archer shirt variation: v-neck placket

Wutsup Internet pals. After my last post, I received some requests for a demonstration on how I modified the plackets of the Grainline Archer shirt to a V-neck. And I oblige! I like this look because the shirt lays flat against your chest while still framing your neck and face in that nice button-up shirt kinda way. It's slightly more feminine, too, so there's that.

This doesn't involve anything too difficult, despite the long post that follows here. The modification involves three steps: 1) modify the shape of your shirt pattern piece, 2) draft separate plackets to match, and 3) shorten your collar stand. I'll also show you how to actually sew on the new plackets. You can, of course, do all this with any button-up shirt pattern, but I'm showing it on the Archer because it seems likely that more of you guys already have this pattern (or are thinking about getting it) than some rando Butterick pattern or something, right? We're all indie fangirls and we know it.

So if you want to get this look, follow along!

PLACKET DRAFTING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Assemble the front pattern piece of the Archer shirt. If you need to print a new one for this modification, you only need to print pages 2-4, 8-10, and 14-16 from the PDF. Cut or trace your size.

2. Cut along the vertical line that says "Trim Along Dotted Line for Right Front." The original Archer pattern has you fold under and stitch the placket on the wearer's left side, and attach a separate placket piece for the right side. On this modification, both sides will have two separate plackets so throw away that chunk and pretend it never existed.

3. Cut off the desired amount to create your V-shape in the front. Make sure it doesn't cut way below your bust apex (unless u naughty), but remember that there will be added plackets that will provide more coverage. For reference, I made a point 1" inward at the neck and another point 7-1/2" down, and connected those points with a straight line which I then cut off. Feel free to make the neckline more or less open, higher or lower.

Because I was making a sleeveless version, I went ahead and modified the shoulder and armhole, too. As Jen writes in her sleeveless Archer mod post, you don't want a sleeveless shirt that hangs off your shoulders, so shorten that shoulder seam and blend to nothing at the original underarm. I shortened my shoulder seam by 1-1/2". You'll need to similarly alter your yoke and back pieces, too.

4. Before drafting the plackets, go ahead and draw the seam line on the front edge of the shirt pattern piece. The seam allowance on Grainline patterns is 1/2". This steps just helps with the drafting process for accurate measuring of the new plackets.

5. To draft the plackets, place a sheet of tracing paper over the top of your pattern piece (I use Swedish Tracing Paper). Weigh it down then trace that seam line you just drew. Now draw a parallel line 3/4" to the left of that seam line. 3/4" is the final desired placket width I chose, so if you want a wider or narrower placket, adjust as you please. Connect the top of the two lines by tracing the curved outline of the shirt neckline. Connect the bottoms with a straight perpendicular line that matches the hem of your shirt piece.

So, the blue outline on the tracing paper is now the placket piece without seam allowances on the sides:

6. Add seam allowances to the sides of the placket only, since SAs are already included in the top and hem (traced from the original pattern). My SAs are in green in the photo. Stick with 1/2" if you're using the Archer so it remains consistent with the rest of the shirt construction. When drawing your SAs at the top of the placket, the top bit should continue to follow the curve of the shirt neckline. It will look crazy pointy, but that is all trimmed down later after you sew it on. Cut out your new final pattern piece.

COLLAR STAND MODIFICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

While you have all your pattern pieces and fabric out, let's do this mod now before sewing anything. Remember that you removed fabric from the front of your shirt pieces, which makes the garment neckline shorter around. If you're adding a collar, collar stand, or both, you will need to adjust the pattern piece(s) accordingly. I decided I wanted a "mandarin collar," or just a collar stand with no collar piece, so I'm only showing that modification here. The same theory applies if you're adjusting a collar, too: remove length at the center so the shape and pitch of the ends remain unaltered.

First, calculate how much of the neckline you removed from the shirt on each side. Instead of measuring all the pattern pieces and adding stuff together, just think about the original pattern pieces versus your new ones and do some subtraction. On the original Archer, there is the full neckline plus a 1" placket. For my version, I removed 1 inch from that neckline, then added plackets that are only 3/4". So my shirt neckline now has 1-1/4" less on EACH SIDE, or 2-1/2" less total. I hope that makes sense. I tried to create some diagrams but it just made it seem more confusing.

The Archer collar stand is cut on the fold, so changes made to this pattern piece reflect only one side, though the changes will be doubled once the fabric is cut. Since I removed 1-1/4" from each side of the shirt neckline, I similarly removed 1-1/4" from each half of the collar stand at the center back. I marked a line at 1-1/4" and cut there. This is your new "Cut on Fold" line when you cut your fabric.

