My first shirt!

Apparel sewing and have not mixed well in the past.  I tried when I was a teenager to make a super cool jumpsuit-type outfit (it was the early 90's).  It did not fit at. all.  Then and there I swore I would only make flat things--quilts.

After Henry was born I did venture into a little bit of sewing with knits...but that was short lived.  The flat sewing continued...

Then, two months ago, super cool Anna from the DCMQG showed off the Wiksten tank she made and asked if anyone else wanted to make a Washi dress.  We chose a date and I made a top with some vintage sheet fabric.  The only picture I have of it is not appropriate for public consumption.  I have some sort of deformity where I have two extra inches of chest height in the front but not the back.  No issues with the bust, waistline or hip line height.  I just have long front armpits??  Or something like that.  Anyway, I got discouraged.  If I change the height of the shoulder of the garment, then the armholes don't work and the sleeves don't work and the facings don't work...etc.

Enter the fabulous Nicole of Finch Studio.  She and I met two weeks ago to work on my personal version of the Washi top.  I started over with another vintage sheet.

This is my initial IG photo from over a week ago.  The sleeves were too stiff and made me look like a linebacker (not the fault of the pattern.  I was using a stiffer fabric and I already have wide shoulders) and we initially added 3" of front chest height and 1" of back chest height.  The shoulders kept falling down and the dip in the neckline was nearly obscene.  So...I had the opportunity to take out 5 seams on each shoulder to fix it....  But I finally felt like I could fix it myself!!

Here is the finished product:

All of the apparel sewing blog posts I've read say that the finished details on the inside make the garment.  I couldn't agree more.  I used French seams on the sides (please ignore the skipped stitches on the hem.  I needed a new needle for the hem but was too stubborn to get up to get one.  I'll fix that soon).

The inside of the facing stitched down:

The outside of the facing stitched down and the armhole bias tape stitched down:

The ruching on the back waist:

It took a lot of trial and error, but I'm pretty pleased with it.  In fact, I've worn it three times this week.  I'm giving it a rest today so the neighbors don't start to wonder if I bathe.

And now I'm dreaming about all sorts of other clothing I can make myself....