Harriet’s Vintage Shirt
This month’s box has definitely been my favourite ever box from Hayley – that’s right, I said it! Every month I feel like there’s no way that Hayley can top what she’s done in the past, but I’m consistently proven wrong.
The theme for this box was ‘Top of the Class’, inspired by the lovely “Seamstress” pins from Pink Coat Club – and those of us that receive the boxes have been incredibly spoiled, and received the pins in an exclusive SewHayleyJane colourway! I had a little prefect badge in exactly this style when I was at primary school (I wasn’t made a prefect in secondary school, but it’s fine. Totally not bitter about it), so I’ve been wearing my seamstress pin with an equal amount of pride… maybe even more!
The very pretty light blue gingham seersucker – which, it just so happens, is exactly the same print and colour of my primary school summer dresses; we even got an old one out to compare – seemed totally perfect for a vintage shirt pattern that I’ve had on standby for months and months… the perfect fabric had finally arrived!
Because of the pattern being vintage, only one size came in the packet, which happened to be about two sizes larger than I would usually wear. I was so desperate to make the shirt though, and decided that I would just make it exactly as the pattern comes, and then trace everything off and make the effort to do all of the adjustments that I’d need for its future iterations. I’d already decided that this was going to be the shirt pattern for me – I have a bit of a thing for shawl collars, but this is the only sewing pattern I’d ever seen to actually have one!
So yes, I went into the make very aware that the shirt would be coming out quite large on me, but it actually ended up being a look that I really loved! I will be making a few changes, of course, especially to the width of the shoulders and how low down the collar ends up going, but I’m a real fan of the big sleeves and loose fit otherwise. I’m a sucker for a cinched in waist, because I think things can make me look even shorter if my waist isn’t defined, so I’ve been wearing the shirt either tied in a knot at the front, or tucked into some belted high-waisted jeans.
The pattern only had four (yes, four!) pieces to make the version I wanted, so it felt like everything came together really quickly. There were a few techniques and fiddly bits that I had to spend some time on, whether that was because hand stitching was needed or if I was just learning how to do something a different way, but I’m really thrilled with the finished result and the speed at which everything came together meant that I really didn’t mind taking the extra time to make certain bits look extra perfect.
I really hope that you like my finished blouse – I certainly do! And that you’ve found yourselves brimming with ideas for what you can make with the contents of this month’s box!