Weaving a floor runner

The successful completion of my Riverside rug left a good bit of Churro wool yarn.  There was almost enough for another rug.  Riverside was small, but just the right size to fit in front of the coat closet door.  With the remaining yarn assembled, I reasoned that Riverside could have a companion that would be longer and fit as a runner between the front door and the hardwood floor.  A couple of problems later (not enough weaving time, not enough yarn, and a broken warp thread), there is a finished runner--Mountainside.

Last summer, I photographed the start of this rug, a promising stripe that used the leftover Churro and some nice hand spun Churro warp from a fiber festival vendor.  Although the warp was thin in a spot or two, it seemed strong.

However, as the time came for the rug to be set aside, there was a noticeable looseness in one spot.  Once the project was resumed, the broken warp thread was obvious.  Since this loom uses a continuous warp, one broken thread affects the surrounding warp progressively until it is reinforced.  Reinforcing about a dozen warp threads was enough to secure the warp and allow weaving to continue.  Luckily, the warp didn't loosen until the rug was well past center, with just about 1/4 of the weaving left to go.  The loose warp threads hanging out of the weaving in the photo below show the spot where the reinforcement was added.  All the weaving from there to the fringe was done on doubled warp in that spot.

Since the warp was thin, as was the cotton used to support it, there isn't much of a difference in the work after the repair.  More of a problem was the yarn supply.  There was a lot of yarn left, but there should have been more at the mill store.  To my surprise, the mill store has sidelined yarn and is selling imported woven garments.  After a disappointing trip there brought no additional yarn, the internet yielded some nice Churro in a matching weight from Rainbow Fiber Coop in Arizona.  They were mostly sold out of their dyed yarn, but there was enough natural for a white stripe in the center of the runner.  It's good that it coordinates with a white and brown rug I have, it's bad that it is so different from Riverside.  Let's call it the snow on the Mountainside.

After warping there was half a skein of the warp yarn left, plus another full skein.  Yes, I bought two.  Although I should have just thrown the offending yarn away, I reasoned it would make a nice fringe, filling out the thin fringe that would result from fringing with just the warp.  Also, since the runner used every inch that could be woven, the fringe was shorter on one side by just a couple of inches.  After adding to the fringe, there's only about half a skein of the warp yarn left.  That's not enough to warp the loom, so it isn't likely that I will forget this experience and use it again.

The number of ends in a rug this size is disturbing.  However, with sticky Churro wool, they don't need much weaving in.  They are mostly secured during the weaving and just need checking to be sure they cover the last warp string before cutting them off.

The cut off ends make a colorful pile.  With all the loose fibers, pieces of this yarn can be spliced together easily.  Splicing was my method of joining two strands of the same color.  A splice or a Russian join might be helpful to splice together all the ends in the future, thus avoiding weaving in ends.  That's something to try in my next rug project.

Mountainside in her place in the entryway, alongside Riverside.  I am really enjoying the appearance and the comfort of this rug/runner.  Those stones are very uneven and uncomfortable on bare feet.

The runner measures 25" by 52", actually 60" if you include the fringe.

13 Buttons on my Over-shirt from New Look 6449

Following the pattern acquisition from eBay, there was a couple purchased from Simplicity.com, New Look patterns that looked promising for over shirts.  The one used for this shirt was 6449, which, as it was designed to be an overshirt as well as a dress, has more ease.  My shirts so far are around 42" in the hips.  The popover shirt has barely enough ease, as much as the camp shirt, but the button down shirt (with the too-short sleeves) has the least.   My hips measure just under 40".  In other items, 42" might be enough ease, depending on the style and fabric.  In an overshirt that may be worn over a couple of layers of clothing, 42" is not enough.  This shirt, in a size 16, has a finished hip measurement of 45", according to the info on the pattern itself. Did you know that the current big four pattern style is to put the actual measurements on the pattern pieces?  That saves us from measuring and doing the math.

This shirt used 2.5 yards of Hokkoh Ternion Lawn, 44" wide (a mere 42" after prewashing), 100% cotton, purchased from the Confident Stitch for a total of $52.50.  As I wrote in my last post, it is the good stuff, a Japanese lawn so light it floats.    See this Seamwork post for information about sewing cotton lawn.  It is a lovely print, with all my favorite colors in it, green, blue, black, and khaki on off-white.  

