Granville Shirt Muslin

Shirts haven't really been a thing that I've been busting a boiler to make - not something I have in my wardrobe either. Maybe because I haven't really found one that fits comfortably. When the Sewaholic Granville shirt was released I was instantly drawn to the shape that it gave the body ... and the best thing about sewing is that there's the opportunity to tweak the fit if it's not working.

Rather than make a true muslin, I picked up 2.4m of cotton voile for $14.00 to make a wearable muslin.  To begin a took some measurements of the pattern, checking that the darts weren't too high, that the body length wasn't going to be short.  I did length the arms by 2".  I cut a size 8 and narrowed to a size 6 at the hip on the side seam.

I'm happily sewing along, following the instructions and feeling pretty pleased with myself and how fantastic the seam allowances looked on the inside with a french seam finish.
The yoke beautifully encases the seam finishes and is really easy to achieve. Then I got to the front and was all confused, coz I misses the note on the pattern piece where the cut line on the right side was different to the left. I had to cut off the band I had already attached and start again after I had cut the centre front in the right place. Luckily I had cut 2 of the front placket pattern piece anyway, instead of just one that was required. Must have known I was going to mess it up!

This was the first time I had sewn a sleeve placket... OMGosh how super fiddly these are.  I got there in the end but they're not super perfect.  The under piece doesn't quite fit is I had to fold it over slightly, but no one can see it anyway. The edge stitching needs some improvement, especially around the point. They are functional and the pattern of the fabric hides all :)

I also need to work on the curved corner of the collar stand in the front. They are passable but could be a whole lot better. I think I just need to work on the technique.

There are a lot of fussy fiddly bits on a shirt and I now have a new appreciation for this garment.

Lots of wrinkles from wearing it all morning!

The finished shirt isn't bad and I'll get away with wearing it over some jeans, but next time I need to look at:

• shortening the sleeve by 1", so it is only 1" longer than the pattern itself.
• move the side dart down by 1/2"
• more room around the waist - I don't want to go out a whole size but a 1/8" on the front and back pattern pieces will give me an extra 1/2" all round.
• moving the waist down about 1/2" as well. It's just a tad too high.

I bought some really lovely patterned silk from The Fabric Store that I've used for my real version.

More photos on my Flickr -->