Patriotic Shirt

I didn't intend to finish this shirt for the Olympics, nor did I intend its color scheme to be so patriotic! Actually, the colors work for several countries, so it's a toss-up who I'm supporting. ;)

This is my second version of New Look 6104. This time I opted for the ruffle front and the pleated sleeves. I used all stash items for this. The material is left over from T's Negroni: a cotton pique. And the buttons I already had. I had purchased them to go with a different shirt and they didn't work out for that one, so I was glad to use them here.

I messed up the ruffle. I put them on upside down. And one side is slightly longer the other. Whoops. Clearly a perfectionist I am not because I didn't redo it.

I did redo part of the hem and part of the neck binding because they ridiculously bad in some areas. I do have standards, low ones, but standards nonetheless.

I made the back darts smaller this time to eliminate some fabric pooling in the back. That worked, but as a result there's more overall ease in this version. I'm fine with that because this is a hot weather shirt and I don't like to wear close-fitting things in the heat.

Other than that, I didn't make any construction changes. Yet, the bust darts are hitting me lower this time around; I'm not sure why.

I did a better job at putting in the sleeves. Ever since my sewing teacher showed me how to manage the sleeve cap ease I am much better at that. And the thing is, it's so easy! Why don't the instructions just tell you what to do?? Anyhow...

This is my most common facial expression: what the #%&*?

I don't know what I'm doing with my hands though. It's like they are looking for pockets...

I was this close to doing a special photo shoot for this shirt, but then I looked up at the sky and saw that it was about to rain. So instead I just did a silly dance:

I am happy to announce that the completion of this shirt means I have ticked off several goals. This project belongs to this year's Spring and Summer Palette Challenge and it also fills a gap in my wardrobe.

I've been needing a (relatively) basic white short-sleeve shirt and I anticipate getting a lot of use out of this one.

Looking back, I realize that I had originally planned to use this fabric with the Simplicity Lisette 2211 pattern, but I'm happy that I went with the New Look pattern instead. I'm still attracted to that Lisette top, but I don't like the sleeves, so when and if I make it, I'm pretty sure I'll use the basic sleeve from the New Look 6104 pattern.

So, the round-up on my Spring/Summer Palette Challenge is: 1 down, 2 nearly-down, and 1 cut out. That's a little bit sad seeing how it's nearly August, yikes! Guess I better get crackin'!