It is quite soft and light but a bit crisp at the same time.  The pattern printed on the fabric does not follow the grain, a problem that was somewhat solved when cutting but still popped up during the sewing.  Any crookedness is the result of sloppy cutting or unaccounted pattern quirks.   One side of the neck needed to be trimmed 1/4" to have the collar sit at the same spot in the pattern.  The collar is sewn on with a 3/8" seam, something to note in the future when stay stitching the neck.

Before cutting, 2 1/2" was removed above the waist and 3" above the hem to approach a 30" length.  That should be tunic-length on me.  With the fronts, the back, the yoke and yoke facing (my addition, in a poly-cotton lining fabric) and the pockets cut, sewing began.  The pockets call for ribbon trim--a feature I did not notice before beginning the shirt.  It is amazing that though there is only one spool of 3/8" ribbon in my stash, it happens to match this fabric.  

Once the pockets were trimmed and sewn on, the shirt yoke, fronts, back and yoke facing  were assembled with no problems.  The back is pleated before attaching it to the yoke, but the pleat is not a full box pleat.  It is more like two small pleats that form a faux-box pleat.  This pattern calls for top stitching above the seam between the back and the yoke. It was a simple modification to seam the yoke facing to the shoulder seam allowances and pin the folded facing to the back seam.  The top stitching secured it in place, avoiding the burrito method.  Not that the burrito method doesn't work, it is just more trouble to me to pull the entire shirt body through the armhole than it is to either hand sew or top stitch one seam.

Next, the collar band (mandarin-style) was cut out and interfaced.  This is the piece that has only a 3/8" seam allowance.  Thank goodness I got trapped watching a (thankfully silent) sewing video about this pattern and wondered why they kept specifying sewing a 1 cm seam.

Cutting out the cuffs, button tabs and continuous lap pieces took ages.  That is mainly because I was matching the print, which doesn't run on grain.  The painstaking effort should pay off in appearance.  Cuffs were modified to be a bit deeper and not as large around--2 1/2" deep and just short of 10" around.  This meant deeper pleats in the sleeve and a tuck at the sleeve seam to make the sleeve fit the smaller cuff.  As with the body side seams, the sleeve seams were french seamed.   As with the collar, cuffs were hand sewn down on the inside prior to topstitching.  Of course, no matter how many pains taken, something isn't right.  The continuous lap on one sleeve wasn't folded under as it should have been.  It's going to stay that way, since the seam was trimmed and topstitched before the mistake was apparent.

After the cuffs were topstitched, the sleeves were attached.  It only took one go for the sleeve insertion this time, using my one row of basting method. The sewing didn't go quickly, but it went well.  The seam allowance was serged after double stitching the armhole.  Why not?  My rtw shirts have serged armhole seam allowances.  The bottom is hemmed with a narrow hem.  The button/buttonhole plackets are apparently not interfaced since they have 3 folds of fabric.  However, this fabric is so soft, it needed interfacing.  Due to the crooked print, there are still 3 layers of fabric in the placket, with the interfacing placed 1/4" in, the fabric folded over the interfacing and stitched down, securing the interfacing while the garment is being constructed.  The plackets are about 1 1/8" wide with prints that almost match.   Also, the sleeve tabs, -- this pattern has sleeve tabs!

The sleeve tabs make it possible to wear the sleeves rolled up without worry of them falling down.  The shirt is quite comfortable with the sleeves rolled up.  It's long enough to be a mini-dress, or at least a tunic.

But it also looks good as an over shirt.  And, yes, its nickname is 13 buttons.  It was supposed to take 14 buttons, but one wasn't needed when I shortened it.

The next time I make this pattern, which I hope will be soon, I will add enough to the back to make the pleat a full size pleat.    Also, maybe I will add a hanging loop above the pleat.  As it was, I almost didn't have enough of the 2 1/2 yards of fabric left for even that small additional piece.

