Well here I am again with a new make! With the usual length of time having elapsed between the pattern release and me actually making it, I can’t say I have anything new to say about the Olya Shirtdress. Still, it’s nice to be back blogging again, so here it is.
After how washed-out last week’s photos were, I decided to leave the curtains a bit more closed, with the result (obviously) that these are really dark. Well, what the hell, you get the gist. I really enjoyed sewing this, and actually it came together quickly, if you don’t count the cutting-out.
Only once I’d started cutting it did I realise there are 6 pieces to pattern-match on the front: 2 front yokes, 2 button plackets, 2 main front pieces. I count myself lucky that I only had to recut one of the plackets, once, and it almost took me longer to cut than to sew. The fronts were the only bits I attempted to match, and I’m happy with that.
My measurements would put me in a 14 in Paper Theory’s sizing, but this is a 12 and it’s definitely right for me. Not that that stopped me second-guessing it about 8 times while I made it. But I wouldn’t want the dress length any looser than this – the shirt, maybe, but for the dress it would be overwhelming.
I rather feared as I was sewing it that the end result would be dressing-gown-esque, and if you ever have the same fear I would NOT recommend trying it on without collar, cuffs or button band. Not so much dressing-gown as hospital gown… Given all this, I wasn’t confident of success until literally all the (many, many) buttons were on and I could try it on with the belt, which made all the difference!
I really love it, to be honest, and I didn’t find it a slog to sew, either. It probably helped that my fabric (plaid flannel, I’ve no idea where from, it must be 6 or 7 years since I bought it…) is pretty stable and well-behaved, and once I had wrestled with the plaid-matching it went together like a dream.
The only issue I had during construction was with the front pockets – the instructions tell you to clip into the seam allowances so they can all lie in one direction, but I didn’t find them quite clear enough – you have to clip the seam allowances on both the pocket and the dress body but the instructions only specified ‘clip from the edge (of the body panel)’, which caused a bit of cursing ’til I worked it out. I feel like adding ‘and the body side of the pocket’ would have saved everyone’s ears!
I also couldn’t find where it specified overall seam allowance – an allowance of 1cm is mentioned a few times in the body of the instructions, but I couldn’t find it at the start where it would be nice to have it laid out in no uncertain terms. But these are minor niggles, and many many sewists have made this before me, so obviously not fatal! The construction methods used give a professional ‘ready-to-wear’ finish, which is nice in a shirt. I don’t really have a beef with things looking home-made, but if you can make it look proper, then why not, especially when you’re going to the effort of making a shirt? I suppose a grown-on button band would have meant less matching, but it just wouldn’t look as good in the end.
I have no doubt I’ll make this up again, although not in anything that needs matching. A plain fabric would show off the lines of the pattern much better, with the interesting sleeve construction, and (crucially) cut about 2 hours off the cutting time.
Yay for success! It’s also very cosy, which is just what we need right now as the temperature hovers around freezing for the next week at least. Don’t judge me if you live somewhere really cold, guys.
Take care, stay safe, see you soon!
X
cotton city studio 