A muslin in silk

Well, not a true muslin of course, I definitely hoped this would result in a wearable garment and decided to use this silk that’s cheaper than the linen I planned to use for this shirt. Still wanting to do that, but didn’t want to take a risk with that specific fabric.

I think this is quite a good fit on me. I did not change the length of the body, nor of the sleeves. I did measue the sleeves, as in most companies they are too short for me. Not necessary here, which means that if you’re shorter (my length is 1.74 and my arms are a bit longer than average) you even might want to shorten them.

One thing I forgot to mention on the pdf is that it has the actual seam lines in it too, not just the 1cm seam allowances without indication of the actual seam line. I really like that as it helps with the tricky parts like the collar and stand. I mark the actual seamlines on those pieces.

Not my usual colour scheme, but definitely a “me” print.

The slit is a bit long. I’ll make it shorter next time

I could have added a bit more to the hip area and will in my next version. I used a size smaller than I should have used based on the size chart and am quite happy with the fit. As said in my previous post, there’s no waist/hip shaping which for the blouse might be an issue for more women with a pear shaped figure.

As to the instructions: I’m not a good judge of those, as I’m too experienced to really need them. But in one illustration a pattern piece was very different from the actual pattern piece and I thought that very confusing. There’s also quite a bit of information in the instructions that imho belong to your basic sewing knowledge or can be looked up in a general reference book or online (what is basting, what is clipping, that sort of instructions).

All in all I quite like the pattern and will sew it again when this heatwave is over. It’s just too hot to do much these days. Not my kind of wheather.

A new to me pattern company

If you’ve been reading my blog for a long time you know I’m not too much into Indie designers. After the initial hype a few names/brands have survived that offer more than just a simple pencil skirt at a ridiculous price. I still haven’t tried many but this time I was intrigued enough to buy the Wenona shirt pattern from Named Clothing.

I saw a review on this shirt that made me look further. Must have lived under the proverbial rock because I’ve never seen or noticed it before and it has some nice details and there are some nice variations to be found (here and here for example). Though I’m certainly not the first one to try this pattern, I’ll post my experiences with it in this and upcoming posts.

The pattern is a pdf pattern. I’m not fond of them, but have grown accustomed to the idea that it’s the way it is now. Sometimes it is instant gratification if you want the pattern fast or don’t want to pay high shipping costs.

Notes on the pdf file

• Available in English and Finnish
• Lots of instructions (haven’t read it all yet)
• You receive a pdf with instructions, pattern layout etc and 3 files that each contain 2 sizes of the pattern.
• 1 cm seam allowance included
• Overlapped pattern layout: this is a tricky one that is stated on the website, but I did not realise fully what it meant until I traced it. Usually pdf patterns can be cut and taped together right from the printed pages (or traced, like I often do). With this pattern that is not possible as the pattern pieces for the skirt and the sleeves are on top of each other. Which means that even if you don’t want to trace, you’ll have to do that for the sleeves (and skirt if using the dress variation).
• The page numbers are printed in a small size at the edge, no markings on the lines where to match (like StyleArc for those who know their patterns)
• In the instruction pdf the page numbers are not indicated in the overview of pages. It would have been helpful to have that.
• No indication of the pattern size on the printed pages. See below, if you keep two sizes of the pattern, there’s no way of telling to which size a single sheet belongs.

First impression of the sizing

I read that this pattern runs very large, so despite the size chart indicating that I would need a size 40 or 42, I started out tracing the front and back for size 38, which I then compared to my sloper. This is not a close fitting shirt (or I think it shouldn’t be) and decided that size was too small. Which meant I had to print it again, as size 40/42 are in one file together. I can keep it for my daughter, who likes the style too, but otherwise it would have been a complete waste of paper. Based on the finished measurements at bust level I’ve now traced a size 40.

The line drawing suggests waist/hip shaping. There is none! I will have to add it, as I need a bit more room in the hip area. 

I’ve yet to decide whether I cut it from the white linen I have in mind or whether to test it first in another fabric.