#2018MakeNine – First Project Complete!

I finished my first Make Nine project – a popover-style Mila shirt pattern by Itch to Stitch.

The Fabric Lovestory

Back when I was shopping for some chambray to make my husband a shirt (and umm no, I haven’t made his shirt yet) I ran across this stitched chambray by Robert Kaufman and fell in love…I knew it would make a lovely shirt for me! I looove the look of the white threads running through the fabric – such a nice variation on a plain stripe.

Maybe even better, the reverse side of the fabric has these little dots of white thread showing through, giving it a polka dot sort of look. I used the reverse side for the placket (no stripe matching necessary!), but you can also see it showing through when the collar is open and the sleeves are rolled up.

The stitched stripes actually go selvage to selvage (horizontal stripes) on this fabric (which I don’t think I noticed when shopping online), but I had my heart set on vertical stripes. Luckily I was able to cut the main pieces on the crossgrain, and cut the yoke and sleeve cuffs the other way. This fabric is really silky soft with nice drape even though it’s 100% cotton, so that helped too.

Making Lesson – Read the Pattern!

So I’ve made this pattern once before. And maybe I didn’t pay super close attention to the pattern instructions this time…and it turns out that this pattern is drafted with 3/8″ seam allowances! I cut the shirt out in early January along with a couple other projects, then it took me a couple of weeks to get around to sewing it, and a few more to finish it. It’s entirely possible that I sewed the first few pieces together with the proper 3/8″ seam allowance, and then forgot when I picked it back up 10 days later…all I know is that I sewed the whole darn thing and serged all the seams with mostly 5/8″ seam allowances and then I tried it on to figure out where to put the buttons. Lo and behold, it didn’t fit – the shoulders were way too tight and the sleeves were short. This had me completely perplexed – after all I have one in my closet that I wear all the time and that fits me nicely! Then I double checked the seam allowances…oops. I ended up ripping the stitches out of the armscye-sleeve seam and reattaching it with the proper seam allowance. Since I had already trimmed the seam allowance when I serged it, I had to make do with a 1/8″ seam allowance and then serged with a super narrow overlock stitch. I really hope this holds, because I love this shirt! I decided that the side seams were ok to leave as is – it’s a looser fitting design, so now it’s just a bit more fitted. There’s a bit of funkiness going on in the back of the shirt, especially near the sleeves, but all in all I am okay with it.

And did I sew that back pleat the wrong way? Or is that the right way? I can never remember, so …whatever 🙂

I still like love it!

Despite the seam allowance drama, I love how my shirt turned out and I can see myself wearing it a lot. It’s nice with jeans (my everyday-and-all-the-time uniform), good for work, but could also be dressed up a bit if I wanted.

I mean, c’mon, the color? the stripes? the polka dot placket? that lovely curved hem? What’s not to love?

Details

Pattern: Mila Shirt by Itch to Stitch
Size: 14, C cup
Adjustments: Accidentally sewed side seams (and others??) with 5/8″ seam allowance instead of 3/8″
Fabric: Robert Kaufman Stitched Chambray in Navy

Click here to see all my 2018 Make Nine posts!