Hello, thank you for stopping by.
I present to you my creative button-up shirt. I was wondering whether to say a button-down or a button-up shirt, so I asked Dr. Google.com who happened to know more than just the difference.
Some facts about the Button Up/Down Shirt
The button-down shirt was introduced by Mr. John E. Brooks in 1869 after watching a polo match and the players were wearing polo shirts that had flapping collars, disturbing the players during the game, he solved the problem by attaching 2 buttons to the front of the shirt to fasten down the collar! Voila! And so, the button-up shirt is not a button-down shirt meaning it has no fastening buttons. With so much history, the button-up shirt is a fashionable and functional wardrobe item for all ages. Worn both smart and casually.
Why did I make this Shirt?
I am an intermediate level sewer and the button-up shirt is part of the sewing journey as I course through Sew it Academy. It is also a project that I have always thought would be interesting to make, and thankfully am a better sewer than when I first started. Sewing along with MimiG Style who is an award-winning Diyer (www.mimigstlye.com) and owns Sew it Academy (www.sewitacademy.com) made the process easier.
Resources/Essentials
I used a pattern from one of my favorite pattern magazines called OTTOBRE Design Woman(www.ottobredesign.com) for the spring/summer edition 2019, and the pattern is called Seashell which invites the maker to play with textures and patterns. Creativity and playfulness do run through my veins, so I immediately thought of using African fabric called “Chitenge” (Zambian version of Ankara fabric) which is 100% cotton. The downside of this fabric is that it was not wide enough for the sleeve panels. So, I had to think of a complimentary fabric, luckily, I had 2 yards of organza in my fabric stash which I bought from one of the famous fabric markets in Utrecht on Breedstraat. And because of the nature of the pattern, fusible interfacing was a must. Last but not the least necessary, was the finishing essential, red buttons (12mm in diameter) that I recycled from an old button-up shirt…haberdasheries can be costly. And I have finally realized that I can reuse essentials from old garments…the sustainability part of my brain is activated whenever I see the price of buttons.
The organza and the Chitenge fabric contrast each other well, and this for me, is next level in my creative sewing escapades (I call them escapades because most projects have flopped or nearly flopped).
As I was cutting the organza sleeve panels, I thought of applying the patterns in the fabric to the organza. I YouTubed tutorials to educate myself on how to apply fabric patterns to organza and found one that really helped by Bilikis Signature. One thing is for sure, you need a lot of patience as you work with organza…breathing exercises would help a lot too!
Garment Construction
The shirt comprises 7 panels namely: all with a seam allowance of half an inch, using the French seam method to get clean seams.
- Collar X2
- Collar Stand X2
- Sleeves X2
- Front Panels X2 with 1” button placket allowance
- Back panel
- Yokes X2 (the extra one to give a clean inside finish) which were optional, but I included it because it was in my lesson with MimiG Style)
- Cuffs X2
- 2 bias strips for binding the slash in the sleeve.
All panels are put together with a seam allowance of half an inch except the bias strips. To go for a clean finish, I used the French seam method. And if you are coming across this term for the first time, it means is sewing wrong sides together and turning the garment out to sew the right sides together (I hope it makes sense because I didn’t for me at first).
Lifting the pattern panels took more time than the construction of the shirt but extra care is needed to trace patterns by OTTOBRE design. The lines are a crisscross jungle and that can be confusing. It took me approximately three full afternoons to finish the entire project form tracing pattern to button installation.
Fitting: is loose, it has bust darts, a shirt sweep, and a slight tail (an alteration I made to negotiate the hemming). Side slits were the intended style.
Challenges
The sleeves: were the most challenging parts. But using the flat set-in sleeve was the best option considering that I was mixing fabrics. And there is a slight difference in the two sleeves as one is more precisely set than the other. The funny part is that there is more precision with the first installed sleeve than in the second one, simply because I felt the pressure to match it with the first one. What made me even more nervous was that the organza sleeve panel was fraying quicker than I anticipated. Furthermore, I could not see it clearly against the fabric (perhaps the solution could have been more or less lighting).
The collar stand was also challenging but mainly because I used thick fusible interfacing and I attached it to both collar stand panels instead of one.
The sleeve slash is misplaced to the front of the sleeves rather than the back. I like to think of it as a good mistake because organza has a lot of movement in it so it's not immediately obvious. I can also admire the sight of the bias attachment as well as the cuff.
The Hem. I used bias binding that I made from the main fabric because I had no idea how to hem the side slits because of the French side seams. I am a work-in-progress! I need more tutorials!!!
And that was my lesson on the button-up shirt with MimiG at the Sew it Academy! I will create another one because I love the creativity that went into this project, as one idea led me to another; from the fabric used, the African fabric Applique, to using bias binding on the hemline. More than a shirt, I see it as a piece of art because I allowed it to lead me into what it wanted to become. I must admit that there is a lot of room for improvement…but as they say, it's about progress, not perfection. For now, I will head on to the next course.
Stay motivated and may the good Lord bless you.