Tag: shirt

sewing, Uncategorized

Red silk Archer shirt!

christinahopgood

After making my first red Archer shirt, why not make another one!

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Again, this is the Archer shirt by Grainline Studio.  I’ve had this red silk in my stash for almost a year, since I bought it when I got my new teaching job here in Oslo.  I was planning to make myself a nice silk shirt to wear to work… it only took me about 9 months to get around to it!IMG_0452

Silk is… difficult to sew with.  I don’t have a cutting mat and rotary cutter, so I have to use scissors.  I was so sure that the silk was lined up perfectly straight and smooth, but of course some of my pieces ended up a little warped.  This meant that the collar was a bit of a pain in the bum.  It had to be redone a couple of times, and the under-collar is still a bit bumpy (maybe a lot bumpy).  It’s not too visible when worn though!

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One thing I don’t understand about this pattern, is that the upper collar and under collar are two different pattern pieces, and the under collar has a seam in the middle.  Why not make them the same pattern piece?  It would mean my pieces are slightly more likely to be the same once cut!  This problem didn’t surface with my other shirt, I guess because the fabric was more obedient!IMG_0440

The buttons are little gold metal shank buttons. Very cute!IMG_0436

I used the fabric as interfacing as I didn’t want anything stiff or visible.  It worked ok!  My only other note is that I did french seams throughout in order to minimise fraying and help the garment last as long as possible.IMG_0435IMG_0434

So far, it’s standing up to wear.  On one of its first outings we went out for ramen and I got a splash of soup on the front, which washed out fine!  Phew!  The fabric is a little thicker than chiffon and is quite bouncy.  Hopefully it won’t wear out too quickly!  While sewing with this shirt was really hard and frustrating because of the fabric, I really love the finished garment and am thinking of what to make from silk next. I’ve gone mad! Stop me!

sewing

Red cotton Archer shirt

christinahopgood

My latest sewing project is one I’m very happy with – my red cotton Archer shirt.  This is a pattern by Grainline Studio and is available as a paper pattern or a PDF. I have the PDF version, which has been marinating on my hard drive for some time now!

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This is the first time I’ve made an Archer and I’m really happy with how simple it is.  There are no darts or panels to provide bust or waist shaping, which gives it a relaxed fit.  There’s a small pleat in the back for ease and a double yoke.  IMG_0449

I didn’t bother to do a top button because I never do it up anyway, and it’s always so hard to get my machine to sew in that bulky party!IMG_0450

I wasn’t too happy with my plackets, but they pressed out ok.  I suspected that the pattern or instructions were slightly off there – it doesn’t really tell you how to place the cuff over the plackets.  As a result it’s a bit bulky there where I fudged it a little.IMG_0451

I didn’t have much of this fabric so I did the inner yoke in a flannelette fabric that was kicking around my stash and before that my mum’s stash.  I think I have dolly clothes made from that!  As you can see here, I used a bias binding to finish the hem.  I find it really hard to do a double-folded hem on a curve so this helped a lot to reduce bulk and curve nicely.IMG_0500

And I’ve pretty much been living in this shirt in the 2 weeks since I made it!IMG_0504

The only thing I wish I’d done better was my button placement.  Because I left out the top button, it got a bit off and the lowest button is a bit too low.  As a result I don’t do up that bottom button often.  It doesn’t make a huge difference though and I love the shirt!