New Hair + My Linen Granville Shirt

You know that feeling when you make something, and it actually turns out exactly how you pictured it and then you're convinced that you have the perfect piece of clothing that you would wear every single day if you could get away with it??

Well, meet my Granville Shirt! I made this a couple weeks ago and I'm so incredibly happy with it that I want to make hundreds more of these and completely would if I had the time.

Also, you might have noticed that I dyed my hair! If you follow me on Instagram or if you saw my Me-Made-May round-up, you probably know that I've actually had red hair for a few months now. When I first dyed it I used a kit (and a friend!), and it was right after my exams when I felt like I really needed a big change.

It was a little impulsive (not really like me!) and I was happy with how it turned out, but I realized that I maybe had a little too much hair to dye with a drugstore kit. Just last weekend, I had it done by a hairstyling student for a great price (less than I spent on drugstore dye!) and I'm SO happy with it. I love my natural colour but I'm ready to have fun with some different colours!

Anyways, back to the shirt!

It seems like a classic shirt has been on my sewing bucket list foreeever, and when Sewaholic released their Granville Shirt pattern last year, it seemed like it really was the perfect shirt! It has the perfect amount of ease and all the right details. Sewaholic patterns usually fit me pretty well, too, so it seemed like a great starting point.

When I made the muslin, though, it really needed some work. I don't have pictures, but the dart was completely in the wrong place for me, and the armholes were gaping like crazy, even after making the same alterations that Tasia made to make it sleeveless! It was also way too long, almost a tunic length, and big at the hips (although I expected that based on the sizing). I shortened it 4", but I ignored the shorten/lengthen lines because I needed the shaping at the waist to be higher. I cut two separate lines, one above the waist and one below, and shortened it 2" at each of them. To take it in at the hips, I just marked 1" in and drew a smooth curve to that point from the waist.

To make it sleeveless, you have to shave a little off the armholes and the shirt back where it attaches to the yoke - this tutorial explains it well. Tasia says she took the armholes in 1" and took 3/8" out of the back, but this wasn't nearly enough for me. I haven't made the shirt with sleeves, so I think I probably would have had to take in the shoulder and the back anyways - that's a pretty standard adjustment for me. In the end I took 1 3/4" out of the shoulder and 7/8" out of the back pieces.

For the dart, I started by raising it 1", but I needed to do something to fix the armhole gape. One of these days, I should probably learn to do a proper FBA, but I don't like how every tutorial I've seen ends up making the rest of the top wider at the bottom. Instead, I followed this tutorial on how to stop armhole gape - you basically pin a dart in the armhole where you would need it, and then transfer it to the bust dart. It basically doubled the size of the dart, and it worked really well to fix the gaping!

I made a second muslin with all these adjustments, and it was a lot closer, but there was still a little gaping in the back of the armhole. I considered doing the same thing with pinning a dart and somehow transferring it to the princess seams in the back, but this article said to just take a little out of the side seam for the back piece only so I did that for my final version. This also worked really well, although it made it just a tiny bit too small at the bust so I might try to add that back in somewhere for my next version. I didn't notice it at first, but after a little wear, the button band pulls ever so slightly at the bust.

Other than that, though, can we just admire the fit? I think I pretty much nailed it! There's a couple small things I'll change next time, but it's probably the best fitting shirt I've ever owned. It's a little wrinkled in these photos because I'd been wearing it all day, but that's just the nature of linen.

The fabric is a linen blend herringbone chambray that I bought on St. Hubert at the beginning of the summer. It was only $10 a metre and I got the whole top out of only a metre! Now I just need to figure out what to do with the metre I have left...

I've never made a classic shirt before, but it wasn't as difficult as I was expecting. I was mostly nervous for the collar stand but I followed Andrea's famous tutorial for sewing one and it went quite well! The only problem was that something must have stretched (or I just didn't cut it accurately enough in the first place), because I found the collar to be a little too long for the collar stand. I noticed it early on but somehow thought it would work itself out, so I didn't trim it down. It's mostly fine, but if I ever want to button it up all the way (which I never do), the collar overlaps slightly.

I also made a mistake and interfaced both the upper and lower collar by accident, because I wrote "Cut 2 interfacing" on the collar piece when I traced it. I keep meaning to check if this was my mistake or something on the pattern itself. It's not a big deal because the interfacing I used was pretty lightweight, but it would probably sit a little more nicely with slightly less.

As for the rest of the construction, I used flat-felled seams for everything so the insides are nice and neat.

To finish the armholes, I used store-bought bias binding because I was lazy and just sewed it with a 1/4" seam allowance, folded it over the raw edge, pressed it to the inside, and edgestitched. Easy peasy! I think the bias binding I used was maybe a little too stiff for the fabric (I think it's mostly poly), because it didn't stretch to the curve as nicely as a softer one would, and the edges don't quite lay flat. I don't think it's that noticeable, but next time I'll make my own. In fact I think I may just buy some black and white cotton and make a bunch of my own so I have a stock for times like this! The homemade stuff is so much nicer, even if it's not in matching fabric.

