Design 23 Stripy summer shirt

Believe it or not, this shirt was the base of a nightgown. I needed a girl's mandarin collar for it so I extended the top of the collar by 1/4" plus seam allowance. That worked well. I didn't need the collar to go all the way to the end of the placket so I didn't add seam allowance to the front sides. I made it slightly smaller by putting the pattern about 1/4" beyond the fold of the fabric (instead of on the fold). The collar and the front placket butted up against each other perfectly instead of the collar being sandwiched in between the front and facing. I still put the front and facing right sides together, and I sewed them together as if there was a collar there. Then, I pushed the placket right way out, and I used topstitching to hold the collar and placket in place. I needed long sleeves so I just added extra length evenly and smoothed out the sides of the sleeve. Since it was for a girl, I reversed the layering of the placket with the buttonholes on the right-hand side. Since I was adding a skirt, I basted the placket in place before sewing on the skirt. I made a size 116. That was a little looser than I would have liked, but I usually make her a size 110 with lots of length. I always have to add length to otto for my long kids, and I would have had to do the same if I had made this a full shirt.

All in all, this was a good basic pattern. The instructions were clear, and the pattern lined up nicely. The collar was a little floppy in the back, but I think I should have taken away just a bit more for my alteration. I think it would have been fine if I had made it as instructed. I should have also used a slightly heavier interfacing. I used lightweight because I had that handy.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/IMAG6319.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/P9113445.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/P9113444.jpg