PLACKET CONSTRUCTION INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut FOUR placket pieces from your fabric. Two of them will be your outer plackets and the remaining two will be the placket facings. Cut two interfacing pieces as well. 

2. Fuse the interfacing to two placket pieces.

3. Right sides together, pin and sew the the facings to their placket counterparts. You will be sewing the outer edge, or the outer curve of the plackets. Trim this seam allowance.

Open the pieces and press the seam to the placket facing (uninterfaced side). Understitch this seam in place.

4. Fold together and press, wrong sides together. The understitching will help the placket facing stay put in the back. Double check the width of your plackets now and trim the raw edges to make everything even if you need to. 

5. You'll now be attaching the plackets as one piece to the front shirt edges. That means you'll sew both layers of the placket and placket facing to the shirt, and the seam will be visible on the inside. I decided not to do a "clean finish" (where the placket facing edge is folded over and stitched to cover the separately-sewn placket seam) in the interest of time and in the interest of me not being interested in a clean finish. Do whatchu do.

Pin the right side of the placket side to the shirt edge. The pointy seam allowance at the top of the placket sticks out awkwardly as it's supposed to, but remember it will be trimmed and pressed back in place later. 

Stitch these seams at 1/2" then trim and finish this seam by serging or zig zagging. Press the seam away from the placket. Topstitch down if ya want.

Your plackets are done! I know you can hardly see them in this fabric, but check out how the neckline now looks when the plackets are overlapped. It will open up more once you put it on a 3D body.

Continue constructing the shirt per the pattern instructions, using your modified collar stand. Some other things to note:

• If you need help sewing on the collar/stand, I have a tutorial on that here. 
• If you made your shirt sleeveless and need help finishing those edges, the Colette blog has a nice post on finishing armholes with bias binding, which is how I sewed mine here (except, duh, I sewed mine in the flat, not the round).
• The buttonhole/button situation will be a little different than your standard Archer (there's fewer of them, yay!), but just make sure you place a button at the fullest point of your bust to avoid placket gaping/bra peekaboo.

Any questions? Holler!

chardon (m. thistle)

PATTERN THROWBACK. To ye olden days of 2013, when it seemed like we were in the midst of an indie pattern boom but were in fact only on the cusp.

Last week I was feeling nostalgic for simpler times, so I bypassed my PDF pattern collection and turned to my paper pattern stash. Remember thems? They arrive in your mailbox like a pretty little present amongst the health insurance invoices and jury duty summons. Then you unfold a large sheet of paper and all the pattern pieces are just laying there looking up at you, and you actually hold the physical instruction pages and flip them left to right like you're some kinda scholar. The last paper pattern I bought was Deer & Doe's Jupe Chardon, or Chardon Skirt, or Thistle Skirt, or however this French-to-English sewing pattern language thing works. It seemed like a fun basic garment to sew so I cracked her open.

Yuck photos.

Chardon is a simple unlined A-line skirt with in-seam pockets and stitched box pleats for shaping at the waist. I liked the no-waistband look and forgiving fit. You can add belt loops or a tie or a contrasting band but I skipped that noise this time. The skirt is finished with a waist facing and a regular zipper in the center back. 

It's a quick sew as long as you choose your waist size properly. I dunno what was wrong with me but I had the completely WRONG waist measurement in my head when I picked the size to cut, so the skirt was basically two sizes too small when I went to try it on after stitching down all those pleats. Luckily with this style, you can adjust all the pleats to size the waist up or down. Just make sure you do your math correctly when altering each pleat so you don't over- or under-compensate. And remember to cut a new facing to fit your fattened skirt. Yeah, this skirt took me far longer than it should have because I have a pea brain.

I made this in a gray striped home decor linen because I apparently enjoy dressing up like a sofa. It was easy fabric to work with and it holds the shape of the pleats nicely. It is pretty poofy, so I tapered the skirt slightly from its original A shape so I wouldn't be mistaken by Philly tourists as the Liberty Bell. Wow, stellar joke, right? If you want to see TRUE POOF, check out what swallowed me whole at work yesterday.

I serged all seams before pressing them open. The bottom of the waist facing is also serged. I'd recommend understitching the facing and tacking it down at the side seams as well so it stays put.

