Tuesday 31 March 2015

Completed: Sewaholic Granville Shirt Sans Sleeves

I greet you all today with the news that I have secured myself a new job! My PhD funding officially came to it's conclusion today...and my summer job starts umm....tomorrow!! To tell the truth it's with the same people I have done my PhD with and I'm still working in the same department however I am now no longer a student and therefore have to pay adult bills like council tax :-(. Ahh well the run had to end sometime!!!

So before the news of the new job came about I decided the best way for a pick-me-up was to buy fabric. I bought 1 m of cotton lawn with a slightly different top in mind however at the last minute changed my mind and decided to make a Granville. But due to fabric constraints it would have to be sleeveless! Not a style that I have ever worn before however I wanted to at least give it a try - after all I managed to waste the other 1.5 m on a top which looked so dreadful that I turned it into a cover for my over locker :-\

The fabric I used was this blue lawn which I think was £8/m. It handled really well and to be honest as I was being super lazy making this up I finger pressed most of the seams. And they held! Based on my measurements and the finished measurements I cut a 10 - and I think the fit is ok! There are a few areas that I want to tweak but then this is more of a wearable muslin so these were to be expected. I do however really like the way the sewaholic patterns make up on me and given that I used this size for previous patterns I was confident that this would leave me with a shirt that was quite wearable after a first pass.

To make the shirt sleeveless I followed the directions as presented here and here. I like the fact the sewaholic blog shows pictures of how to do this as I work so much better with illustrative examples. As this was the first time I had made this shirt I really didn't have much to go on with taking length off from the shoulders and armseye so I started with an inch at the shoulder and 1 cm at the yoke like in the (sewaholic) tutorial. It seemed a legit method... When it came to adding the binding on the armholes I used 0.68 inch bias binding to the raw edge to help remove some of the excess which still existed cutting this down so that there was only about a half inch on the inside. The next time I make up this sleeveless version I will be a bit braver and cut a little more off the shoulders and armseye and add in a little at the underarm because it seems a little loose for me here.


This was my first completed shirt and I have to admit I did find the collar instructions a little confusing but I think it worked out OK - if we ignore the different coloured collar stand... When I was cutting the shirt out I didn't think this would matter too much and the stand wouldn't be too noticeable, however I'm good with a random print on print eyesore!

I did really like how the method of attaching the yoke left lots of neat internal seams! As I have only ever made the Negroni before this shirt I'm not sure if there is another alternative method which works too?




I definitely want to make up another few of these shirts with the noted fitting adjustments - maybe even a few with varying lengths of sleeves... I also need to take some of the volume of fabric out of the front - another dart maybe or even just sizing down the front pieces as the fit is quite loose here but works well on the back (save for the usual excess which I was too scared to pre-empt!). Alternatively I may use this tutorial found on the curvy sewing collective blog. All I will say on the matter of making more shirts though is before I do make any more tops I will have to start on that objective of making trousers! (Please don't judge me on the horriffic state of my ancient RTW trousers!!!)


Has anyone else made up either of the two newish sewaholic blouses? I'm really feeling the sleeveless shirt look now :-)

Take care guys and have a great easter weekend!

JCS x

14 comments:

  1. I love your shirt. The print on print is quite fashionable right now. I have yet to try a Sewaholic Pattern, shame on me they are from my home town! You have inspired me . Nice job.

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    1. Thanks :-) I love the way that sewaholic patterns fit and I seem to be a sucker for buying all the patterns!

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  2. This style looks great on you … I must try the granville one of these days … I really like its cut.
    Congrats on the new job!!!

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    1. Thanks - have to admit this proper job nonsense is exhausting!! :-)

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  3. Love the shirt and congrats on the new job :)

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    1. Thanks! It does howver mean the thesis is relegated to evenings and weekends :'(

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  4. Love it!!! What program do you use to edit and border your pictures?

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    1. Thanks :-) I don't actually use any programme to edit my photos - I just take them on my camera then make sure they are all sized to XL on my page. I tried importing from gimp but blogger didn't like the photo format :-(

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  5. Lovely fabric. I want to make this pattern but with sleeves!

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    1. Thanks. I think it is a wonderfully drafted pattern and want to make a sleeved version too - once I've been paid and can afford some nice shirting however...!

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  6. HUGE Congrats on your new job xxx lovely shirt and fabric choice - only tried the Gabriola skirt and love it have a couple of other sewahiolic pattern that i just not got around to doing yet - seen this knocking about and very tempted ( like i need more patterns!)

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    1. Sorry I totally missed your comment here :-s!! The gabriola is actually one of the few of sewaholic's which I never picked up however am now waiting on a sale! Also thanks :-D :-D

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  7. Congratulations on the job! Being able to pay bills is always helpful and makes life less stressful ;) I really want to make this pattern, I need a fitted button down really badly.

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    1. Thanks :-) and yeh totally agree (payday cannot come soon enough!!)! This is such a nice pattern to work with the instructions are really clear plus I love the shaping of it!

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