Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Chambray Button Up

Image
By

Hi there Fabric Mart Fabricistas!  My name is Teresa and this is my first time posting here...I am so thrilled to be blogging with Fabric Mart!  When I started poking around at the fabrics available on the Fabric Mart site I immediately started my search with the chambrays.  My ready to wear chambray shirt died recently (after wearing it for many years) so it was time to replace it!


I landed on this beautiful light blue denim chambray and it is perfect!  I went to my tried and true pattern, the Grainline Studio Archer Button Up.  I love the casual fit of this button up pattern.  I've sewn this pattern many, many times and always love the results!


This was the first time I used a sleeve tower placket on the archer button up.  The archer instructions have you make a tiny little sleeve placket, which works great, but I much prefer the look of these tower plackets!  I grabbed the pattern piece from another sewing pattern, and it worked perfectly!


I also drafted the breast pockets.  I wanted this chambray shirt to look a lot like the ready to wear shirt that I was replacing.  I love the look of the buttons on the breast pockets!


The last area that I deviated from the instructions were with the collar.  A couple of months ago, I tried Andrea's collar insertion method.  I've always struggled getting the topstitching on my collars to look nice on the inside and the outside.  Following Andrea's steps, I have had the best results!


Button up shirts can seem like a daunting task with a lot of steps, but I absolutely love all of the little small details. And the archer button up has such thorough instructions, it is not complicated at all!  Time consuming, but definitely not complicated!  It's fun to slowly sew something that will get worn frequently!


I am thrilled that I have a little bit of this chambray fabric leftover.  I'm thinking I might have just enough to squeeze out a little chambray cami!  Thank you Fabric Mart for the perfect chambray fabric!
Thanks for having me Fabric Mart and thanks for reading!
Teresa from Dandelion Drift

Comments

  1. RtrittelNovember 22, 2017 at 10:06 AM

    Great job! Love your modifications. I am always a bit afraid to alter patterns (or 'frankenpattern' as the cool kids say). Your shirt came out great and I'm sure you will wear it for years!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JDNovember 23, 2017 at 3:40 PM

    Nice job of a great timeless wardrobe staple. It looks like an RTW for sure which I mean as a complement. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Why Sew A Muslin

By
Here it is, my September blog post featuring Newlook N6692 and this pretty rayon challis from Fabric Mart! This pattern style is so in right now. The square neckline, cute puff sleeves and the tiered skirt are all exactly what I was looking for in a summer dress. As always I started with making a muslin first!  Let’s get into why it’s important to start with a muslin.  A muslin is basically a practice garment. It prevents you from cutting into your good fabric prematurely.  I usually use a muslin fabric (natural cotton) but you should also consider using a fabric that is the same weight as your fashion fabric. This will give you a truer gauge of how the garment is going to lay in the final fabric. Anytime I try out a new pattern company I make a muslin. This was my first time using a Newlook pattern so I need to know what the ease would be like for this pattern. Also I need to see how the bust would fit me and where I would need to make adjustments. Plus there were some new techniques
2 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: End of Summer Swimsuits

By
My kids have been in desperate need of new swimsuits this summer, but with a busy season of moving house and spending nearly a month in Australia, it left barely any sewing time! When I spotted a whole collection of Beach Riot swim fabric land at Fabric Mart, I knew it was just the motivation I needed to get new suits made! Last year my eldest was on swim team and I was floored at the cost of her suit - somewhere in the ballpark of $80! Using less than a yard of fabric and some elastic, swimsuits are incredibly cheap to make yourself! I ultimately selected three prints and four solids (one being a beige color I intended to use as lining), with input from my children to get their preferred designs. I made an initial sketch in Photoshop to get a visual on what they would look like, and then made a few more changes once the fabric arrived. The easiest suit to make was my son's - I used Jalie Gerald underwear and Nico raglan. This was my first time making Gerald and I loved how quickl
2 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: The Love of Sewing - Basic Pieces for a Beginner

By
Happy Friday All! It has been a while since I made myself a dress. I am excited to sew after not making anything since my last post (whew) and finally sharing some photos.  This past summer has been a roller coaster journey with plans to release a small collection and then deciding that right before the launch to postpone. Sewing has brought me joy over the past 8 years and the mere fact to sew daily for orders had me in a panic mode. I really don’t want to walk away from my craft due to burn out  and decided that if I do sew for others, it would be only for local clients. Moreover, If next year I decide to launch, it would be seasonal and not year round. I really want to share my talent and love for sewing with others but don’t want it to be a full time job and lose the passion in me.  After a bit of soul searching, teaching and sharing my talent with my community will always be my first love. For the past 2 summers, I was blessed to partner with two nonprofit organizations’ local sum
4 comments
Continue Reading »