Colour Block Shirt

I'm still not sure about this shirt, as I cut it out I loved it, then I started sewing and I hated it, then it started coming together and I loved it, then I did the buttonholes and I hated it , then I put it on my mannequin finished and I loved it again! And this morning when I put it on I hated it again! And then I saw these pictures and maybe I like it? I'm not sure.

After looking on line I'd seen a few colour blocked shirts that I liked, and then I found some off white cotton [its slightly thicker than cotton but its super snuggley so I'm not sure what it is] and some wine coloured cotton that looked pretty cool together.

I used the same burda pattern that I used for my I shot Bambi shirt, but I think I prefer my bambi shirt, maybe because the crazy print hides a lot of flaws. Speaking of flaws I'll just list them here:

- The button holes are jacked up especially the top one which I ended up finishing by hand.

- The button band is off and the stitching is fairly crappy.

- The cuffs are not brilliant. 

- There's irregular stitching all over the place, apparently my machine did not like going through more than two layers of the thicker white stuff.

I'm not apologising for these issues though because a) its still better than my first one and b) I made a fricking shirt, so yeah. 

Things I like:

- The stripe of red at the back in the pleat looks awesome! I'm super pleased with how that turned out.

- I love the contrast yoke and the pockets, It took a lot of measuring to get those pockets even but it was worth the effort.

- The top stitching on the collar. I worked really hard to make sure it was even and looked neat.

- The hem, just in general its neat and looks bad-ass, I shortened it slightly as my Bambi shirt is a touch too long and I think my hem curve was really successful. I used bias tape to do the hem because I just think its the neatest way of doing curved hems.

- I think my button choice is pretty cool, I like all the colours together.

So yeah I think I like it ? It looks pretty modern and I think it will fit in quite nicely with the wardrobe, I like that its got a smart and casual vibe at the same time and I can see it being good for the school run.

BUT! I still don't love it as much as my Bambi shirt, but that could have just been because it had ya know deer on it!

I like it open too, I think the biggest issue is that its not ground breaking but its a good wardrobe staple. Also guess who cut her fringe back it! This is what happens when I catch sight of myself in a mirror and realise I hate my hair! I also hate going to the hairdressers so its pretty cool that I managed to do it at home! 

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

I shot Bambi's mother shirt

Creepy title right! Yes this is what i did with the fabric that i won from Karen from didyoumakethats facebook page.

My original plan was to make a dress, but to be honest the idea of making something that i had made 100 times bored me to tears. Instead i wanted to stretch myself.

So instead i decided to really test myself and make a shirt, like a proper shirt with a collar and a collar stand and everything.

I used a shirt pattern from a burda style magazine i was given and after i got over the initial shock of seeing the pattern sheet and composed myself long enough to read the instructions five times i got to work and it was much easier to trace than i thought! HOWEVER! i forgot to add seam allowances like a complete moron! I couldn't believe it and better than that i had already cut out my pieces before i realised! So to combat this i used the smallest seam allowance i could manage!

I did however manage to get all of my Bambi's the right way which I'm feeling pretty good about, and the Bambi's on the chest pockets are very nearly pattern matched!

I actually ran two machines for this project my regular janome for all the construction stitching and my other janome hooked up with a double needle for all the top stitching. I love the top stitching on this project it makes me really happy and i think it looks super modern and cool.

Its a little wide at the sides but i prefer it tucked in so it doesn't really bother me. The Bambi fabric was pretty drapey so i think it looks okay tucked in or out. it did mean though that i ended up using two fabrics , basically my interfacing just wasn't going on [note to self; don't buy cheap interfacing] so i backed the collar stand and collar with a quilting cotton, i also put it inside the pockets for a cleaner facing.

Little knitwit likes the shirt anyway.

and we had kisses and stuff!

I did extend the back but I'm think i did it a bit too much, although i do like that if i wear leggings my bum will be covered.

all in all i think i like it, I wasn't sure at first but after living with it i think i kinda like it. I feel like it's one of those things really hip girls in topshop wear, you know the scary ones who have resting bitch face and not one ounce of body fat?

Due to the forgetting the seam allowance thing i had to add some lace on the inside of the neck stand to hide some not great stitching. I also did what i usually do with shirts and added a spare button to the middle of the collar.

i think this is the first time every single one of my button holes went in perfectly each time, which makes me so happy its unreal.

Look at that top stitching! Its almost like its ready to wear!!

Heres the fabric i used to stabilise my collar, because life is better with polka dots and stuff!

and here's my very nearly pattern matched pockets, I actually think I'm glad they are not completely matched though because otherwise i think id lose them and i do think they add a lot to the style of the shirt.

I really do think i love this shirt, its not my usual style but it was nice to step outside of the box and try something new and I'm also really proud of myself because i think this is some of my best stitching, Ive really enjoyed seeing how far Ive come since i decided to start sewing properly.

Much Love

Frankie

xxx