That's all that was left after I pieced together the tie belt.  The belt might not ever be worn, but it looks ok, considering it has 4 pieces instead of two to make the length.  There was less than a yard of the spool of thread.  This shirt uses a lot of thread.  

Camp Shirt, Vintage Simplicity

On an episode of All Creatures Great and Small a few weeks ago, Mrs. Hall was wearing a camp collar shirt. On seeing it, inspiration struck and got me started on a pattern search.  The shirt was not a standard camp collar shirt pattern--it had gathers at the shoulders in the front.  Most camp collar shirts are plain fronts with gathers from a yoke in the back.  Some don't even have a yoke, but do rely on a more relaxed fit in the shoulders to make the usual gathers or pleats across the shoulders unnecessary.  A look through eBay yielded a couple of patterns that were close to the one she wore.  It was not a surprise that the two patterns turned out to be twins.

That one above is a size 16.  It was uncut and quite promising.  However, in order to be sure another option was available, my order included the one below.  It is a size 14 and has a photo that looks like the illustrations on the pattern above.  Once  they arrived, a close look identified identical patterns, the top one published in 1983 and the one below published in 1986.  With that conclusion, it was a simple decision to start with the larger size and the long sleeve option that would stay in keeping with my summer uniform plan.

Since it is one size, cutting it does no real harm, except to cut the cute little scissors in half.  The cute little sewing machine foot will not be cut.  Vintage patterns often have little features that amuse me.  The ruler was there to measure the actual position of the cut line.  For a precise 5/8" seam allowance, the pattern should be cut on the outside edge of the cut line.

The fabric, which is in the photo above, wrong side up, is a block print voile in yellow and gray from Common Thread in Taos.  There were 4 yards for a total cost of over $60, along with lining fabric, a batiste in poly and cotton purchased at Hobby Lobby for this project.  That was 2 yards of 45" wide fabric for $5.98.  With the lining used for the pocket skirt, there was enough left for the matching shirt.  At long last, this shirt meant sewing with the good stuff.

The pocket skirt used the same construction as before but in a size 12.  The fit is good.  Another version could go smaller and reduce the pocket gape to have a slim fit, but this is great as is.  It was worn to the Sewing and Quilt Expo recently and held up well.  That excursion yielded a nice little button stash courtesy of one of the vendors.  She sells them for ten cents a button, but you have to search through the bins to find matching ones.  She will actually do the searching for you, but my cousin and I found several matching sets quickly enough. (trimsonwheels.com if you are needing buttons)

After the skirt was finished, the shirt was begun by applying interfacing to the fronts and sewing the pocket onto the left side.  The pocket is very cute, but quite small.  Next, the fronts and back were assembled and sewn together according to instructions.  

Following that, the collar was attached.  This is a camp collar, different from a collar with a stand, or a Mandarin collar, which is just a stand with no collar.  There's no neck facing.  After mistakenly sewing the front facings on the wrong side, let me remind myself that the facings have to be sewn on the right side, wrong side out, and turned to the wrong side (the inside of the shirt).  Once they were picked out and sewn correctly, they refused to lay flat.  Even after pressing, it was better, but there is a small kink in the lapel.

The sleeves are nice, fairly full with a nice narrow cuff.  The cuff attachment was a bit fussy because there is only a simple hemmed gap for a placket.  It definitely would be improved by a continuous lap bias binding.  As it is, the cuffs are tight, only widened an inch when unbuttoned due to the small gap.  The sleeves were attached with the old style, one row of gathering thread, eased in, pin basted, sewn twice and serged. It is my preference rather than the pattern instructions.  Whether it is the familiar comfort of it or the simplicity, this method is easier for me, even though there might be a pleat or two that has to be picked out and restitched.

The hem is straight, turned up all the way around through the front facing.  Again, this is my option, requiring that the front facing be folded over and sewn down to the shirt by hand.  The rest was secured by the buttons and buttonholes.  Just to be sure it is secured, the interfacing was catch-stitched down.  There is no topstitching to hold the facing in place.

