Practice Sewing

I bought the Aria Button Down shirt pattern and course from Love Notions many months ago. They had a sale many months ago on their courses so I thought it might be a good idea to try one. The fabric is just a fun print I picked up yards of when Joanns had it on clearance months ago. If you watched tv in your youth you remember this show.

The course is excellent, though I did at times think I was too smart for my own good - all issues I had were ones of my own making.

The shirt has some great details. This version was a practice piece to try the sizing of the pattern and to see which options I might like.

It has a back pleat - a very nice feature. The pattern does include bust darts but only in the full bust adjustment pieces.

I messed up the button plackets and made them too narrow - totally my fault for not carefully reading the directions and skipping part of the video course. They were easy to attach after I actually followed the directions. Easiest button placket I have ever attached.

I did adjust the pattern for my height. All Love Notions patterns are drafted for 5’5”. This is not my height so I shortened the pattern and it worked perfectly.

The back yoke has a facing. This encloses the inside seam and is just the perfect touch on the pattern. Also great directions in the course for the “burrito” method which in projects in the past has not been my best event.

I selected the band collar option. After completion I found I really do not like a band collar. I also again did not follow the directions or the video because I was thinking I knew what I was doing. The collar was just a tad too short. The pattern also has a traditional collar and that will be my selection for the next shirt.

I planned on the sleeveless version for this sample. I believe I cut the correct size for me and can add either short or long sleeves as desired. I am very pleased with the pattern. I really do not have a wearable version (well if I finish the sleeve binding and add buttons it would be fine for wearing about the house), but that was not my overall intent. I just wanted to use the cheap fabric to try out new options before I cut into the “good fabric.”