Lavender for Winter - Why Not?

Fabric Mart put up a bunch of cotton border prints in September and I bought four of them. I knew as I was purchasing them that I wanted shirts from them. Because when was the last time you saw a cool border print shirt in RTW?  I can't remember if I ever saw one! Ah the joys of sewing for yourself!

Supply List ~
TNT princess seamed/back yoke shirt pattern 

Fabric:  
100% cotton sateen border print

Notions:
Interfacing from Steinlauf & Stoeller
1/2" plastic floral buttons purchased from Pacific Trimmings

1" white bias binding purchased from Pacific Trimmings

Some Construction Thoughts ~
I think of this as a happy shirt because the fabric makes it so! Normally border prints are used with the print on the bottom, like my previous shirt. This time I used the border print for the main body of the shirt since it covered more of the fabric. The white from the top of the border print was used for the collar, collar stand, button bands and the cuffs.

To cut out the fabric, I used a single pattern layout which means the fabric was cut with the stretch going up and down the body. However, for the sleeves I wanted the stretch to go around my arms. So the sleeves were cut on grain with the stretch around the arms. This is important with my bodacious biceps and a mistake I made with a previous border print shirt make.

Another point to mention is that the fabric is a mid-to-heavyweight cotton sateen. This is not shirting fabric BUT it's perfect for our cold winters. I will add an additional layer of warmth with either a long sleeve tee or turtleneck underneath the shirt.  Making it will be perfect for winter wearing.

The hem is bound with the white bias binding to carry the white theme throughout the garment. 

I did get to a point in the construction where I was ectastic with how the garment was sewing up! One because the shirt was turning out the way I imagined it.  

Two even though some parts of the construction was tedious and slow going, the results were so worth it! Making this shirt was all about slow sewing. 

So a few pictures ~

This is the second shirt in "The Border Print Shirt" series. Two down and three more to go!  If you like the silhouette of my TNT shirt pattern, here are a few suggestions for current patterns you can use to make your own shirt ~ Grainline Studio Archer shirt, Cashmerette Harrison shirt, Butterick 5526, McCalls 7575, Vogue 9029, Vogue 8689, Hotpatterns Classic Nouveau Great White Shirt, to name a few. I'm sure there are more out there in Indie land that could be used too.

Personally, I have four shirt patterns that I will be using this fall/winter. Two are TNTs and two will be new pattern sews. My advice is to find a pattern that works for you and sew it a couple times. Make it a TNT pattern that you can use whenever you want a new shirt. As I've said before a TNT pattern allows me to play with fabric, techniques or manipulating both. I like to play. It's the main reason I sew!

One thing to note ~ this month is/was National Domestic Violence Month. Purple is the color associated with the month and as a survivor of Domestic Abuse I'm thrilled that I got this shirt made in time to celebrate the month. Even though it's more lavender than purple, I think it counts. Learn more about National Domestic Violence month here.

Next up on the blog after the month in review, will be a Rivermont Top. I've had this top in my mind since the beginning of the year.  I finally got it out of my creative brain and sewn up...

...as always more later!