The navy top I'm wearing is a new Archer Shirt, another homage to 2013. Though let's be real; I'm still addicted to this pattern. I modified it by making it sleeveless, curving the front placket into a V-shape at the neck so it lays flat, and omitting the collar but leaving the stand. You can see another version of this variation on my Instagram here. I may blog about that one day because I wear it like twice a week and the fabric was a gift from Internet pen pal and fellow Grainline addict, Ash M. Higgs. 

I like my new outfit but this photoshoot just made me realize the dire situation of my bangs. In half my photos, my bangs are either in my eyes all Grudge girl style, or I'm in the middle of swinging them out of my eyes, which does not at all look sexy beach bombshell like I imagine in my head:

So, are any of you still trying to catch up with 2013's (or earlier) patterns or are you always ready for the next great thing?

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P.S. Reminder! I'm leading a three-week workshop on Sewing Knits at Butcher's Sew Shop in south Philly on Monday nights starting June 30th. If you wanna join up, you can use coupon code 4SQUAREWALLS at checkout to get 20% off the registration fee ! ! ! ! There are a few spots left, so sign up here. Scroll down to Special Workshops.

portside duffel bag

Duffle bag or duffel bag? I think they're interchangeable but I've always used the -el version. Neither spelling is recognized by this spell check anyway. No, Blogger, I don't mean "ruffle" and I certainly don't mean "luffed." WHAT IS LUFFED?

It's probably not normal for a person to love a duffel bag as much as I love this one. I don't love much of what I make, I admit. Sure, there are handmade garments that I like because they're comfortable or flattering. But LOVE? I usually reserve that for family, my boyfriend, dogs, and French fries only. And now this bag. I kept complimenting its beauty (aloud, yes) while photographing it. Truly creepy.

The pattern is the duffel bag from Grainline Studio's Portside Travel Set, released in October 2013. It's a roomy bag (20" x 11.5" x 12") designed with a zip top, handles and a detachable shoulder strap made from webbing, two exterior pockets, and a full lining (hooray!). It's been on the back of my mind for awhile, but the only trips I've taken since its release have either required a monster suitcase or a tiny overnight bag -- which is the only luggage I've owned since moving to Phila. I'm taking a last-minute trip to Louisville this weekend and staying three nights, and I started wondering what I was going to use to pack for that length of trip. Ohhh right, Jen B's got my back as always. The whole set includes the duffel, a dopp kit for toiletries, and a zipped pouch for other small travel necessities. I didn't make the little guys but you bet I'm saving the pattern pieces.

The fabrics and notions I used are all from my stash because I was in a hurry to make this and I'm broke as a joke. I ain't mad about a little neutral-mixing, though. The contrast is made from wool coating that I never got around to using for a garment this past winter despite my obsession with it. It's a navy/black mix with gray plaid. I cut the side panels on the bias so I wouldn't have to match the plaids horizontally over the curve, ha. The bias-cut pieces are also interfaced to prevent stretching and drooping.

The self/bottom fabric is... can I say "vegan leather" so it sounds classier? It's cloth-backed home decor vinyl that I got for 99 cents at Jomar in Philly. It was easier to work with than I expected despite its bulk. Some basic tips for sewing with vinyl can be found here, which covers what I did, though I admit I used a low-heat iron on the cloth side of the vinyl to try (and mostly fail) to remove its wrinkles. Nothing melted. The only problem I had with the vinyl was uneven stitch length on the topstitching because it would randomly start to drag. The bag is large, too, so it would often get crammed against the wall behind my machine and the fabric would stall. Can't fix topstitching in vinyl, though, so I'm living with it!

I lined it in bright red fabric -- cut from an old Target curtain that didn't fit our windows. I could have used some beige linen in my stash but I wanted to make the piece somewhat more exciting since it's handmade and all. And you know I can't resist pairing red with black. Since I was using this pleather stuff, I also had to line the outside pockets because the back of it is so unsightly.

As far as construction goes, this bag is a pretty straightforward sew. I finished it from first cut to final slip stitch in less than 5 hours, which included the extra step of making my own double-topstitched straps instead of using webbing. I didn't have the hardware or patience to make a shoulder strap, but I made the handles long enough to be shoulder-slingable as is. Because you can't pin vinyl (it leaves permanent holes), I used Wonder Tape to secure the straps to the bag before sewing them on. It's basically just narrow double-sided tape that dissolves in water. Good for positioning zippers and pockets and such, too.

To give a better sense of its size, here is Corey wearing it. Don't be fooled -- this bag is for me, not him, though the fabric choices are decidedly unisex. He thought this bag was store-bought until I started getting it plumped up for its glamourous photoshoot. Natch he's requested his own now.

