The Sandie Shirt pattern is the latest release from Liz Haywood, and the minute it came out I bought it as I’ve been working up to a new shirt. I had two pieces of fabric in mind for it, with this beautiful vintage Japanese Kanebo cotton, which I bought in an op shop for $5 being at the top of the list.

It’s hard to describe the feel of this fabric and the flowers and leaves are outlined in gold which gives it a luminous appearance in real life.

Due to the busyness of my fabric, it’s hard to see the design lines, so here is the artwork from the pattern.

The pattern is basically a big square with the pattern pieces cut on the bias. Not really knowing what I was doing I began cutting out and then worried about the sizing. As the pieces of fabric get progressively smaller, I abandoned my beautiful fabric, to reduce the risk of wasting it, and decided to make a toile to check. The toile was also a good way to work out the intricacies of the pattern. It also highlights the fact that sometimes, fabric is everything!

I chose a piece of quilting cotton which was donated to my stash a long time ago. I could have used either side of the fabric but chose the lighter side. A photo of the hemming highlights the two colours:

There are a lot of things to think about with this pattern – I managed to finish up with different sized triangles, when I should have had identical sized ones. With a bit of finagling I managed to get my points to match up, but it was touch and go.

I did finish the shirt, but will admit it’s not my favourite. Is it the colour? The fact that somehow I finished up with shorter sleeves? Not sure, but I do love my 1930s leaf buttons! I should have done up the top button before taking photos.

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I feel as though I have a lot of fabric hanging around my upper arms in this shirt. I wasn’t sure how I could address it. The shirt fits beautifully everywhere else.

Having worn the shirt, I felt more comfortable in it, so revisited the original, half cut out shirt.

I’m not sure if it was the fabric, but this one went together so much better. I really enjoyed making it and it might be because (a) I knew what I was doing, (b) the fabric handled magnificently, and (c) I love the fabric colours. My triangles were all identical sizes and I could see that the sleeves were longer. I don’t think I measured any differently, one of life’s little mysteries!

It’s instantly obvious that the fit is better too. I left this one a bit longer but have given myself room (and permission) to shorten the shirt should the fancy take me.

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I spent quite a long time fiddling with buttons for this shirt. I just could not decide on a colour, so in the end I went with all the colours!

The buttons are enamelled shell buttons and it’s so nice to use them like this. The loops are a piece of thonging as I could not get my rouleau loops to sit nicely, and they were a bit thick for these small buttons. The cuffs are secured with bigger shell buttons.

When Liz, the designer, showed us her shirt she posed with a chicken and I decided I needed a chook accessory too! I’m letting mine perch in this photo. This is also my Sewn Shown Seated photo, which is important to show for those people who are confined to wheelchairs and seats. I hadn’t pressed the collar very well in some of these photos, and having seen that it’s not sitting well, I took it back to the ironing board. This is why it looks better in some photos than in others.

Can I tell you how much I love this shirt? I love the design lines, the casual elegance and, of course, the fact that the fabric left over is in a big piece, which can be utilised in another garment. I also quite like the fact that I have to do a bit of head scratching and thinking about what I’m doing. The instructions are clear, especially the second time through.

The pattern gives a few other options – ruffles on the front vee seam lines – I didn’t do this as I don’t need ruffles anywhere near my chest! also ruffled collar and cuffs, which is a pretty look. There is also a zipped version which is appropriate for a jacket/shacket. Minor modifications only required.

The Sandie shirt is 25% for May (buy it in Liz’s Etsy shop).