For my final #MinervaMake of 2020, I fancied challenging myself! I decided to go for a classic button-up shirt by Sewaholic and paired it with a few metres of this quirky cotton poplin by Art Gallery fabrics that was gifted to me. Head over to Minerva to see my blog post!
Let’s talk about fabric first, because isn’t this print just so fun? Fun fact about me: my dad is a crystallographer and we once went to a whole museum dedicated to crystals and gemstones in Freiberg when I still lived in Germany (who says we don’t know how to have a good time…?). This Art Gallery Cotton Poplin has such a bold palette of turquoise and fuchsia crystals on a taupe background, and the print is non-directional — as if the crystals have been scattered in all directions! I am a little in love with the Art Gallery poplins (my other #MinervaMake from earlier in December was a floral poplin) as they are really good-quality: soft to the touch, not too weighty, a smooth hand and super-easy to sew with. Don’t forget though that these poplins tend to be on a narrow bolt; this is only a 110cm wide, so I made sure the Granville shirt pattern was also suitable for narrow fabric options.
I have seen so many gorgeous versions of the Sewaholic Granville Shirt on Instagram and decided to whip one up. It is a fitted button-up shirt with a collar and collar stand, back princess seams, optional front pockets, and tailored plackets and cuffs. There is quite a lot of ease factored into the pattern, so I decided against making any major fitting adjustments and just graded between sizes between my bust and waist. I really love the curved hem and the back princess seams — I topstitched these using a contrast light blue thread. I followed my usual different instructions for the collar construction, as I find it much easier that way. I finished this shirt off with a handful of hot-pink buttons from Fabric Godmother that have been in my stash for a little while.
I think when I make this shirt again (I want to conquer the tower plackets!), I will probably make my usual FBA to get an even better fit on the bust; Sewaholic patterns are proportioned for a smaller bust/waist and larger hips, which is certainly not my figure! Aside from that minor detail, I have also seen quite a few comments that the original sleeves run very long, so I will have to measure carefully before I make them.
I am loving my finished shirt and I have been wearing it under my snuggly jumpers this winter — having the bright crystals on the collar peak out is a fun look!
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