Burberry Inspired Buttondown Shirt - Grainline Archer

I was cruising around Pinterest recently and I came across a Burberry button down shirt that I quite liked. I then cruised around the internet and found several more versions of this shirt. Not only did I like the asymmetric use of a giant plaid, but it reminded me of a piece of fabric in my stash.

Notice that the first Burberry shirt is cut with the sleeves on the straight grain, but not matching the plaid front. The sleeves on the second Burberry shirt are on the bias, with the plaid intersection on the upper arm on one side and the lower arm on the other.

I decided to use the Burberry shirt as inspiration.

The weird thing is, I don't really wear button down shirts. Don't get me wrong, I've made my share of them in the distant past, but not in recent decades. I decided to go ahead and make one and to see how much wear I get out of it. Unfortunately all of my button down shirt patterns are too large, so I decided to try out a pattern that is sweeping the internet sewing world.

Have you seen the Archer shirt by Grainline Studios? They had a sew-along for the shirt last spring and you can view the results in their Grainline Studio Archer Sew Along Flickr group.

There is also a group on Pattern Review whose members have each committed to sewing 12 Archer shirts in a year. They also have a 12 Months of "Grainline Studios Archer Shirt" Sew Along Flickr group.

I wasn't quite sure why this pattern was so well loved (the Big 4 pattern companies all have button down shirt patterns that you can buy for $1 to $3 if you catch a sale) but I decided to give it a try as I like supporting independent companies.

Also because it's a downloadable pattern, I could get started on it right away. Once you pay, you download a zip file which unzips into two PDF files. One file is a 9-page set of instructions. The other file is a 39-page multi-size pattern that you print with 100% scaling.

I wanted to print out the 39-page pattern only once, so after trimming two edges from each page, taping them together, and rough cutting around each pattern piece, I then traced off my size. I chose the size 8 based on my upper bust measurement of 36". The finished bust for a size 8 was about 40", if I recall, so I did my usual darted FBA to add both width and length, as my full bust is about 41".

This fabric is a large-scale plaid taffeta. The funny thing is that I have no recollection of how it came to be in my stash. I don't remember buying it or have any idea of what I wanted to use it for – I've racked my brain. I burn tested it and I think it's a blend that includes a synthetic component, but I don't think it's entirely synthetic.

It's a mystery, I tell you. Did it come in a free Fabric Mart bundle long ago? I have no idea.

I fussy cut the fabric, placing the plaid asymmetrically, so that one plaid intersection is above my right bust. It might look like an accident, but each piece was single cut very deliberately. I placed the collar and the sleeves on the bias, placing a plaid intersection on the upper sleeve on the right side and the lower sleeve on the left side. I knew that the sleeves would be too long for me, but as I plan to mostly wear them rolled up, I decided to leave them full length.

Now that I've made the shirt, I do think it's a nicely drafted pattern:

• There is a separate collar stand and the under collar has a separate pattern piece, cut on the bias, and sized slightly smaller, so the collar will roll to the underside.
• There is a back yoke and the back has a center back pleat for wearing ease.
• There is a view which has a longer back, and a separate lower piece that gathers into the upper back.
• I only had to remove 1/2" from the shoulder seam, so it has much narrower shoulders than the Big 4 patterns.
• The armscye was not too large and the sleeve fit into it well.
• The side seams are very straight, without shaping, and many people add a bit of curvature at the side seam so it has a more shapely fit.
• Those with larger hips might need to grade out to a large size at the hips.
• There are patch pockets at the bust, which I omitted.
• There is a curved shirttail hem.
• The Burberry shirt uses a hidden button placket. I couldn't be bothered with this so I used the band from the pattern. The pattern has a separate band piece for the right side only - the left side is folded under twice and topstitched in place.
• I used Pam Erny's fusible interfacing for the cuffs, collar, and band, and some mother of pearl buttons from Fabrix for the closure.

Conclusion

I think I like this top! Time will tell if I get a lot of wear from it. Now I have a TNT pattern and can trace off another size, if need be. Do I like it well enough to join the sew-along? Probably not. To make 12 of these means making about one thousand buttonholes and sewing on one thousand buttons, or at least it feels like it. ;)

There are more pics of the shirt below.

