Shot through the Heart…

And Archer is to blame.  Can  I rant a little bit about how awesome this pattern is?  The drafting on it is excellent and I am SOOOO glad I used this for my first collared shirt.  This is actually my third archer.  The first one was a muslin in quilting cotton that I had in my stash.  The second was a cute blue polka dot quilting cotton.   The muslin allowed me to work out some of the details – mostly interfacing weight and techniques.  I left it unfinished as I knew I would not wear it because the cuffs and collar had a too heavy interfacing.  The blue polka dot one is so cute…but as I have learned, the wrong fabric = I won’t wear it.  I have yet to learn my lesson with the ever tempting quilting cotton.

Enter mystery fabric.  Seriously – the bolt end said “various fibers.”  I suspect it’s mostly polyester.  It’s silky and slightly shiny with tiny polka dots woven in the fabric.  It has a nice drape and cost $5 a yard on sale.  Machine washable.  Ever so comfy.  I must say, it’s the perfect marriage between pattern and fabric and I am super excited about the end result.

Let’s review the things I think made a difference with my make:

• I top stitched the h#$% outta this shirt.  It looks both professional and tailored.
• I ironed every step of the way.  DO NOT TAKE SHORTCUTS.  It really helps the sewing go quickly. (Though, I did get a little too vigorous and have a little sheen where I over-pressed one of the shoulders.  DOH!)
• French seams.  I mentioned those in a prior post, but I will definitely do them again.
• Lightweight interfacing.
• I used my walking foot and lengthened my stich length.  This really helped with the “wavy” effect you sometimes get with silky fabrics.

The front, untucked.

The back:

How I wore it:

Make sure you visit Grainline’s blog for her sew-a-long posts.  The pictures are invaluable, especially for doing the sleeve placket and collar stand. 

I have a cream/white circle skirt planned…I think the two will go together very well!