great fit, it looks lovely. Thanks for the review, I’ve just bought this pattern and your obs re not needing a forward shoulder adjustment is useful to know.
I hope you enjoy the pattern!
A cool swingy shirt is a perfect garment for that pretty fabric! I always double check armhole depth on everything because apparently I have skinny arms and need them much higher (sometimes as much as 1-1/2” higher) than the pattern draft. It’s an easy fix anyway if you remember to do it before you cut out!
thanks, Louisa – I will be sure to do some measuring before I make it up again.