The relaxed fit is comfortable.  This is a good pattern in a nice lightweight fabric.  The two pieces will work with several items in my closet.  Although sets are popular now, they don't have to be worn together.  The print is directional, but there wasn't enough fabric to cut both pieces if they were cut correctly.  Anyway, what is correct--which way should those flowers go?

an overshirt for my summer uniform, Simplicity 1538

If at first you don't succeed, toile, toile again.  However, I wonder if I am just charging on, making whatever I please with whatever fabric I please and using the excuse when it turns out less than expected:  oh, this was a toile.  Still, it is a very pretty toile.

This piece of fabric was 2 1/2 yards of plaid cotton blend, 60" wide. This fabric was milled in Italy for a NY designer.   When it came in the mail, it was 15 oz. total weight,  90" long, actually nearly 3 yards, for a total price of $13.  Fabric Mart described it as a Dusty Lavender/Dark Avocado/Dusty Rust/Black Cotton/Polyester Yarn-Dyed Plaid,  $5.25/yd.  Since it was initially very stiff, it was described as "will stand away from body".  At that point, it stood up on its own.  After it was machine washed and dried it softened to a taffeta-like consistency and remained 60" wide and over 2 1/2 yards long.  This is an unbalanced plaid so it was cut to flow from one piece to the next rather than plaid matching the pieces in the usual way.  

The first task was cutting out the fronts in the appropriate spots on the plaid to allow the plackets to fall in the black vertical portions.  The pockets are to be cut on the bias.  That is necessary because the dart lies under the pocket, making it impossible to match the plaid all the way around.  Instead, these are cut to match the front.  The bias cut did not look right in this unbalanced plaid.  The first pocket was sewed on the left front, starting at the corner immediately above the dart.  Lining up the plaid there put the mis-alignment on the side of the pocket toward the center.  The right-front pocket is marginally better aligned but brought to my attention that the plaid is not quite square.

Note:  The pockets are small, about 4" square.  

Cutting out the back, a large piece, made it obvious that the plaid is not quite square.  Probably why this was considered deadstock, perhaps another term for designer cast offs.  The difficulties in cutting made it apparent that plaid is not a good option for a toile, as it puts too much work into something that may not fit and may not be worth adjusting.  The yoke was cut horizontally, per instructions.

The sleeves seemed long, so they were shortened by 3".  Plaid matching is a guess, trying to put the prominent black stripe somewhere along the armhole since most of the front armhole sits in that stripe.  In hindsight, the stripes alongside (or below) the black should have been the point of match--maybe matching the sleeve notch would work?  The sleeves are too short, but not drastically so since the shoulders hang over about an inch.  

Note:  the continuous lap needs to be cut longer than the pattern piece.  The sleeves should be a couple of inches longer, but not as long as the pattern piece.

Plackets are on.  No real problems, except to say that sewing the right side of the placket to the wrong side of the shirt and then folding it over to the right side makes it quite difficult to cut it out so that the plaid matches.  As far as mods, there is only one line of topstitching because this shirt is less western and my topstitching skills are not that good yet.  Cutting out the band and collar, cutting the interfacing, and then fusing it on took as long as sewing the collar and attaching the band to the shirt. Collar, buttonholes, buttons, all done with no problems except that the buttons are hand wash only.  I wash my clothes in cold water and hang to dry.  However, the buttons may not be a problem unless the shirt is worn frequently.  That is doubtful because it is still quite stiff and a bit confining. The fabric has the feel of rip-stop nylon--high quality nylon, like a rain jacket.

Hmm, the verdict is pending on this shirt.  (the color in the photo above is off) It looks good to me.  If it turns out to be more comfy than it currently seems, it would be possible to cut off the short sleeves, thereby reducing the shoulder overhang, and add longer sleeves.  There is enough fabric left to make another set of sleeves and cuffs.  Extra fabric is a good thing!

My Summer Uniform, a plan

Now that my sewing output is more varied, encompassing a casual jacket or two along with the usual skirts and dresses, a plan for a standard "outfit" has come together.  (According to some, this is called a capsule wardrobe formula.) It's true, my idea is to formulate a plan for a summer wardrobe.  This plan has three pieces:  a skirt (or pants), a t-shirt, and an overshirt (or jacket, or sweater, or vest).  Adding the third piece, the overshirt, will provide a little cover, both for occasional cool temperatures and to dress up my usual casual attire.  It will take a lot of sewing, but if I work with what I have and stay on goal, it should be successful.