The Portside Duffel is larger than most other travel bag patterns I've come across, which was perfect for what I needed. In the first set of Corey-less photos of this post, the bag is stuffed with two throw pillows and about five or six pieces of multi-yard fabric. It's droopy without anything in it but I made sure the seams were sturdy enough to hold weight once full. I haven't packed my belongings for realzies in it yet, but I expect it will hold everything I need for a four day trip, especially now that it's warmer and I don't need to bring thick sweaters and boots.

The denim shirt he's wearing was also made by me a few months ago. For awhile this shirt stood as the best-loved handmade item in this household because honestly it's some of the best detail-sewing I've ever done, but now it's overshadowed (literally, here) by my AWESOME DUFFEL BAG. I love it. I luff it. Most-luffed duff in the world. This post has officially come full-circle. /gush

Who else is sewing to travel? ...Would you ever trust your handmade luggage in the hands of the airlines? Carry-on only!

P.S. With your help I fixed my pixelated image issue I  mentioned in my last post, at least on my end. Turns out it was a Google+ auto-enhance setting I needed to switch off. However, it seems the photos still don't show up on the Feedly app my iPhone so probably not Bloglovin' either. Really sorry -- I'll keep digging.

overlock & overload

I had an epic jersey stash-busting sewing marathon this past week. I recently organized my sewing room (see proof here) and sorted my fabric by type/content as well as fabric-I-want-to-use and wtf-was-I-thinking-fabric. I actually don't have a large fabric stash right now (a subjective statement), but I thought it was about time I make some room for new stuff. I hate storing slinky fabric that doesn't fold crisply or stack well, so I grabbed all the drapey rayon/lycra blend jerseys that have been slipping off my narrow closet shelves for several months now. 

To help tackle all these knits, I downloaded the PDF of Grainline Studio's free Hemlock Tee pattern. It's a slouchy-fit, drop-shoulder top, which isn't necessarily the most flattering look for me, but hey, a girl's gotta lounge. I've been wearing jeans more often lately because all my tights are ripped so I can't wear dresses. Instead of buying more tights, I'm sewing more tees so I can wear jeans more often. Hopefully someone out there gets my logic.

So all week I've been busting out Hemlock tees like it's my JOB. omg I wish that were actually my job. Please, someone. This pattern is drafted in one size and only includes three pattern pieces (front, back, and sleeve -- you draft the neckband yourself). The instructions (provided in Grainline's post here) show you how to make the tee with a serger (overlocker). I almost always use my regular machine as well as my serger for construction on knits. I just feel like I have more control and dexterity with my machine, which helps when matching stripes, matching underarm seams, or attaching neckbands that need to be pretty precise.

I made some modifications on all of these. On my first practice try, the neckline was too high for my liking and the sleeves too loose. Each of my subsequent necklines were lowered about 3 inches (!!scandal!!). I also lengthened each hem about 2 to 3 inches. The hem of the tribal/cross print one is curved up at the sides, and the hem of the striped one is curved up at the front and longer at the back. I used my coverstitch machine to hem everything. Ole Janome got quite a workout this week.

I made slimmer elbow-length sleeves on the tribal print version, and slimmed down all the others so they could be scrunched up. And obviously I left off the sleeves on the zig zag print version to make a little kimono cap sleeve thing, extending the shoulder seams another inch. Oh go on, call me a ~designer~.

All three of the rayon jerseys (prints, stripes) are from Fabric.com bought within the last year. I originally intended the graphic print ones to be dresses, but they're certainly too lightweight and sheer for that. The tribal print one was advertised as blue and red, but it's definitely purple and pink. And totally printed off grain, as is typical of Fabric.com. Ah well. I made sure the pattern placement was alright so that I didn't have big crosses or pink diamonds directly on my b00bz. The gray striped fabric was going to be another Henley for Corey but he didn't like the fabric (what? Unbelievably picky, that guy). So now it's mine!

I was inspired by Makes The Things' sweater version of the Hemlock tee pattern, so I decided to make a heavier version with this turquoise sweater knit fabric that sweet Handmade Jane mailed to me all the way from the UK last year just because she knew I liked it. Seriously. She's a sewing angel among mere sewing mortals. See the raglan sleeve dress she made with this same fabric here. Thanks again, Jane! This one's definitely the warmest version, and goes to show that you can make this pattern with thicker knits, as long as they still have a bit of drape or airiness so the drop shoulder doesn't look too bubbly and weird.

