Finished - a chambray Granville.

I was delighted when Helene from Stitch 56 wanted to know if any of her bloggers wanted to try the new Sewaholic Granville shirt - up went my hand, into the stash I dove and out came 2 options - some lovely lightweight chambray from Darn Cheap Fabrics or my crazy orange Paisley cat Liberty. I shook them in the face of my beloved and he chose the chambray, sensible chap that he is.





Now you can read all about it over at the Stitch 56 blog, but I am going to double up on a bit of content here, partially for my own records, and partially because my love was able to take some rather nice photos for me on our recent camping trip to Lorne, and it is SUCH a waste if I don't share some photos that don't involve my garage wall....


So the brief nitty gritty - I'm not a B-cup pear shape, I'm a bottom heavy C-cup hourglass - and therefore not the target body shape of the Sewaholic patterns, but clearly that didn't put me off, and I wouldn't let it put you off if this is a style you'd like to try. The sizing measurements are very true, and I think if you know exactly where you should deviate for your body shape, and make a muslin to double check it can be a great pattern for a variety of body shapes. 


I traced off an 8 shoulders and bust, and graded up to a 10 in the waist and hips. I'm very happy with the 8 in the shoulders, but in retrospect really should have gone with the 10 across the bust too (the lazy girl version of an FBA I guess). The sleeves are a bit too long (a common observation it seems!) but otherwise fit well. There's just a little bit too much flare in the hips for me, but otherwise I'm delighted with the fit. The princess seams in the back work wonders for my rather pronounced swayback, and I do love the shape of the collar. 


The instructions are fine, and I used them for most of the construction. I didn't do nearly as much top stitching as suggested as I was a bit short on time and my machine was giving me a little stinkeye (poor love needs to go off to a health retreat for a few days I think). Apart from the sleeve plackets (honestly I've become rather evangelical about hand basting tricky steps and cannot recommend hand basting the plackets enough. DO IT!) I ended up using a variety of online tutorials for some of the trickier steps:

Perfect collars - I've used this twice now and it really is great. I didn't bother cutting down the seam allowance on the seam that attaches to the collar stand. 
An alternative collar method #1 - this is a very well known and popular tutorial, and what I've used in the past, but not this time, as I wanted to try another that I'd found. I'll probably go back to this though. An alternative collar stand method #2 - this is what I used, and whilst it did make sewing the curved part of the collar stand very easy, I struggled to get a nice finish with my top stitching along the open seam at the top of the collar stand, even with hand-basting. It may well just be I need more practice though! I have read that reducing the seam allowance can help a lot with sewing a collar stand.....Shirt sewalongs - these two Archer sewalongs here and here are fantastic, and further proof that there are so many different techniques that can all produce great results. Sewing on buttons - such a simple thing I know, but this is a wonderful tutorial from Maris and I can attest that it is truly very quick and easy!Sewaholic shirt making advice - Tasia is right in the middle of a series of shirt making posts - the summary can be found here. I'm very keen to see what else she suggests to add some finesse to my future shirts. 


Any further shirtmaking tips or links would be much appreciated - there's always so much to learn! 




So that's my Granville version 1.0! Very wearable, and a predictably impressive pattern from Sewaholic. Now I just need an equally stylish version for my beloved (come on Thread Theory!).... 

Comments

  1. Great shirt, in a great fabric! I just made an archer, but I love the princess seaming on this design, might have to try it out for a little wardrobe diversity. Collar stand method #2, is my favorite method.

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    1. Thanks Kristi - thanks for letting me know re: your collar stand method! I love the relaxed look of the Archer too - I'm thinking of playing around with this pattern to see if I can do a more relaxed version....

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  2. Looks like a very nice chambray - would you say it took the 3 yards of 45" fabric recommended?

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    1. Oh thanks for reminding me - I definitely got this out of less than 2 metres of 56 inch wide fabric (sorry to mix up my units!). I'm lucky that this fabric had no obvious right or wrong side, and no directional pattern but I was able to squeeze it out of much less. I rarely ever use the recommended layout - I'll often cut things in single layers to get the best fabric yield. I don't mind having a little left over, but what frustrates me is if it's not in a decent usable piece so I do my best to cram all the pieces in as close together!

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    2. Thanks for that - I was wondering if I had anything that stashed that would do (haven't bought it yet), so that definitely helps ;o)

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  3. Looks great! That chambray looks so nice. I have this pattern and some fabric waiting for me to get my act together and sew it up, so thanks for the list!

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  4. This looks like a lovely shirt pattern - it looks gorgeous in the Chambray!
    I have had the Archer printed out and taped together for over a year now and never got around to making it! Really should try a shirt this year - its on my to do list! Might give the Granville a go (although I'm not the B cup pear either).

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    1. Thanks Caroline - that precision sewing is a lot of fun!

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  5. Great fabric. It lokes so carefree and relaxed!

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    1. Thanks Cat - it's so light and breezy, it's lovely fabric.

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  6. This is great! Lovely fit and lovely shots. Love it with your pants. Collars... ugh... I got nothing

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    1. Thanks mate. Lordy I'm getting a bit obsessed, keep staring at RTW collars on our wardrobe. Crazy woman.

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  7. This pattern looks really good … love the shirt you made with it - such a nice chambray and the color looks great with those pants. I’m also obsessed with collars and stare at rtw - that is maybe why the string method does not appeal to me - waaay to laborious and if I can, I’ll always choose efficiency that is why I prefer fashion-incubator's collar tips. The collar stand #2 seems a variation of the "burrito" technique but the topstitching of that seam does't convince me ... and because I'm obsessive compulsive I'm right now switching from staring to taking apart a Rayure shirt ;)
    ps. although the Sewaholic shirt series is very nice and thoughtful I cannot understand the reasoning behind choosing that fabric... Yes it's beautiful... yes the final shirt will photograph really well but after five minutes of starring at it I get cross-eyed and the seam-lines tend to blend into it.

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    1. Haha you are funny. I'm so tempted to pull apart an old Abercrombie and Fitch shirt that belongs to my beloved..... Yes I agree re the pattern of the current Sewaholic tutorial shirt - it's a bit hard to see past the flowers!

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  8. Whoo, class-ay! I'm sure you've run into a mention of David Coffin's book in your research - a lot of tutorials mention his work - but it really is worth owning a copy. He addresses the history of shirt-making and a lot of standard measurements and features, which I always find interesting and useful!

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  9. So nice! You just can't beat a chambray shirt - your beloved knows his stuff!

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    1. Thanks Gail - you're right, but I'm still itching to make up my Liberty!

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  10. That's a good tip about hand basting the sleeve plackets. Great shirt!

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    1. thanks Theresa - I've learned the hard way that basting really can save time!

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  11. Perfect wardrobe addition. I've almost bought this pattern so many times, but this has just tipped the balance. Am off to download...(Gorgeous photos, by the way!)

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    1. haha! good luck - I look forward to seeing yours!

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  12. I have too many patterns, but am becoming increasingly interested in the Granville. It gives such a nice shape.

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    1. It does - it's very nicely designed! And a very modern fit!

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