Simplicity 8499 - Cotton

This pattern from 1988 is for a simple, breezy top.  I have made it twice from cotton voile.  I like to wear it un-tucked and un-belted, because it elongates my short torso.  The cut-on sleeves are loose under the arm, perfect for summer.  The box pleats pulling it in at the waist give it some style.  It takes only a yard and a half of material, and five pieces: front, back, collar, and two facings.

MAKE #1

The first make was a test garment, using light-colored floral cotton voile from my stash.  I made it according to the pattern, then made a simple alteration to the pattern for the next time: I tapered the back seam inward to act as another dart.  It was sweet and easy, and I liked it, but the color washed me out.  Eventually, I gave it to the Goodwill Thrift Store. 

MAKE #2

The second make is with a fabric I truly love.  It is also a cotton voile, the one from this post.  I went back to the Mill End Store and bought more, because I love the print! 

I'm always drawn to warm yellow and orange colors.  In this print the little blue flowers are a pleasant surprise that make the warm tones even warmer.  A winning combination!

My favorite fabric!

Layout for cutting

CLEVER FACINGS

The most interesting thing about the project is the way I interface the facings, so let me show you.  Remember: a facing is a piece of fabric that finishes the edge of a garment and sits on the inside of it when the garment is worn; interfacing is a fabric, often with gluey dots on it, that you attach to another fabric to give it more stiffness.  In this case, I'm using iron-on interfacing, so the stuff with glue, to stabilize the facing so that the lapel has crispness and the buttons and buttonholes have a good foundation. 

First, I am calling the gluey side of the interfacing its wrong side and the non-gluey side its right side.  I pin the iron-on interfacing to the fabric of the facing, right sides together. 

Now, the facing has two types of edges, the edges that get sewn into the shirt, and the edges that are exposed inside the finished shirt: the second type needs to be finished.  I sew the fabric and interfacing together along the edge that must be finished. 

The two layers right sides together. The edge to be sewn is pinned.

Once I have sewn the edges, I pull the two layers apart.  Bearing in mind that the interfacing has glue on it, I am careful not to touch it (yet) with the iron.  Instead, I press the fabric piece flat while pulling the interfacing away to make the seam taut.  I then press the fabric's seam allowance over the edge of the seam, so it's on top of the interfacing, carefully touching the iron to the fabric only.  The next step is to fold the interfacing the opposite way it was sewn, so now the gluey side is against the fabric's back side.  Then, starting at the seam and working out, I press the two layers together with steam.  The steam softens the glue and bonds the two layers together, and the seam allowances at the very edge are enclosed in a gluey fabric sandwich!  No raw edges; everything neat and interfaced. The reason I start at the seam and work outward with the ironing is that I don't want to create wrinkles or bubbles.  The seam is a static point and the edges may shift; it's always better to start joining things at their static point and work outward to corral the shifty edges. 

The top piece is just pulled apart. The bottom piece is turned and ready to be pressed together.

Back and Front sides of the facings.

Here's the shirt nearly finished: it needs side seams, buttons, and hems. 

The next interesting thing I do is select cool buttons.  The pattern calls for six buttons, placed in three pairs.  I did that on the first make, but this time I have another idea.  I buy two different types of buttons, both calling out the aqua of the print.

almost done

Different buttons necessitate different sized buttonholes.  This piece of muslin with badly done buttonholes in it is something I made when I first got my machine.  I was trying to learn how the buttonhole function worked, and also make myself a cheat-sheet for buttonhole sizes.  Now, whenever I have to make buttonholes, I start by pushing the buttons through this sizer to decide what size I need.  The numbers are what I select on the machine. 

ALL DONE!

The finished shirt (circa July 2019) is one of my favorite summer shirts!  It's cool and comfortable.  It looks good tucked into a pencil skirt or worn loose over jeans, and I still adore the fabric!