The Hemlock has you choose your desired neckband width. I used a 2" wide quilt building ruler to cut all my neckbands out. All of them are folded in half wrong sides together then sewn/serged to the neckline with a 5/8" seam allowance and pressed up, except the short sleeve zig zag one, which was sewn at 3/8". Two of them I topstitched down and two I did not. I ALWAYS attach my knit neckbands flat instead of in-the-round, then connect the second shoulder seam after the fact. That way I can achieve my desired neckband snugness without doing any math or fiddly trial and error work.

The Hemlock pattern obviously sews up very quickly, so I recommend it if you want to whip up some basics, need to get out of a sewing rut, sew up some of your jersey stash, or, as in my case, all of the above. I've already worn mine to work, to the movies, to the gym, and/or to bed. Multi-purpose, gotta love it. Thanks for another great little pattern, Jen B. You're a superhero.

Who else is Hemlock crazed?

archer appreciation pt. 5

I made this Archer before I even knew December was Archer Appreciation Month. Yeah, I've been that behind on blog reading and that sugar-high on pumpkin pie lately. But since I pull out this pattern every month or two when I realize I have hardly anything else to wear on Casual Friday, the chances were good that I would accidentally stumble my way into this bloggy sew-along led by power duo Rochelle and Erin.

This is my fifth time making the Archer shirt by Grainline Studio. If you know me in real life, you've most certainly seen me wear this stripey version. A lot. It's my favorite so far, because the fabric is made from rayon, which I lurv. I think this pattern is well-suited for crisp shirting fabrics like cotton (see Amy's), linen (see Lori's) and flannel (see Lauren's), but also works in more fluid fabrics like rayon, chiffon or silk (see Jen's, Lizzy's, or Stevie's). It means my collar stand doesn't actually stand up and the collar won't roll to save its life, but the general style of this pattern is pretty relaxed anyway so I'm fine with the pancake collar.

Sewing a button-down shirt with vertical stripes makes it laughably easy to neatly cut and sew those button plackets and line up buttonholes. Okay, maybe not laughably easy. The only time I "laugh" when making buttonholes is in maniacal rage after ripping them out for the thousandth time. But as I recall, I had no such issue with this shirt. 

I changed nothing about the pattern except lengthening it to cover my bum and omitting the cuffs because I always wear my sleeves rolled up. Always! From the looks of it, I should have added another button on the bottom, but, uh, I've gained some weight recently (see: pumpkin pie) so I don't think the shirt would close at my hips anyway. Ouch, that hurts to admit. 

I haven't really seen too many striped Archers around, so I'm glad I'm contributing unique content to the world even though I feel like I'm constantly blogging about this pattern. I love playing with stripes but didn't want to make it too dizzying in this case, so I only added one feature with horizontal stripes. I guess it's effective because people are always like, "I like your pocket" and I'm like, "Aw shucks."

There's not much left to say that hasn't already been said about this pattern. If you still haven't made an Archer shirt for yourself, December is the time to do it... when you're not too busy sitting in traffic in the mall parking lot or whatever. ~ 'TiS tHe SeAsOn ~ 

Jen, Grainline Studio's fearless head honcho, did a full sew-along for this shirt awhile ago, so check out those posts (in reverse order) here. And if you want to get neater results on your collar stand, check out my own tutorial about that here. I've loved hearing success stories from those who tried it out! 

Read more about #archerappreciation here or here.

In knitting news, I've finished a hat (that I've already lost, dear god), cowl and sweater since I took my beginner knitting class. If you live in Philadelphia and are interested in learning the basics and more, I'd definitely recommend the beginner knitting class at Rosie's Yarn Cellar in center city. It's a six week class and we learned how to cast on, knit, purl, increase, decrease, knit in the round, use double-pointed needles, cable, read patterns and charts, bind off, and -- most importantly -- fix most of our mistakes. We got to use the beautiful yarns in their shop to work on a ribbed hat and cabled fingerless mitts. I do feel like I can tackle a lot of patterns out there now.

The pattern above is Lara's Cowl in bulky Lion Brand Wool Ease yarn (from Joann's, not Rosie's, gah). Quick, easy and warm. I wear this cowl every.damn.day because the color complements my plum coat as well as my navy Minoru jacket.

Duh, this is the Owls Sweater by Kate Davies. I've finished it since I took this photo but I honestly don't really like it because of the high crew neck, bulky shoulders and the super fuzzy roving yarn I chose. And after blocking the sweater, the yarn now seriously smells like a sheep's ass. So, it makes me look like an adorable owl-clad linebacker who smells like I slept in a barn all night. Such a bummer.

How's your December making going?