Aria Button Down Shirt

Update to add details:

I finished this shirt on Thursday night. It turned out pretty good.

I used a cute quilting/crafting cotton with the bunnies. I noticed at the fabric store they had coordinating panels, so likely designed for baby quilts, etc.

I am loving the back yoke/pleat and the shirt tail hem.

I love the cute bunny motif. I used a coordinating fabric for the inside yoke and neck band.

I will edit this when I’m on my computer next with more details.

The first two blouses I made were from commercial (aka The Big 4) patterns and I wasn’t that impressed. When I revived my interest in sewing, I made those two dresses late last summer/fall. I used independent pattern designers for those, and I was so pleased with how well written the patterns were, and how well designed the pattern pieces.

This pattern is the Aria Button Down Shirt which includes options for a tunic and dress length, and sleeve and collar options. Very versatile. I have a few other patterns from that same design site. They are all so well written that it’s easy to follow along, even as a beginner. And there are plenty of YouTube videos showing each part of the process.

As usual, I had to grade the pattern to a size bigger at the hips, but I think i needn’t have done that for this one. The pleat in the back gives plenty of ease. Adn the sleeves are quite roomy, another area I sometimes have fit issues. It is a very comfortable wearing shirt.

This is the first project I sewed with my new machine, the Singer 4452. It has a “one step” buttonholer; my old machine had a 4 step. That took a little practice, but the buttonholes turned out nice. It also has an option to use the machine to sew on the buttons, but I did them by hand.

This turned out reasonably well. I will make a few tweaks on the next one. Very comfortable to wear. It’s the @lovenotions #ariabuttondown shirt, with short sleeves (no cuffs) and the band collar. #sewist #sewing #makeyourownclothes