I used my machine's automatic buttonhole foot to make the buttonholes, and I can't get over how beautiful they are. This is probably one of my favorite features of this machine, because I've always struggled with making nice buttonholes. The only one that was a little wonky was the one at the very top because I don't think I trimmed down the seam allowance enough when I attached the collar, so there was a little too much bulk to make a smooth buttonhole. In the end, I just didn't cut it open because I'm never going to button up that button anyways!

I'm so, so happy with how this shirt turned out. It's a great summer style for throwing on over jeans or these rayon Value Village pants that I've been living in. It's so cool and comfortable for the Montreal heat, too! I've already worn it so much and I want to make more. In the fall I might try a version with sleeves, although sleeveless versions are almost more practical for layering cardigans over!

Next up, I'd love to make a shirtdress version! Stay tuned...

Pattern Testing: The BHL Sarah Shirt

If you follow the By Hand London blog, you may have seen that I was included in their round-up of pattern tester versions of their new pattern, the Sarah Shirt! I was so flattered and excited when they asked me to test earlier this year, and it was perfect timing, because I was just starting second semester and not (too) busy with school yet. I'm definitely starting to embrace some looser, more casual styles, and I fell in love with the line drawings!

Having said that, my secret shame at that time was that I still hadn't bought a table to set up my new sewing machines, and I hadn't tried either of them yet! So, for that week, I took over our kitchen table at our apartment and finally used my brand new sewing machine machine for the first time.

Aaaand... it's amazing! It handled the drapey rayon so nicely (although the walking foot helped!), and the automatic buttonhole feature is just beautiful. Having only ever sewed on either a cheap machine or a machine that's 30+ years old, it was incredible to sew on such a high-end machine! I feel like this will be the start of a long, happy relationship. Now it just needs a name...

The fabric was from a place on St. Hubert, one of Montreal's fabric shopping districts. It's super cheap rayon and I don't know how well it will last, but I was a little pressed for time and didn't want to spend a ton of money on a shirt that I wasn't sure would turn out. This was only $3 a yard, so I bought lots, and I have enough left for a dress! I really like the pattern so I may whip up something simple with what's left - since it's not the best quality I wouldn't want to make anything super complicated with it. I bought the Sewaholic Nicola Dress pattern a while back and I might use it for a wearable muslin. We'll see!

As for the Sarah shirt, I made a size 2/6, view 2 (short sleeves, and a pointed collar). I also love the long sleeves, but I didn't think they would be that practical for me. I'm always cold, so I never end up wearing shirts that I can't layer a sweater over!

I'm not going to comment too much on the instructions, since I know that the ladies at By Hand London made quite a few changes in response to testers' feedback. The revised instructions have clarified a few points, and they're detailed enough that they're really easy to follow, even if you've never made a shirt before!

Since our kitchen table only had enough space for one sewing machine, I didn't set up my serger for this project, and instead finished everything with French seams. This is definitely my favourite seam finish for delicate fabrics, and it worked really well for this pattern, even the sleeves!

As for the fit, this one has a LOT of ease! It's intentional (unlike the Big 4, which add unnecessary easy to everything), but I thought that it ended up a little bigger than the line drawings suggested. The illustrations on the model show the ease a little more accurately, but they weren't done yet when I tested it!

I love the swingy-ness of the style, but I'll admit that I'm not sure it's the most flattering on me. I've seen lots of versions that look fabulous, but I just have a very small frame, and I think that the ease is a little overwhelming on me. The smallest size fits my full bust and waist measurements, but I think my high bust measurement better reflect the size of my frame, so I maybe should have sized down past the smallest size!

Having said that, I think it's a really fun style to wear! As I mentioned earlier, I've really started to like styles that are less fitted (even if they're not the most flattering on my body).

I think that if I made this again, I might make it a tiny bit more fitted under the arms and then begin the flare from there, possibly adding a bust dart. I think that on me, this might make the ease a little less overwhelming - I have a thrifted blouse that fits like this that I love!

I shortened it by 2", which wasn't unexpected because I'm a little short (5' 2", for reference).

The other alteration that I would make if I made it again would be to make the collar a little smaller. I'm not sure if it's just because I made the smallest size and the collar size doesn't change much from size to size, but I found the collar a little disproportionately big, and definitely larger than the line drawings suggest - it actually covers the pleats completely, which is too bad because they're my favourite part!

So, the final verdict on this shirt?

Looking at these photos, I LOVE it!

But, as much as I like it, it's definitely a stretch from styles I've worn before. I feel like I still need to just get a little more comfortable wearing it - I have a few pieces that I've bought second-hand that I loved, but were very different than the styles I was used to, and I needed to wear them a few times before I got used to the different style.

I really hope that I get some more wear out of it, because really do like it! I think with a couple tweaks I will definitely make the pattern again, and then maybe I'll find it a little more wearable.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I have actually set up a sewing space for myself in my bedroom! It still needs a little work but it'll evolve as I use it. So far my work schedule has been a little unpredictable, but I hope to have some more sewing time this summer than I had during the school year. It looks like I'll definitely have some knitting time if I keep a knitting project at the lab - lab work involves a lot of waiting!

Also, another huge thank you to my friend James for taking these photos for me - these were taken before it started pouring!

And, a final little disclaimer: I was given the test version (and later the revised version) of the pattern free of charge in return for my feedback as a tester. I paid for the supplies and for printing the pattern myself, and I was in no way obligated to post about it. All opinions are my own!