Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Shirtmaking in my Sewing Room


Ever since I made my first Archer Shirt, I knew there would be more in my sewing future.


(see blog post for full details)

I am finishing up one from a Mood Fabrics' linen.  Why linen with fall coming around the corner?  Well, it is pushing 100 degrees here, very unseasonably warm.  I wanted a new shirt that would be cool to wear now but would look fall in color and style.

It has been awhile since I have sewn such nice linen but this is the greatest and I am having the best time constructing this shirt.  I did make some changes from my first one.  

  • I had added 1" to body and the sleeves on the first one, this is eliminated from now on
  • I went down 2 sizes for a closer fit.
  • Adding buttonholes pockets for a different look
  • The cuffs were very big on the first one and this time I went down 4 sizes on the cuffs.
The shirt is coming along nicely and just need to sew on the buttons to finish it up.  I had some Pam Erny's by the scoop buttons and I went to digging.  I found some dark purple ones and they are perfect with this linen, it has just a bit of a purple hue.

One of the best things I did for my shirt sewing was to get an assortment of 1/2" buttons, I would always use too big of buttons on my shirts.  This made them look so home sewn and not a professional look.  I am so happy I finally "saw the light" and switched to the smaller buttons.  My shirts look so much better and I need to keep a nice selection on hand.  It sure makes it nice to have some choices at 10 or 11 pm when you want to get a shirt completed.

Tonight I cut out my third shirt, Mood Fabrics' plaid cotton voile (from Marc Jacobs) and this will be a second Archer Shirt. 


Isn't this a fun plaid?  I am going to play with the plaid and some bias fun.  I really want to try this tutorial from Pam Erny's new blog - Off the Cuff- from a Shirt-maker's Studio.  



These two shirts will be my next Mood Sewing Network post scheduled for early next week.  I plan on posting some construction blog posts on the plaid shirt.



10 comments:

  1. Gorgeous shirts! Love the fabrics.

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  2. Anonymous12:03 AM

    Hahaha! I have that exact same linen sitting on my sewing table in line for another Archer. I'll have to push it back and then spice it up when I finally get to it so it won't seem like MSN is on fabric repeat! It seems like it will be great to sew up. It sounds like you found it great to sew with. And, that plaid! Great find!

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  3. Can't wait to see them!

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  4. Anonymous6:50 AM

    I have made 6 Archers. I wear them all the time and just love this pattern. On my sewing table is the 7th but I've extend the pattern 12" and am making a shirt dress.
    Can't wait to see your finished shirts.

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  5. OOhh, that linen looks scrumptious! Looking forward to your finished shirts :-)

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  6. Lovely! Anxious to see more. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Great fabrics - I especially love the plaid. I look forward to your construction posts since two things I haven't tried yet are a button down shirt and plaid matching.

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  8. Mood had some beautiful linen, bought a black and white striped. I have not been brave enough to sew a blouse/shirt don't know why they intimidate me but they do.

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  9. So tell me what you like about the Archer? Is it different than a regular shirt pattern in some way? If it fits better or has nice details, I would love to have it. But I have a couple standard shirt patterns, so I am wondering what makes if different. Thanks!

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  10. Anonymous1:46 PM

    This is beautiful! I love it!

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