I finished my Archer Shirt this morning and wanted to get some pictures. That meant stepping outside with a brolly to get some natural light. Welcome to the UK in December Archer Shirt!
As mentioned in a previous post I made this shirt in one and a bit days (just the buttons and buttonholes completed on the second day, e.g. today). I followed the sew-along posts from the Grainline Studio blog throughout. There’s nothing better than a photo of what something should look like to help you spot when you’ve gone wrong! It still took me a little while to puzzle out some of the steps, but this is my very first shirt. I think I would have struggled if I’d had only the instructions included with the pattern, which expect a degree of prior knowledge, as a guide but with the support of the sew-along this is a relatively straightforward make.
I cut a straight size two and the fit isn’t bad, I think the slouchy style rather suits the plaid and makes for a proper lazy Saturday shirt. I might try a size zero for my next Archer, especially If I go for a more office appropriate fabric. The size two is a little long in the arms and a touch big on the shoulders for me. This fabric is a 100% cotton plaid and it feels so soft and cosy. Because I wanted to get this shirt completed in a day (to meet the Archer appreciation deadline) I went with just the one pocket and with version A of the shirt. Next time I’ll give view B a try.
Somehow (perhaps I allowed too large a seam allowance) I did find that when I came to attach the collar to the shirt the collar band wasn’t quite long enough! That problem was easily solved by putting a small tuck in the yoke. The only other issue I had was nothing to do with the pattern – for some reason when I came to make my button holes my sewing machine absolutely refused to play ball. In the end I gave up trying and sewed the buttonholes by hand. They certainly aren’t perfect but as another first for me not terrible either.
The small green buttons used on the shirt are also handmade. I made them using polymer clay and a button mould purchased from MoldMuse on Etsy.
Happy New Year everyone. I’m going spent the day slouching in my new archer, watching Home Alone and playing computer games:)