The idea came with my most recently sewn item, a simple gathered skirt with pockets.  The inspiration came from the fabric, a luxurious linen from Taos Adobe.  This skirt was my big sewing success, quick and easy to sew, comfortable to wear and easy to use (the pockets).  The pattern was the Pocket Skirt, a Paper Theory pattern available online from Peppermint Magazine.   The fabric was 2 yards of black linen with a total price of $26.00.  It was a lightweight, sheer linen that needed a lining (100% cotton broadcloth from Hobby Lobby, $11).  The skirt is not fully lined.  The lining was cut at the end of the side top piece, making it end at my knee.  The linen skirt is almost another 10" longer after hemming and provides a satisfying swish around my calves.  

After all 4 seams were sewn and the edges serged, the lining was serged to the skirt at the top edge.  Then the lining and skirt were stitched together along the fold line.  Finally, the band was folded over and topstitched down through the serged stitching.  The pockets are the right height.  This skirt took the full 2 yards, with maybe 1/4 yard leftover.  It is a successful toile that will be repeated. There's 4 yards of cotton voile in my stash that might be enough make a skirt and a shirt.

Quirks of an old sewing pattern and a sewing blog

First, there came a soft, thin cotton fabric that did not make it to my stash.  It was much nicer than I expected for a mere $3/yard, $9 total.  Fabric Mart described it as "Rainy Gray/White/Dark Blood Red/Wheat 100% Cotton Vertical Stripe Weave Shirt Weight".  The cut was slightly over 3 yards and remained very close to 45" wide after washing.  It irons nicely but reverts to a slightly rumpled look after ironing.  Sewing this into a shirt was a break from my Green for Spring theme, but it might fit into my closet considering the recent additions of a black skirt and black pants.  

The pattern is for a shirt from 1977, McCalls 5647.  Although a newer pattern would provide more options in sizing and styles, the vintage pattern was chosen for the short sleeves.  This fabric is thin and might be wearable in the summer heat.  It has pleats and 3 length options.  My earlier success with a McCalls pattern from the same era and in the same size made me think 5647 would be a good fit, both in my wardrobe and for me.  However, the style and cut in this short sleeved shirt were different.  The safe approach was to use this inexpensive fabric and hope for the best.

The sizing in 5647 seemed quite large for a 12, bust 34, but that is deceptive.  There is 10" ease at the front, but there is a 3" pleat.  The back is even smaller.  

Notes:  The stitching line around the bottom of the slash line measures 3/4" wide.  It is an inch high, but that probably does not matter.  Its purpose is to reinforce the bottom of the slash.  The 1 1/4" wide stitching lines below the placket, which are merely the front folded over, eliminate any way to match the stripe unless the stripe pattern repeats at 1 1/4".  The notch on the left front facing and on the front, the matching notch, are cut inward--a bit confusing and thus worth noting.

With the front placket completed, the pocket was attached to left front.  The raw edges on the inside were finished with a little zigzag to stop them from fraying.

Laying the pieces out for cutting was done in the traditional manner, with the stripes running lengthwise on the collar and stand, vertically on the front and back, and horizontally on the yoke.  Pocket stripes are vertical so that the pocket can be  matched to the shirt front.  

On thinking through the pattern construction steps, it is apparent that shirts have few exposed seams, just the ones on the side seam and armhole.  This is an advantage that makes me view sewing shirts more favorably.

Collar construction was tricky.  However, it went on smoothly.  Hand stitching the points on the stand neatened up the attachment to the shirt.  Although the collar facing was secured by topstitching it was also hand stitched on the edge for comfort.  Watching a Pattern Scout video revealed that the collar should be shaped by ironing it before sewing.  The video also included a neat trick for sewing the end of the stand around the placket by tucking the placket inside the stand, sewing the stand ends on the wrong side and then pulling the placket right side out.   

The sleeves are short.  There was enough fabric left for long sleeves, even after cutting out the short ones.  The thought of trying out one of each tempted me, but the short sleeves are fine.  The sleeves have a cuff that is hemmed in a clever fashion, encasing the raw edge of the hem into a tuck that forms the top of the cuff.

