It feels like a long time since I shared new makes with you, friends! This year has been wild!

Normally I tend to draft blog posts when I travel for work but alas I have lost that space for writing so I’m learning to make time to write at other times.  Without further delay, I hope you enjoy seeing my newest addiction – the Archer button-up shirt pattern.

The Archer shirt has a lot of hype associated with the pattern. Well, it is well deserved! I freaking love this pattern. WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO MAKE ONE?!

I’ve made four versions – all of which are size 12. I stopped sewing Grainline patterns for a while as I found the fit didn’t suit my body shape. However, this shirt is boxy in all the right places. I didn’t need to do a full bicep adjustment which is a standard adjustment for me.

The shirt below is my third version of this pattern. For this version, I removed two inches from the hem and squared it off. This makes it easier to sew and goes better with my style.  The fabric is linen from Drapers Fabrics. Long time readers may know that I made a Claudia top with this fabric. I love the fabric so much that I wanted another garment in it. Paul decided he wanted a matching shirt so I bought fabric to make him one using his Gosling shirt pattern.

I was working from home one day I popped this Kochi jacket over the top of my shirt. The light pink in the print means that is tones well with the darker pink in the jacket. It feels like a cool creative outfit!

The sleeves on this pattern are super long and wide – I had to adjust them a fair bit. I don’t have long arms and I forgot to check the length and width of the sleeves and cuffs before sewing on the cuffs on the shirt pictured below. I have since adjusted the pattern and have removed an inch and a half from the length of the arms and 2 cm from the width of the sleeve cuff. I recommend measuring these areas of the pattern and comparing with your measurements. 

I have been experimenting with different ways to sew shirt collars which have in the past been my nemesis! My friend Handmade PhD has written a blog post which I follow to get a really neat finish.

I press my collars a lot to get everything sitting well in preparation for top-stitching. I use double-sided sewing tape  when sewing collars. Pins move under the presser foot but this tape holds everything in place. I use my edge stitch foot to keep the stitching even.

I start my top-stitching at the centre back of the collar-stand going around until the top-stitching is complete. I also recently bought a buttonhole chisel which has been a great addition to my toolbox. My vintage Bernina leaves a very small space between the sides of the buttonhole so the chisel helps to create a very neat cut. I love sewing gadgets and use this one as well as my sewing gauge a lot. After sewing buttonholes don’t forget to use glue, such as this one, to prevent the buttonholes from un-raveling. I also use a blob of glue on the underside when I sew on buttons.

Sewing in sleeves in flat is my preferred technique for sewing sleeves for this pattern. I use minimal pins and guide the fabric using the feed-dogs to create ease. This tutorial by Blue Prints for Sewing is the technique I use most of the time unless the garment has considerable ease. It’s much easier to sew a garment flat!

This pattern and the Olya shirt have me obsessed with wearing shirts again. I re-homed my Melilot shirts a while ago as they felt a little too tight in the bicep so I haven’t worn shirts in a while! I tend to use cotton/linen, rayon, Tencel or cotton lawn for this pattern.

One of my goals this year was to perfect my shirt making skills and I feel like I am well on my way towards that goal.

Here are some ideas to style this versatile pattern.

Worn with a York Pinafore

Worn with my Dawn jeans and Londres Trench

Worn with my Emerson pants

With a Libby skirt

Worn with my Lander pants

You’ll be seeing more Archer shirt in the future as a got THE MOST delightful shirt fabric pictured below. My inner feminist loves wearing ladies and I was thrilled when the husband wanted to match with me.

Thanks for reading and I hope you are keeping safe and happy. If you liked this blog post let me know – I love hearing from you dear reader.