Never Enough White Shirts

Pretty in White

One can never have enough white shirts or blouses in my opinion. I tend to gravitate to them in the stores and like the fact they go with any color or variety of bottom. My problem is that I either wear them and launder them so much they begin to yellow, or - this is painful - I simply grow out of them. I have three very pretty white shirts that I love with interesting details that I can no longer wear because they no longer fit. 

 

So, while I continue my quest to perfect my fitting skills, a simple white shirt that I can wear to my hearts content seemed a practical choice for a sewing project. This time I chose a Palmer Pletsch pattern with a detailed guide to pattern fitting. Though a rather conservative style it is one I could easily modify.

Getting princess lines to fit properly has been an issue for me lately. My bust apex is lower than most of the patterns I have used and I've had difficulty adjusting them properly. I also seem to have a hollow area right above my bust that causes a bubble right above the bustline and at the armscye. So, for these reasons this pattern seemed a wise choice. 

After carefully reading through the pattern fitting directions, which call for elaborate taping at the seam lines, slashing and pivoting, etc., it still would only produce half a pattern to fit. Instead I chose to bypass all that and make a muslin. I transferred all the slashing markings onto it so I could use the pattern fit recommendations. The resulting shirt fits well given my figure issues and I was able to adjust the princess lines to fall where I wanted them. 

I like, but not love this pattern. Now that it fits, however I see lots of other possibilities.   A longer length and changing the sleeves from 2 pieces to one.

One Pattern, Many Looks

I entered a sewing contest for the first time ever! Its PatternReview.com's "The One Pattern, Many Looks" contest. This is my entry. I chose a Vogue pattern I've had my eye on for some time now. I first saw it last year when another sewing blogger posted it. Unfortunately, I can't remember who it was. When I then saw it featured on the cover of the January issue of Vogue Pattern magazine, it was final. That was the garment I was going to make for the contest. 

The pattern is Vogue 8854, a Very Easy Vogue casual top with shirt tales and a tall interesting flap collar. The pattern features three looks: one sleeveless option (the Vogue Pattern cover), one long sleeve version with a pocket in front, and one with a hood and longer shirt tale at the back. It's designed to be made in knits but it worked equally well in all the fabrics I selected.  

I chose to make my entry in three different fabrics - fleece, a medium weight knit and a faux dupioni-look woven.  The looks as you can see in the photo, included an outerwear-like fleece top made to the specifications of the pattern but without the ugly front pocket.  I made it a bit larger than the other two with the intention of wearing it over a T-shirt.

The second version was made in a soft, medium weight acrylic knit. I reversed the front flap to flip to the right instead of left, shortened the collar a bit and added exposed zippers (those were fun to do) to the front flap and sleeves for a more rugged, casual look. It's comfortable and looks great with black jeans and boots.

My third version is a bit more dressy and featured the most changes. I shortened the sleeves to bracelet length and added a ruffle. The shirt tales were converted to a straight conventional hem. For the neckline I shortened the collar and added a ruffle and 3 buttons. I'm quite pleased with the way it looks, a bit dressy, but still casual enough to wear anywhere. And, I love the way the neckline turned out, dramatic and feminine.

All three of the tops turned out well. I anticipate making more versions of this pattern, but I will definitely change the collar to lay a bit closer and tighter to my neck.