When in Rome...Orageuse

Rome is where the heart is....and I bloody love this bird shirt. However it did take a fair bit of labour to get there...

This is the first pattern I have tried from French company 'Orageuse' (which I think means 'Stormy') and... it was an experience! Although not entirely unpleasant...just...weird?

Fabric and notions: This incredibly amazing crepe is from Fabrics Galore - 'Bird Portrait'. The bug buttons (yeah I though birds eating bugs was a nice whimsical feature of this shirt :) are from Textile Garden (absolute amazing stuff if you haven't shopped there before!)

Size: I graded between sizes 42 bust, 44 waist and 46 hips. That was the largest size on the chart :( I know French ladies are beautiful and slim but that did strike me as a bit odd (I'm a UK 12).

As I'm new to this company I did do a toile to test the fit - you never know do you how indie brands differ. To my surprise the toile fit like a dream so that was that I thought. I even managed my first ever pin tucks at the back yoke. (A particularly nice design detail about this shirt).

Stuff that went awry: No joke I spent HOURS cutting this out to make sure everything was lined up, pattern matched, not slipping...just so. Despite my best efforts when I came to put it together it was just....off...

The armholes were huge! Down to my waist huge. Visible side boob. However I hadn't noticed this fact until I'd beautifully bound them with green satin. I have no idea why they were huge, same pattern piece, same cutting, same size as toile. Mystery. Rescue plan: I nipped them in where they should have sat and created a tapered dart down the side seam. As the shirt is quite voluminous it could take it. Phew.

In fixing the armholes and trimming excess for 'french' seaming - I cut a hole in the back :( Rescue plan: I stuck it together with interfacing on the back and hand stitched it together. As the print is quite busy it seems to get lost. Also phew.

oops

The measurements and birds defy all known laws of physics. When I went to shorten the shirt - I measured very carefully each side, counted the rows of birds, and cut. But its uneven on one side!!! I still have no idea what's going on there. There are equal bird rows and equal measurements front and back. EQUAL. So how does the left side hang lower?? Oh well - you can't really tell due to drape so never mind. Rescue plan: Leave it the hell alone.

Ordinarily all these quirks would bother me but I actually still really like the shirt once it was done!

Modifications:  My version of the shirt is not exactly what the pattern intended but it is what I wanted. This is what I altered:

• Regular button placket - I like buttons so I don't want them hidden, the centre section of the placket therefore got removed and I just popped the plackets on like a normal shirt
• Yoke - the pattern only provides for one yoke piece. It's not lined. Given that there is a load of pleating in the back piece, it seemed a bit weird to have those raw edges hanging out so I created an inner yoke to enclose all the raw edges - Burrito Method!!
• Yoke had to be cut in 2 pieces to create a shoulder seam. The pattern has one continuous yoke - if your print is directional its going to be upside down on the front of the shirt as the yoke goes over front to back without shoulder seams. I discovered this with the inner piece!
•  I originally cut the dress length - intending to wear it as a tunic. In the toile I made this was about right - however in its shape shifting state the real version was too long and I ended up cutting about 5 inches off to just below the original shirt line anyway.
• Shaped hem - I curved the hem at the sides instead of having the side slits. Part happy accident, part not understanding the instructions.  
• Narrow rolled hem (as I feared taking off too much length)

Yoke - see what I mean about direction??

Personally I found the instructions to be a bit confusingly complex in some parts and and a bit vague in others. That being said I didn't really read them and just ploughed ahead with my own construction for the best part of it - so not sure I get much of an opinion on that one! Just for example though, the instructions state 'sew the side seams with a french seam'. That's all very well but there are 2 vent slits either side of the shirt and there's no instruction on how to actually deal with those or get a neat finish. Conveniently I had chopped off some of the length anyway so side slits were not an option anymore!

Overall: although it took what felt like forever to finish this seemly straight forward pattern and many things were wonky - I love it and would definitely make it again! This meets my criteria for being comfortable, practical but also a bit stylish/bit quirky. I like that the sleeveless design gives a good warm weather option, but great to under a cosy knit. And it covers your bum when wearing leggings - bonus.

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