Hello there! How are you doing?
Today I want to talk about shirts. And not the boring (which I love, guilty as charged!), easy-to-tuck-in-and-corporate-feeling white shirts, but the fun ones, cropped and with overlays!
I have been searching for the perfect white shirt pattern forever, a search which is still not over. I resolved to draft it myself, but the approaching tropical temperatures are dissuading me from even being caught in the vicinity of cotton broadcloth, haha! In the meantime, this cute little number fits the bill of what I want to wear right now.
This was the first pattern I ever tried by Style Arc, and my only second venture into shirt making. Now, Style Arc’s instructions are notoriously sparse, but thanks to my several books on shirt making (I know, it’s an obsession) I managed to wing it. If you are new to sewing, I wouldn’t recommend this particular pattern maker, though the styles are endless and often very cute. On the other hand, there are a lot of resources online, so if any design strikes your fancy, than I encourage you to try! Just be wary of the instructions – or lack thereof.
I made many mistakes with this shirt: the orientation of the buttonholes is wrong (I made them horizontal instead of vertical), I completely botched the sleeves, even though I mended that by finishing the seam with bias tape in the inside, and the collar interfacing was sub-standard, and it’s now all crinkly and worn-looking (lesson learned: I now only use non fusible interfacing). In addition to that, my washing machine broke while I was washing the garment, and several holes magically appeared. Now, I don’t want to say that correlation is causation, but…!
Despite all this, many details of this shirt make me proud: the curved hem is fantastic, the flat-felled seams tiny and precise, and it’s a style that really works for me. I wear it very frequently in spring and summer, and I’m seriously considering making another one in the exact same fabric.
Most of all, this make has taught me a lot about sewing, which is, at least for me, the entire point. Thanks to tackling projects a bit above my skills I have improved dramatically even in the span of few months. So, I encourage you all to do the same. Don’t be scared of the pattern description saying a particular project is for “advanced beginner” or “intermediate sewists”. If you like it, do it. Challenging yourself is a fundamental part of leaning and, whether is works out or not, you’ll have a new shine garment and lots of skills under your belt.
Emilia out!
xxx
Regardless of it’s flaws that aren’t really noticeable to us, it is still a good looking shirt. I haven’t tried Style Arc patterns before, are they true to size?
Thank you! In my opinion the patterns are true to size. Often the patterns come with final garment measurements too, so that helps.