Setting in the sleeves is truly old school.  There is only one line of gathering stitches.  A thread is pulled at the top of the sleeve to gather the ease.  The stitching runs around the armhole, with stitch length shortened to form stay stitching in the lower armhole and lengthened to form gathering stitches between the notches.  This is such a novel, multi-purpose approach, much simpler than the current method of sewing in two lines of gathering stitches, one on each side of the seamline, and pulling the loose threads of both to make the easing even.  It worked well.

The shirt was hemmed about an inch shorter than the tunic length.  It is a basic wardrobe piece, but it is too close fitting for my taste.  Also, the pocket is too high.  My dislike of the high pocket is either an indicator that it is just too small for my proportions or it might just be me, because other shirts have pockets at this level.

I could get rid of this pattern.  There is no bust dart.  It is slim-fitting, making me assume that the size 12 only worked in the other pattern because the fit was oversized.  I could make it again, enlarging it as best I can, but I don't love the style enough.

If you are still with me, let me admit another failure.  I lost my blog post editing, temporarily.  I attribute it to a new security requirement.  Thanks, google.  In poking around my blog setting to try to determine the source of the problem, I noticed that I had failed to change my e-mail address--years ago.  All this time, I thought I had turned off the comments.  No.  I just didn't get the messages that I had a comment awaiting moderation anymore.  Now I am debating.  Do I need comments?  Can I even turn them off?  This debate is not major.  If you would like to comment or ask a question, I will get a notification now.  I can review the comment and decide whether to publish it.  I can also respond, most likely by posting a comment below yours, which is no use except to anyone who reads the comments later.  I may be able to respond directly if you have a profile linked that includes a contact address.  I have opened the comments to anyone, but they are moderated.  

My purpose here is to provide a record of sewing up a pattern as an aid in sewing up the pattern a second time.  Increasingly, I find that I remember the pattern steps when I attempt it again.  I do consult my notes here, but my skills are reaching the point where I don't need them.

All to say that if this blogging stops, that doesn't mean I stopped sewing and knitting.  Comments are nice, but I dress for myself now.

Florence Shirt in Crinkle Rayon

Finally, it was time to use the last of my precious fabric purchases, one that is notably made in Japan, a Painterly Tracks printed lightly crinkled rayon challis in light sage/gray sage/off-white.  There wasn't much of this lovely fabric, just 2 yards that was 43" wide, from Fabrics and Fabrics at a cost of $26.60.  After washing, it was moderately crinkled.  Since it will have to be ironed flat to apply interfacing, it was ironed lightly before marking and cutting.  From the beginning, this was intended to be used for a Florence shirt.

The Florence paper pattern came printed on heavy paper.  Cutting it to cut out the pieces is hard on my cutters and makes it difficult to cut a larger size later.  Some say it is intended for tracing, but tracing is not my usual method.  In the end, only one pattern piece, the front, was traced off and altered.  

Initially, since the wrong side of the fabric is white, the fabric was marked and cut out roughly. The upper back was cut along the widest line, while the lower back was cut the full width of the fabric.   These pieces were trimmed during the construction.  The other pattern pieces were not altered as much and were cut to a slightly larger size than the first version.  

There were two factors that shaped this haphazard approach.  One, the sizing on this pattern is very fabric dependent.  Two, if the edges are to be serged after sewing, my preference is for a wider seam allowance than the 3/8" set in this pattern.  Now that it is done, this version has helped me to settle on a size X.  If there is another version, the pattern can be cut to that size.  

The pattern pieces were laid out to take advantage of the large print of the fabric.  The bottom front was marked at 14" wide, or 12 1/2" from the printed lines along the selvage edges, placing these lines along the fold line for the placket.  The side seams were tapered outward.  The back pieces were centered on the central design.  Since the fronts were cut along the selvage, a stretch binding was sewn over the selvage.  The binding looks cute and is similar to the treatment on the blue version of this pattern, where there is bias binding along the placket.

Here is a serged seam.  It is sturdy, stretches slightly and looks nice even though the thread is white in the needles and off white on the loopers. This sample persuaded me to use the serger on a few seams.