Birthday Wrap Up

I want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments on my birthday post! It does feel good to talk about my mother, who first taught me to sew. Not to fit, as she just about fit into a pattern right out of the envelope and had no clue how to do an FBA (she was an A or B cup), but she was an amazing sewist who particularly loved to make designer suits. She was also an avid square dancer and had a huge wardrobe of elaborate square dance dresses she designed and made over the years. She also made matching shirts for her partner. After she passed, I let her square dancing friends come by and take the dresses and the petticoats - she had one in every color. More memories... :)

I spent the morning finishing up my Archer shirt and the afternoon with my daughters and a friend. It was a lot of fun. I am feeling a lot of gratitude.

Before I forget, and if you've read this far, let me tell you about a new blog I am enjoying very much. Gayle Ortiz has attended at least two Design Outside the Line retreats and is wonderfully talented. This is a blog to watch!

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More Pics

Sleeves worn down Sleeves rolled up Grainline Archer pattern

July 9th!

Happy birthday to me!
I was fifty three!
But not anymore -
I'm now fifty four!

This is something of a landmark birthday for me. Fifty four was the last birthday my mother celebrated. She was a vibrant, healthy, active woman who, shortly before her death, married her second husband, went hiking through India and Nepal, and sewed amazing clothing to wear to her job as a Comptroller for a high-end architectural firm.

One day she found a suspicious mole that was removed and the doctors believed that all was well. One year later she realized all was not well and, one month later, she was gone. I was in my 20s and losing her was one of the most devastating experiences of my life. Though I am grateful that I could be there, care for her through that last month, and hold her hand at the end.

My mother was also my friend - we shared a passion for sewing. I still have her sewing machine and her serger and I hope they last me forever. (Well, I wouldn't object to a newer, self threading serger. ;) Her Rowenta iron, by the way, died many years ago, long before my marriage was over.)

I don't have many pictures of her, but this is a school picture taken when she was 13. Can you believe the hairstyle for a 13-year-old? lol I keep this photo in my sewing room.

Here's to you, mom! I still miss you. Thank you for everything!

Woven Tie Top in Black - Butterick 3250

Have you noticed? Tie tops are everywhere! It took me a minute to adjust to this style, having been very over it back in the 80s. I remember it was everywhere, but the iconic look showed a tie top over a leotard worn with tights and leg warmers.

Flashback to Olivia Newton John...

Now I am seeing tie tops all over the place - if you haven't noticed this trend yet, just look on Pinterest.

I purchased this striped skirt/dress several months ago - in April I think. (I plan to talk more about it in another post.) You can wear it as a skirt, doubling the wide waistband, or pull it up over the bust and wear it as a dress.

The days are long gone (if they ever existed) that I would wear a bandeau style, so I wanted to make some sort of coverup. I actually bought another pattern to make a knit coverup, then I lost it. Meanwhile, Margy made this tie top, using Butterick 3250, an OOP pattern for wovens.

(Ironically, I just checked the copyright on this pattern and it's dated 1985.)

I don't know about you, but I want most everything Margy makes, and this was no exception. I tracked down a copy of the pattern (which was in horrendous shape, but that's another story). The fabric was purchased a long time ago from FabricMart. Originally I had bought enough to make a voluminous skirt, but I decided to use it for this. The fabric is black with circles. The edges of the circles are raw and so they are a little frayed, creating a great texture. The entire fabric is also just-so-slightly glittery and transparent. It's 100% cotton (sans glitter) and very lightweight, almost like a voile.

I do not, as a rule, like glitter and shine, but I am getting used to it. Dare I say, I even like it? The dress has a silver thread running through the white stripe, so they complement each other. The cotton fabric is so soft - it makes me want to sing "The touch, the feel, of cotton. The fabric of our lives!"

This pattern sews up amazingly fast, with its dolman sleeves, cut on facings, and no buttons or buttonholes. I used the size 14, my new "standard" size, but there is lots of ease in the pattern. I didn't need to add any width for my bust, so I did a vertical only FBA. I added 1.5 inches in length, using a side seam dart.

Vertical only FBA. From the bust point, I angled the FBA down to the side seam. Had I kept it straight across, it would have ended in the armhole curve.

There is a pleat at center back.

I love this little top! I think I will be getting a lot of wear out of it.

Chenille Autumn Leaves Duster

This fabric has been marinating in my stash while I've been pondering the right project. It is a very delicious, drapey, reversible brocade and I wanted to use it for something special. The leaves are created as a woven texture – the fabric reverses to black. I suspect that it contains mostly rayon, though it was unlabeled. It has the drape and feeling of a chenille throw.

