The Other Two Archers...

So my blog is kind of turning into a Grainline Fangirl blog, but there's a reason: Jen's patterns are freaking awesome! So I'm not going to apologize for liking what I like. ;) I just can't get enough Archers and Lindens in my life clearly. As promised, these are the other two Archers that I made a couple of weeks ago. I have always wanted a chambray button up, but before I knew how to sew, I could never find one that I liked, that fit. And then when I did start sewing, I had a bit of a difficult time finding the right fabric. That is until Blackbird Fabrics.

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Of course, when Caroline Amanda announced the grand opening of her Canada based online fabric store, I went right to her website and ordered immediately. I mean I gotta support the local dealers retailers right? I spied this gorgeous light denim shirting (among other things), and I thought it looked just right. I was so thrilled when I received it, because it was even better than I had imagined. It's so easy to be disappointed when shopping for fabric online because you can't touch it. This fabric actually came to me back in September, but I didn't actually do anything with it until now.)

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The colour is exactly what I was looking for and it's buttery soft. It's like an already well loved and worked in denim shirt.

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I don't have anything new to say about the construction of this shirt, except that the pockets are inspired by Katie's version, and I love how they turned out. I also used some white pearl snaps from Snap Source (I always go for the size 18 in case  you are wondering), as that seemed like the natural choice.

For the last of the bunch, I decided to try a short-sleeved version. It didn't turn out exactly as I thought it would, but I am still quite happy with the results.

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The fabric is also from Blackbird, and it's a cotton stretch sateen shirting. It feels lovely, but for some reason it has caused a bit of weirdness at my chest. See those wrinkles? I am wondering if maybe it's because of the stretch, but I'm really not sure. I mean I cut all four Archers at the same time, and this is the only one that seems to do that. Oh well, still completely wearable to me.

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As you can see the cuffs are a bit wrinkly and weird. I really wanted to have short sleeves, but still have the cuffs. So I'm sure there is a way more professional way to do it, but I just shortened the sleeves and widened (lengthened) the cuffs to fit. I also free-handed the sleeve placket, and I think it should be just a touch longer, and that might resolve the wrinkling issue. I decided to go with plain white buttons for this one. To be honest, I'm not 100% sold on the colour on me - I think it washes me out a little, but I think it looks really great under a cardigan.

I also mixed and matched the under collars, yokes, and inner collar stands of all 4 shirts. I love adding those little touches, and it's super easy to do when you are cutting a bunch out together.

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So that's it for Archers for now but I'm sure you will be seeing more on this blog again. This really has become a TNT pattern for me, and I find it super satisfying to sew up.  I really love wearing a good button up shirt, and I'm tempted to try some of the other button up patterns out there, but this one fits me so well I'm not sure I will.

Have you tried the Archer or any other button-up patterns?