Sylvia Sews

A couple of weeks ago, after discovering sewing is awesome, the urge to sew my entire wardrobe ASAP was in full force. However, my supplies to do that were not commensurate. The Palmer-Pletsch fit book I ordered arrived and I was mentally scheming how perfectly I would be able to make shirts fit now, but I had no fabric!

After rushing to the local fabric store, I found the fabric pictured below and decided it would make a super cute button up shirt. I bought it and a shirt pattern in a rush.

In regards to buying in a rush… here’s the thing. When I am shopping with the kids, it’s always a bit of a surprise when I get home and really evaluate what I just bought. It’s similar to shopping online while inebriated. I hestitate to make that comparison because I want it to be clear that I am completely sober while I drive around running errands with children. It’s just chaotic and you don’t always think through purchases.

So upon that later evaluation, it turned out the fabric was a good buy, the pattern, not so much. I grabbed the first button up pattern I saw and figured I could make do. Well, I would later find out there is a bit of a skills mismatch with that plan, I can’t transform a pattern into something completely different just yet. That’s ok though, because learning things the harder way makes it stick.

Despite feeling unenthused by the shirt before I even began, I sewed it up over the course of a few days. Since it was so oversized to start with, I barely utilized the fitting knowledge I just learned. Just simple lengthening. But I did learn how to sew buttons and buttonholes! I was still having fun and in the zone!

And then.. I put on the shirt. Guess what, I hate it. I couldn’t even bear to text pictures of my work to people without very deceptive posing. It was quite tent-like and matronly. It was too painful to even keep a photo of it buttoned up with a profile view. Keep that in mind when you see the photos of my work and think I am being dramatic. The power of posing is huge.

So, did I decide to rip the shirt out? Start a new one that I might like better? Nope! I doubled down and made matching paper bag shorts with an easy Simplicity pattern. Surely, that will fix everything and I will want to use the shirt if it’s a full outfit. That makes perfect sense. Instead of one item I hate, let’s make two.

The shorts come together quickly, and I still was enjoying the process of sewing despite my dissapointing results. I try the shorts on. Surprise! I hate them! (Never in my life have I liked how paper bag shorts look on me. Why I thought that would be different this time, who knows. To be fair, I was shopping with kids again.) Still, I put the shirt and shorts on and take another picture with my deceptive posing. I was trying to pose just like the models do when you online shop to convince you to buy oversized shapeless clothing. This time, it was me just trying to convince myself.

It only took an evening before I accepted that I need to rip it all out, rather than let the items languish in my closet for several years. Despite the hours spent sewing, I wasn’t even that upset. I learned some new skills and got lots of practice. I knew better than to start calculting the money I had wasted, I was trying to keep my spirits up!

But damn it, I wasn’t giving up on making a wearable shirt out of this cute fabric! So I headed back to Joanns and picked up another pattern. (1.99 pattern sale! Score!) I even went sans children, to keep myself focused. So far, multiple trips to Joanns for sewing projects are as inevitable as multiple trips to Home Depot are for home improvement projects.

This pattern was promising! I had been subconsiously skimming over fitted woven tops because when I buy clothes, I know not to bother because they will never fit. No need for that now that I can fit myself!

Back in the sewing zone, I worked over 2 days to finish this shirt below. The fitting adjustments I did were:

• Adding .75 inch in length to the upper bodice and armscye
• Adding ~ 3 in in length to the waistline
• Shoulders and upper body were size 14, waist/hips closet to size 10

After a day of wear, I noticed the shirt felt a little restricted across the front to the armpits. I think this may have been solved with a full bust adjustment, I ended up deciding against it but it probably would have improved fit. I also would prefer the back lay smoother, you can see a little fabric bunching. Still unsure of the potential corrections for that issue.

Trying to fit yourself is really challenging, but I am really enjoying learning and fiddling with things. It is confusing to figure out how your proportions differ from standard proportions. I do know the standard height for patterns is 5’6″, and I am 6’1″, so I can expect to make pretty significant changes to any pattern I buy. I also found out after working on this pattern that I must have proportionally broad shoulders. It’s weird to me because I don’t “see” that when I look at a photo, but the sizing difference shows it. It’s just generally difficult to clearly see your own body.

Despite these fiddly bits, I am so happy with the shirt and the fit I managed to get! I would never be able to buy a shirt even close to this in a store or online. I truly don’t think it exists unless it is custom made. I am super excited to have this addition to my wardrobe. Third time’s a charm!