After making the Geisha Faces duster, (thanks for all of the feedback!) I decided that it would be a great pattern for the brocade. I dithered on whether to sew it now, or to wait for cooler weather, but we have had some chilly summer weather here in San Francisco, so I decided to strike while the iron is hot.

I did make a few changes to the pattern:

• First, I had an idea that I wanted to use the black side of the fabric, as well as the coppery brown side. I redrafted the front and neckline facings. My idea was to sew them on the outside, exposing the black. But when I auditioned this idea, I didn't like it. I did use my re-drafted facings, but they are on the inside, as usual.
Redrafted facings.
• Second, I had the idea that I wanted to put giant welt pockets on the front, instead of the layered patch pockets. I decided against this, for two reasons. First, the fabric ravels like crazy. In fact, it virtually shreds, so it is not a great candidate for welt pockets. Secondly, I decided that I really wanted the fabric to be simple and uninterrupted, so I ditched that idea, too.
Ravel ravel. I had barely touched this seam. The shreds after trimming one armscye.
• I changed the neckline from round to a v-neck.
• I had previously shortened the sleeves by 1-5/8", but they were still too long. I shortened them by another 1-1/2".
• I widened the armscye on the sleeve, so it would fit into the armhole better.
• I omitted the placket closure. Instead I used two (stacked) buttons and inserted elastic loops into the front seam.
I purchased 4 buttons from Britex. The polka dot buttons fit inside the cup buttons. Front closure detail
• I finished all raw edges by turning them under and hand sewing them down. I only used bias binding on the armhole seam.
The sleeves, with all seams finished by hand.
• I did want to have a pocket, so I created a 3D bellows style pocket and hand sewed it to the inside on the right front. I sewed it by hand, so it would be invisible from the front, using a double thickness of the thread, so it would be stronger.
Inside of pocket Outside of pocket. Pocket detail It's hard to see, but I am sticking my fingers into the inside pocket.

On my Geisha Duster post, Jackie G asked how I did the FBA, so here's a pic. Because the original dart was rather small, I didn't bother moving it - I just ignored it. Note that I usually wouldn't be so casual. Normally I would lower the dart and then enlarge it. ;)

Because all of the raw edges were sewn down by hand (and the fabric did not cooperate) and the pocket was also sewn in by hand, this duster took me longer to make than the last one. But the result is very cozy. I can definitely see wearing this out for the evening in cooler weather.

If you celebrate July 4th, I hope you have a nice one! Myself, I am looking forward to a long sewing weekend. ;)

Geisha Faces Duster - Vogue 1356

I purchased this unique fabric locally. This two-toned (natural and marine blue) 100% linen features giant pointillist Geisha faces. It is woven using a coarse linen thread so the fabric is fairly heavy but has a nice drape - the texture reminds me a bit of burlap, but in linen.

After a trip through the washer and dryer on the hot setting, I decided to use the fabric to sew up Sandra Betzina's new duster pattern. This pattern has some interesting features:

• Large front and back pieces, uninterrupted by seams, to showcase the large scale print.
• The pattern says that the duster is "very loose fitting", but it is actually fairly fitted through the upper torso. There are two fish eye darts in the back, which I omitted. There is a small bust dart, and the side seams nip in above the waist. The duster is very loose fitting through the waist and hips.
• The sleeves are two-piece sleeves, cut on the bias.
• The front placket is also cut on the bias.
• The optional patch pocket is actually two pockets each: the larger pocket sits on top and a bit lower than the smaller pocket, which peeps out.
• The duster has an a-line shape. There are side slits, which I raised by about 3".

Fit and Sizing

I decided to use a size C, given my upper bust measurement. According to the pattern tissue, a size C is 41.5" (finished) at the bust. I measured the pattern tissue and this number didn't seem to be correct. I did a 1" FBA (adding 2" in width), and also cut out the side seams at a size D, but all the other seams and hems, I cut out as a size C.

The duster is unlined, but it has large facings. The facings extend to the armhole. Because of the FBA, the shape of the pattern near the front armhole was affected. I laid the front facing on top of the front, and transferred the new shape to the front facing.

