I've already posted about how much I've been enjoying The Classic Tailored Shirt online class from Craftsy, but what I haven't told you is that I couldn't get hold of the suggested pattern. When I say couldn't get hold of it, what I actually mean is that I was too impatient. The lovely Pam gives a choice of three patterns for this class, they are Kwik Sew 3555,3586 and 3422 so why did I buy Vogue 8759? Well I could tell you that it was because the patterns looked similar, but the real reason is I didn't want to wait for the pattern to be ordered in.
I was doing so well, my collar was looking great although I had trouble with the part of the collar band where you have to cover the raw seam at the edge of the shirt - (I may send Pam a message via Craftsy about this and let you know what she says). Other than that I was progressing nicely and my shirt at that point looked very professional.
However the inevitable happened once I got to the placket, my pattern has a two piece sleeve and a sort of grown on placket as opposed to the Kwik Sew one piece sleeve and separate placket. I thought that I'd watch Pam's method and read the Vogue instructions and work it out. Hmm, it wasn't so much worked out as cobbled together, the outcome wasn't great on the inside but the outside looked passable so I carried on to the second sleeve. Only to find out that I'd cleverly made two left sleeves, don't you hate that? Well fortunately I still had lots of the black linen left so I thought I'd finish off the one sleeve and then start over again with the second. Soldiering on I got to cuffs and this is when I threw in the towel.
My cuffs are not like Pam's cuffs, mine are in two pieces and the Kwik Sew cuffs are one piece folded over. However having read the questions on the Craftsy platform it transpires that one of the suggested Kwik Sew patterns are the same so Pam has addressed how to work with this type. Hooray - I thought I can plough on through only to find that the width of my cuffs is shorter than my sleeve edges. I had basted my pleats, so I don't know where I went wrong. Now if I had bought one of the suggested patterns I could ask where I'd gone wrong, but as I'd gone off piste I'm done for.
I've packed away the ironing board, tidied up my sewing table and am writing this feeling very cross with myself. I'm not sure that there's much point in continuing, cutting out and resewing a correct sleeve and attempting to stuff a sleeve that's about 2.5cm's too big into a cuff. Even if I can get it to work it's not going to look good and the whole point is to learn how to sew well. I think I should treat my work over the last few days as a lesson partly in how to make a classic tailored shirt and partly in being more patient and doing what I'm told first time.
Now, I wonder if there are any fabric shops in North West England that stock Kwik Sew patterns?
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