The Great White Shirt - Vogue 8747

My next installment in the Wardrobe Basics SAL is the white shirt.

You can't get much more basic than a white shirt. And I really needed one in my wardrobe! This one is great - simple and easy to wear, but with a wonderful shape. The front bust gathers are a nice detail that keeps it from being too boring.

The pattern is Vogue 8747, which I made before here. The previous version was intended as a wearable muslin, although I like it quite a lot and made very few changes for the final version. The two major fit changes I made were to raise the bust gathers 1/4 inch. In the first version, it felt like they were visually pulling down my bust point. I also sewed the side seams at 3/8 inch, giving me an extra inch of ease all around.

On the first version, I avoided topstitching, but for this version I wanted a more casual look, so I topstitched down the collar, bands and cuffs. In fact, I did no hand sewing at all on this version. The Singer loves to sew on buttons. She got to do 10 on this blouse.

The fabric is a somewhat difficult to photograph, bright white stretch poplin from Fabric Mart. It is a really nice weight and has just about the perfect amount of stretch for this. I'm glad I got some in several colors.

I'm wearing my blouse today with New Look 6816 pants in a navy and pink pinstripe, my Simplicity 2149 fur jacket, Steve Madden red patent pumps and pink pearls my sister picked up at the underground market in Shanghai.

This is the 5th garment I've sewn for the wardrobe, so that puts me at halfway. I'm still pretty excited about the SAL, and I plan to finish all of the garments. I really want them in my closet! But you'll have to excuse a little distraction. Something shiny crossed my path - I NEED a red ponte jacket!

Vogue 8747

Woven blouses are hard! I feel as though I am reasonably good at this sewing thing, and I have successfully fitted knit tops, jeans, jackets, pants, skirts and coats, but I have yet to make a woven blouse that fit *perfectly*. I have come close, and I've made some very wearable pieces, but that holy grail of the top that skims my bumps while still being closely fitted and in which I can raise my arms and move without restriction - well, it hasn't happened. This one is close though.

The pattern is Vogue 8747, which is your basic princess seamed blouse but with gathers into the button band at the level of the bust and a shaped neckline.

You can see the details a little better in this shot on Sandra Dee. The pattern includes cup sizes, which meant I didn't have to do an FBA - bonus. For fit, I basically just blended between sizes to get what I wanted. The front shoulder and neckline area are a size 10, which I blended out to a 12 in front to accommodate my hips. In back, where I am more broad shouldered, I cut the neckline at a size 10, then extended the shoulder line out to a 12 and blended up to a 14 below the waist to cover the booty. I am reasonably happy with the resulting shape and the fit is pretty good. I can move my arms forward, which is always an issue for me in fitted tops, but I can't raise them up fully. I wonder if I need to cut the armscye higher to give me more freedom of movement there?

The fabric I used was a very lightweight voile from Fabric Mart. It was lovely to sew, but it is a bit sheer and has a very soft hand. I didn't want my interfacing to show through or to alter the lovely hand of the garment, so instead I used an additional layer of the fashion fabric as my interfacing for the collar, cuffs and front button bands. I love it. The color isn't effected and the fabric is so soft and pliable. I wouldn't do this with a blouse I wanted to be crisp, but I love it here.

The color isn't quite right in this shot - the collar image above is closer to real life. It is a very saturated blue based teal. Just gorgeous. The pattern called for a lot of topstitching to enclose the collar, bands and cuff. Normally this is how I do my shirts, but I didn't want to topstitch this. I just loved how polished it looked without the topstitching. I know you'll be shocked, but I actually hand sewed them all down. It turned out beautifully and I am so happy I spent the extra time to do it.

The bust gathers and shaped neckline were what drew me to this pattern in the first place. I love the shaping the gathers provide and the neckbands are very graceful and feminine. Love it.

This is a closer representation of the color. I really love it. You can also see how softly the collar falls in this shot. It has a very gentle curve, which I think fits in well with the femininity of this blouse without being overtly girlie.

I finished it Valentine's Day, so I got to wear it to Mazza on a date with my honey. I wore it with my BWOF 04/2009-118 pants, leopard print calfskin pumps, and brown coated rayon jacket. I love this jacket so much and really wish I could find some coated rayon to copy it. It has a very leather like appearance, but breathes much better than pleather. I love how the blouse provides a flash of color in an otherwise neutral outfit. I think it will be a major player in the wardrobe. I actually made it as a wearable muslin for my white blouse, and it is definitely going to get worn!