 

The stitches are quite tidy, with the pressure adjusted to the recommended position, the differential light (.5) and the tension on 3 for the needles and 4 for the loopers (this last is because of the thin fabric).  

The pockets were cut out of scraps, matching the print on the pockets to the print on the front vertically.  There wasn't enough fabric to match them horizontally.  With this large-scale print, the only option was to use the long piece from the middle of the yardage that was left after cutting the two fronts along the selvage and a piece between the back yoke and the sleeve bands to cut two pockets and two linings.  In this light fabric a two-layer pocket should hold its shape better than a single layer with an interfaced top.

In the photos below, the pocket placement is about 1/2" further away from the center front than the pattern indicates.  That change was necessary to align the print vertically.  If they are placed lower, the print aligns more horizontally and will be about where the pockets sit in the first version.  However, the higher placement means that they sit more where a shirt pocket should sit.  The pockets in the first version were lowered to expose the printed panel. 

Sewing the plackets down surprised me by how much the foldline was thrown off by the seam tape applied to the selvage edge.  The foldline was in the middle of the interfacing.  Fortunately, the interfacing is light enough to fold nicely.  Two layers of interfaced fabric made a good weight for the button bands.  

The back yoke seam was sewn on both the machine and the serger, with both seam allowances serged as one so that it could be pressed up towards the back yoke.  Then the shoulder seams were sewn, pressed open and serged before attaching the collar.  The collar was attached according to instructions.  The collar is prepped by sewing a guide line along the fold line of the front, where the collar will be folded over prior to topstitching it to the shirt.  This nicely helps the fold stay a consistent width but leaves the stitching visible on the edge of the collar.  To satisfy my taste, this guide line had to be pulled out before topstitching.  Even though the collar is placed over the seamline before topstitching, the seamline can still be seen in spots.  It seems the traditional method of sewing the collar to the right side of the shirt and hand stitching the wrong side to the neckline seam produces a neater appearance.  

Sleeve bands were cut from the scant remaining fabric, carefully, in order to place the vertical lines of the print along the edge of the band.   Perfecting them meant changing the seam allowance on one to 3/16" to match it to the other that was sewn to the armhole with a 3/8" seam.  Contrary to the pattern instructions, the bands were sewn to the armhole with it open, i.e. prior to sewing the side seams.  Then the side seams were sewn through the band with the band opened out, flaring the seam out a bit at the edge of the band to allow it to turn under nicely.  Next the bands were folded in over the seam line and machine basted in place. 

After stitching in the ditch to secure the bands and removing the basting, there was a little hand sewing to do on the inside.  Probably hand sewing the entire band down would have been quicker.  There's a lot of videos raving about stitching in the ditch, but it is too visible for me to be completely happy with it.  It is tolerable here only because topstitching the band would also be acceptable.  

Hemming was a creative endeavor.  The fronts are a couple of inches longer than the pattern length and the back..the back hem shaping is simply the curve left after the yoke piece was cut.  The hemline is blended into the front hem but the back is several inches longer than the pattern piece.  The hem was turned under an inch and folded to a 5/8" hem that was topstitched down.  It isn't like the hem of either the shirt or the dress, just somewhat similar to RTW shirts.

The button placement chart for the shirt has revealed itself.  It is on the sleeve band piece.  This pattern company is frugal with its paper.  Since the shirt is longer, it could have taken more buttons.  However, 7 is enough.  There is no need for buttons on the bottom few inches of the shirt.  Most likely, it will be worn as an overshirt and left unbuttoned.  

The back was made much larger with the expectation that once washed, this fabric will crinkle and draw in.  It may then stretch back out with wear.  

With this make, the Florence shirt pattern is adjusted to my liking.  I love all the details, the back yoke, the mandarin-style collar, and the sleeve bands.  I also like the simplicity of the cap or dolman sleeves.  Although I am wearing it here with my new Lodo dress, it will look even nicer with my new black pants.  This shirt took 10 days to make, just working on it a little each day, but not every day, during that time span.  The next shirt I make will have set in sleeves, cuffs, and a full collar.  I wonder how long that will take.