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DIY : howdy pardner - pink gingham

DIY – Gingham Shirt

Oh - and please excuse the less than flattering photos...

Another foray into "sewing for me" – a pink gingham structured shirt.

This is another pattern from Vogue.  What can I say – I like familiarity.



The pattern offers multiple variations, which was appealing as well as it being the style that I was looking for.

And here is the finished product (*sigh* back to setting up the camera for selfies).  Ok, it’s not my favourite pair of pants but I’m working on that.



Onto the shirt.  I like it.  It’s not perfect, but it has potential.

On the finished product...

I like contrast cuffs and collar.  I like the shape.  I like the fit in the front.  I like the circumference of the sleeves.

I don’t like the slight tightness in the bust.  I don’t like the length of the sleeve. 

To get to this point, these are the alterations that I had to do to the pattern
- Shorten to correctly place the waistline (therefore shortening the overall length)
- Move the bust apex
- Move the front darts
- Shorten the sleeve length
- Move the back darts
- Make contrast cuffs and collar



So… all the above don’t-likes are pretty much my doing and is fixable on the next version.

Moving the bust apex was a bit of a task, but if I had not done it I really would have looked like a lil' sis borrowing her big sis' work shirt.





I used this tutorial to move the bust dart.  Here's how it worked out on my shirt...

1.  Determine where the bust dart should be (here - moved higher)
2.  Draw a rectangle around the existing dart
3.  Mark where the new dart should sit
4.  Cut out the rectangle and move it (up in this instance)
5.  Fill in the hole with scrap pattern paper
6.  Fold the dart as if sewing and ease cut the seam
7.  Open out the folded dart to get the new pattern shape
8.  Adjust the front dart to end a similar distance as from the original apex
My wearing caveats… There’s something in the sleeve and the back that is bothering me. 

With the sleeve, I’m not sure what range of movement I should be getting with this type of shirt.  I’ve never had a well-fitted shirt before.  It’s a bit annoying when I lift my arms up (say to fix my hair) and the whole shirt is displaced.  Surely, that’s not how this is supposed to move with your body...?

And there’s this bunching in the back.  I’m not sure if the back is too wide.  Or if the back waist placement or the back contouring is not where it should be.

But besides that... (and until I can figure out what is causing these)...

This pattern is a keeper for me.  It’s not at it’s end state for a perfect fit, but I like it enough to work on this one instead of looking for another pattern.


What do you think?  Am I on the right track for a perfect fit?
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