Tuesday 13 September 2016

Gingham Granville Shirt

Behold a new gingham shirt - my last minute entry into the Did You Make That? Ginghamalong. It's simple, classic and very wearable and I don't need a crystal ball to predict that this will be a much loved item in my wardrobe for its entire life. I made just the one gigantic error during construction (see below for the full blood and guts horror story), which I'm hoping will fade from my memory over time... Other than that, everything went to plan!


The gingham I used was 100% yarn dyed cotton which I snapped up for the bargain price of £6.50 a metre from this eBay seller. The seller advises a cool hand wash, which I promptly ignored (the only fabric that's ever hand washed in this house is silk) and it washed beautifully in the washing machine at 30 degrees. It presses well and is lovely to work with - a really nice quality cotton.


Because of school holidays I knew I wouldn't have long to make this shirt, so I used a pattern that's already been adjusted to fit me well - the Sewaholic Granville shirt (previous versions here and here). The thought of trying to pattern match the gingham didn't exactly fill me with joy, but I did want the checks on both sides of the bodice and the button bands to line up horizontally, so that's where I concentrated my efforts. It worked! I used a combination of Tasia's tutorial and just simply lining up all the underarm seams as shown here. The gingham on the collar seems to line up with the bodice gingham too, but I can't really take any credit for that one, pure fluke!


To further save time (and also because my buttonhole foot is still playing up), I used snaps on the front button band instead of buttons. If you have a pair of Prym pliers, snaps are super quick to apply, but I still find positioning them a little nerve wracking. They're almost impossible to remove without damaging the fabric, so if you get the position wrong you've well and truly pissed on your chips. The relief when they were all in (and the right way round!) was pretty huge. I do like the look of snaps on this shirt, they give it a cool, ready-to-wear feel.

Anyway, about that gigantic error… As per last time, I used this tutorial from Four Square Walls to attach the collar and under collar as I prefer the construction order Andrea uses to the pattern instructions. All was going swimmingly until I realised there was a massive amount of ease in the collar. Now I know there should be some ease in that area to allow the collar to be turned back easily, but this was ridiculous. I eventually resorted to easing the collar in with gathering stitches like a sleeve, but I wasn't happy and was gutted that my planned classy shirt was going to make me look like Harry Hill. Luckily, I had a sewing epiphany... in my sleep! I literally woke bolt upright one night after sub consciously working out what the problem was. Yes, your friendly neighbourhood sewing moron had only gone and attached the collar to the shirt upside down. Ahem. God I felt stupid, but at least I actually worked out what was wrong before wearing it out in public! I promptly cut out another set of collars/ under collars and attached them the right way round. It took about an hour to sew the collar and this time everything matched up perfectly, making me realise just how well drafted Sewaholic patterns actually are.


After all the eleventh hour drama, I couldn't be more pleased with my new gingham shirt. Yes, I know it's a sleeveless shirt and we're heading into autumn, but I can guarantee it will get plenty of outings underneath cardigans and jackets. In fact I think I'd like to wear it forever.


Thanks to Karen for hosting such a fun sew along. Let's face it, she was never going to have do much arm twisting to get me to join in, but I'm glad I did nevertheless. My gingham Granville is officially my new favourite thing! x






   

33 comments:

  1. This is so fab, and so you :-) You've got the fit absolutely spot on too!

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    1. Aw thanks Jo, I love the fit on this shirt! x

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  2. Gorgeous! You look gorgeous. And that collar story is rather hilarious, despite the horror! Sounds like something I'd do!

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    1. Glad it's not just me then, it is hilarious now, not at the time though! x

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  3. I love this!!!! It really suits you!!!
    Frankie
    http://www.knitwits-owls.blogspot.co.uk/

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  4. Lovely top. I forgot about the gingham-along probably too late now!
    I really like it when people admit to mistakes or things that go wrong - I guess it makes it a bit easier if you cock up and know that others do it too!

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    1. I prefer to know too, which is why I decided to include it in the blog post instead of glossing over it! x

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  5. I love the snaps! They really do at a very nice touch. Glad your subconscious was able to work out the issue and I hope any painful memories fade quickly so you can fully enjoy this beauty!

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    1. I'm plead with the snaps too, really glad I decided to include them! And painful memories are now eradicated thanks! x

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  6. This is so pretty and classic!

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  7. Love the shirt and particularly the snaps! Glad to read I'm not the only one capable of making dumb mistakes.....
    Sue

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  8. The shirt is great! Jane, could you kindly do a very, very clear tutorial on using Prym pliers for the Exceptionally Dim like me? I've watched and read loads of tutorials but can't master it, either the positioning so they snap down firmly or getting the right snap bits cos they look horribly similar. And am terrified of ruining the finished garment, as you say. Think quite a lot of people might like some help - thanks!

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    1. Hmmm, I can't promise anything but I'll have a think about it. I'd need to be a bit more confident with the pliers and snaps than I am now before showing others how to do it. I'll do a bit of practising and report back! x

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    2. Thanks Jane! You must be ahead of the pack because you've actually used the darn things successfully - liked them on your top with the side closure.

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  9. Love! Love! Love, as I do most everything you make! You are such an inspiration. It looks so adorable. The snaps are fantastic.

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  10. I saw blood and guts horror story written and assumed you had bled all over your shirt during construction! So glad I was wrong, ha ha, silly me. So good when you work out a problem in your sleep, makes me feel a bit of a genius when that happens! Fab shirt! Super wearable all year round.

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    1. Haha! I have she'd blood before now though, so not totally unthinkable! Yes, I was very pleased myself for working the collar conundrum out (although a toddler could probably have told me what was wrong with it just by looking at it....!) X

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  11. Glad you were able to fix the collar dilemma. Beautiful top. Great job with pattern matching. Cheers, Michele

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  12. Sometimes simple just works perfectly. :)

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  13. I can't believe that you are able to work with that blue and white gingham after the trauma of making the apron at school - the fabric looks identical. If it was me the flashbacks would be too much ;-). Samantha

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    1. Haha! The fabric IS virtually identical, if nothing else, those aprons were very high quality! It wasn't sewing the apron that was particularly traumatic, it was the memory of Miss Dracup breathing down my neck and tutting. Every. Single. Lesson. Thanks Samantha, I'm going to have nightmares now! 😉 x

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  14. Awesome shirt! And fantastic story! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one to make silly mistakes. This summer I sewed a pair of shorts and somehow kept sewing the backs together at the side seam. I had to pick it apart multiple times because then in my frustration I did the same for the front pieces. Sewing can be so frustrating for the impatient! Thanks for the share!

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    1. Oh that made me laugh! I've definitely made the same mistake over and over before realising what was wrong, you feel such a fool afterwards! x

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  15. Lovely shirt! Gingham is such a happy fabric and your attention to details make a basic staple look fantastic. What an inspiration!

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  16. Your shirt dresses up the simple cardi and jeans outfit wonderfully.

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  17. Very nice gingham shirt! I love the use of the snaps.

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