Sewaholic’s Granville II

Y I K E S !

How could I have possibly spent so much time sewing this shirt again? The answer lies in making it fit, but alas, it fits.

Not quite ready to cut into the silk I planned to sew two garments ago, I bought a bolt of muslin and learned how to fit Sewaholic’s Granville Shirt to my body.

My wearable muslin had several issues, namely tightness through the bust , misplaced darts and bunching in the back.

Many readers suggested the fit was as good as RTW, which is precisely why I have avoided tailored shirts throughout my life. They look terrible on me.

My mission was to make a fitted shirt, and it took two more muslins to get it right. Careful measuring resulted in a too tight bust again leading me to make my first full bust adjustment (FBA).

Would you believe a 3/8 “ adjustment affected the fit of the entire shirt? I followed Sarah Verblen’s instructions from The Complete Guide to Perfect Fitting and the alteration took 10 minutes.

\

In addition to cutting a smaller size I pinned out 1 1/2 inches of excess from the center back and side back pieces.

Somewhere during the process I realized I do not fit the Sewaholic pear shape description, but there was no turning back…. plus, I wanted that nicely shaped back receiving rave reviews!

I’m all over the place with this pattern but it works:

Size 4 – neck, back, sleeves

Size 2 – shoulders

Size 6 – front

Size 0 – hips The size 0 hips is due to the large flair in the pattern, not my slim hips 😉

After making all of the fitting adjustments I added 1 ½ “ of length back to the shirt. Taking the lead from my husband’s dress shirts I curved the cuffs to avoid turning four more points.

The shirt is sewn from an old piece of linen in my stash and contrasted with a floral Amy Butler remnant and striped cotton from one of Hubs’ discarded shirts.

Sewing a fitted button down shirt has been quite the process but something I wish I had addressed long ago, for avoidance accomplishes nothing.

So ……… after ten days of shirt-making I have one shirt that fits, one good muslin, but infinite possibilities!

Until soon 🙂