Thursday, July 17, 2014

Sewing FO: V1387 - The Sleeveless Version

This is a shirt from Vogue Patterns V1387. I made this hipster plaid shirt not too long ago using the same pattern. I kept seeing all these sleeveless shirts in the stores and decided I should make one. I figured this pattern could be easily adapted to be a sleeveless shirt. Plus, I had this leftover silk/linen fabric that would be perfect for it. The fabric is great -- it is really lightweight but crisp and has a slight sheen to it. The crispiness does make the front pleats bubble out a bit, but I'm good with that. The shirt will probably soften after a few washings.

I used a narrow folded bias strip as a facing for the armholes. I did have to cut in the armholes a bit, especially on the back side. You can't see it in the photos, but the buttons each have a tiny rhinestone in the center for that added bit of bling.

This is actually the third shirt from the same pattern, so I really like it. The second one has sleeves like the first and is sewn from a white-on-white striped cotton. It's not the fastest shirt to sew -- the front yoke section along with the narrow collar and front band require some careful workmanship. The bottom edges are curved narrow hems. Finally, in order to keep things tidy, it's best to use french seams on the sides. The one detail that I didn't like about the pattern is that it leaves a bit of raw fabric at the corner where the collar and front band meet. For this shirt and the one prior, I sewed a small square onto the corner with stitches that turn at about a 100 degree angle. I clipped to the corner and turned the square to the inside. This leaves me with a strongly reinforced corner and no raw edge exposed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I haven't sewn with a Vogue pattern in decades (or any other) and can't believe they were sloppy with that raw edge thing. I had always had wonderful experiences with Vogue.
The shirt proportions are lovely, however, and very flattering. You are more patient and skilled with details than I am. I tended to stick with Very Easy Very Vogue. Such is the quality of Vogue designs, though, that I still made wonderful garments despite the "dumbed-down" simplicity and sometimes even learned clever technical techniques in the process. Chloe