V8772 (view D)

I seem to be having a little bit of a shirt-fest at the moment. I really enjoyed making my pussy bow blouse and so I’ve used the same pattern V8772 to create a wardrobe staple shirt.

I’m quite surprised because the shirt looks and feel so completely different to the blouse – it is hard to believe it’s the same pattern.

This time round, I’ve used a beautiful 100% cotton lawn from Minerva’s core range and made option D, which is a classic collared shirt that is fitted through the body using bust and waist darts. I was very kindly gifted this fabric as part of their Ambassador programme.

The cotton lawn is so soft and breathable, it’s also a total pleasure to sew with. It’s quite lightweight at 70gsm and so you do have to be careful what undergarments you wear underneath as darker colours show through as a shadow. Not a problem, it’s not see through or anything but something to keep in mind, I also found the fabric creased quite easily . I’m in love with the rich camel colour that will work so well with a lot of the other items in my wardrobe.

When I was fitting the shirt I deliberately made it smaller as I’m losing weight and wanted to future proof it. I realise it’s a little snug now but as I’ve already dropped several dress sizes following my new health programme (and there are likely to be several more to go) by summer it should look good. I’m hoping to take it away with me on holiday and to double up its use to act as a cover for my shoulders when I’m wearing a vest top.

As usual, I laundered my fabric before I started working with it, then hubby cut it out for me using a rotary cutter. (Definitely a lot better behaved than the silk charmeuse fabric).

I opted for French seams for the construction with a 70/10 universal needle.

I really thought long and hard about the front fastenings as I do struggle with buttons because of my numb fingers. I was concerned if I used Velcro that due to my currently snug fit they wouldn’t hold. My solution was to make the shirt with the buttons and then in the future when the blouse fits less snugly I can always keep the appearance of the buttons by closing the button holes and sewing them onto the front and adding Velcro to the back of the plackets so that they look like normal fastened buttons but will be easy to open.

Wheelchair Considerations

1). The higher neck on this blouse is great for being viewed from above.

2). The number of buttons is significant, which could be an issue if you have numb fingers, like I do. You may wish to use alternative closure options.

3). The sleeves are fitted, so they shouldn’t get caught in wheels.

4). The length of the shirt is good as it finishes on the lap so you aren’t uncomfortable with folds of fabric underneath yourself.

‘Image Description: There are six images in total, five taken from different angles showing Yvonne sat in her wheelchair in her garden. She is wearing black jeans and a camel coloured cotton button up shirt. One image shows the interior construction with French seams.’