Quite the title ey.
I'm coming in today with a 'new', and I use that very loosely, pattern to the blog. It's far from a new pattern in itself but it's fresh and unreported up here on Crafty Clyde. Which is a bit weird as this is my 3rd version...
I'm talking about the Amherst Shirt from Hey June Handmade. A pattern company that seems to have dropped off many people's radar it seems. A shame as they are amazing garments!
The Amherst is a casual shirt with all the good stuff on there - breast cargo pockets, turn up sleeve cuffs, cuff tabs. A nice utilitarian look to it.
My first version was a toile just over a year ago in some viscose - I am so pleased to report that it fit without any changes at all. I cut a 14/16 from the very detailed size chart that is provided and found it to be accurate. The toile below was re-homed to a friend at my sewing social.
I then had this obsessive idea that I wanted a shirt covered in ladybirds - print, buttons, decorations. And so it was made. This pic was taken when I was bald and feeling VERY unwell so excuse the hiding. Have I worn it? Have I ****. Perhaps this Spring. (This fabric is a cotton called Catch and Release - so cute! 🐞)
Fast forward over a year and Minerva gave me some epic tencel twill fabric called 'Nebulous Nights' which needed to be showcased somehow. I just love how dark and stormy the print is. (Don't forget I still have my code MSS244EC for 10% off anything you want at Minerva.)
I admit that I started making a Grainline Studio Scout Tee with this – however it’s safe to say that pattern does not work for me anymore and it was a bit of a disaster.
Enter the Amherst. I had tried on a swing dress in M&S and surprisingly found that I liked the style - so I tried to recreate it using this pattern.
In order to turn this into a mini dress, I simply extended the pattern pieces down to 36”. Then just drew a diagonal line outwards from the underarm to get that trapeze shape, rounding off the corners at the skirt hem to make it hang properly. The width at the hem is also about 36” across.
For added detail on my dress I have added some ribbon as a trim across the shirt and seams just to break up the big block of colour. Plus, the ribbon is little metallic beetles – space beetles! This ribbon was from Beyond Measure and I had been hoarding it for a good project.
My buttons were a bit of an afterthought as I was trying to use my stash so they aren’t a perfect match but they are dark blue like the general vibe of the dress. I had also had this sitting unfinished for several weeks so I just wanted to get it done. I would ordinarily hand stitch the inner collar for a neat finish however for the same reason, this was machined. I did find the best label for the project though – a little button moon. (I have no clue about where that label has come from it was just in my tin!)
Wishing everyone well and thank you for stopping by - feel free to comment and come and say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin too xxx
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