Front facing pattern alteration Back FACE-ing

Sleeves and Shoulders

I narrowed the shoulders by 1". I pinned the 2-pc sleeve pattern and tried it on and it was fairly close fitting through the upper arm. I measured the pattern, and the number did not agree with the printed number on the pattern for the finished upper arm. I then measured the armscye of the sleeve and the armhole - the armhole was more than 2" larger. I measured both the paper pattern and the garment.

This puzzled me. I was not sure if I had made a mistake somewhere, but I did widen the upper sleeve (and the armscye seam) by 1". I didn't increase it by more, because the sleeve is on the bias, and I thought that maybe this was intentional.

When I went to set in the sleeve, it was difficult, because the sleeve was smaller than the opening. I found myself wishing I had increased the sleeve by another inch. If you make this duster, make sure to double check the fit of the sleeve and the width of the upper sleeve.

I also could see that the sleeve was much too long. I shortened it by 1-5/8" but the finished sleeve was still too long by another inch or so, so I am wearing them folded back.

Interfacing

This pattern calls for the front and back facings to be interfaced. It suggests that you clean finish the outer edge of the facings by sewing the interfacing to the facing, right sides together and along the outer edge, then flip the interfacing to the back side. The raw outer edge is encased. If you have used a fusible interfacing, you would then fuse it to the back side of the facing.

Do any of you ever use this technique? I tried this technique many years ago (in the early-to-mid 80s, so it's been awhile) and did not like the result. I did use a lovely fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply, but I fused it in the normal manner.

Seam Finishes

Since the duster is unlined, the seams do need to be neatly finished. The instructions use several techniques. One is the technique I describe above, where the raw outer edge of the facings are encased inside the facing/interfacing seam. For the side seams, the raw edges are folded under and top-stitched. Seam binding is attached to the sleeve hems and then they are top-stitched. The raw edge of the hem is turned to the inside and then machine stitched. The two seams in the sleeves are not finished. I suspect this is because it would be hard to top-stitch both seams, and, as they are on the bias, they will not ravel.

For the most part, I did it differently, except for the side seams, which I did turn under and top-stitch. I used double fold bias binding (in two widths) throughout the garment, including the sleeves. I forgot how much binding you need for this approach! I ran out of bias binding twice and had to get more. (Thanks so much to Patti F who sent me the last package of bias binding I needed!)

Closure

The edges of the duster meet at center front. A placket with 5 snaps closes the duster. The pattern suggests that you can omit the placket (and wear it open), or replace the placket with a zipper. But something that did not make sense to me is that the placket and the placket lining, which are simple rectangles, are both cut on the bias. This strikes me as strange, since it would be very easy for it to distort with wear. I did go ahead and cut it out on the bias, but I am concerned that it will give me problems down the road. I made sure to fuse the placket with interfacing that was cut in a stable direction, and hopefully this will be sufficient.

But I do not understand why the placket is cut on the bias. It seems unnecessary and potentially problematic.

The snaps I used are size 24 snaps, from Snap Source, in Antique Brass and applied with a hammer, using the Snap Source tool. (I love Snap Source snaps!)

Pocket

The patch pockets on this duster are very cute. They are simple rectangles, but the smaller rectangle is first sewn on, then a larger pocket is sewn on top, and a little below, so the smaller pocket peeps out the top of the larger pocket.

I made a few changes. First, because of the nature of the print, I decided to put one set of pockets on the left side only. I wanted to fussy cut the outer pocket to feature the Geisha's face, so I enlarged both the under and upper pocket, by 2" in width and 2" in height. The pattern suggests that you fold in each bottom corner of the pocket and then fold in the two long edges of the corner, but this seems, to me, to be the way to achieve a lumpy finish.

Instead, I mitered the lower corners of the pockets, which results in a much cleaner finish. The pattern also suggests that you use Steam a Seam (or equivalent) to hold the seam allowances in place and also to place the pockets on the garment, but I did not find either step to be necessary.

Worn with my Trippens, which I call my "German Geisha" shoes!

Conclusion

I really like this duster! Partly because of the fun fabric, but I also like the design. Before I cut out the fabric, I considered changing the silhouette. I almost narrowed the a-line shaping to make it more column-shaped. I know that is a good look for me, but I decided to leave it as-is, only raising the side slits to give it more ease of movement. I like that it's semi fitted through the upper torso, nipped in at the waist, and loose and flowing below. It's fun to wear and, I think, a flattering look.