P&M Stan Shirt

Hello! It’s been a while since I posted, but it’s because I’ve been working on a quilt. That’s on hold while I wait for back-ordered fabric, so instead I’ve been working on new tops. I added a couple cropped Scout tees, both in white linen, but got an itch for something new. Cruising Pinterest, I happened on the Stan shirt by P&M Patterns. And BTW, Pinterest is my favorite place to find patterns and design ideas. If I search on linen dress or linen blouse sewing patterns, I get a nice feed. I think that the word ‘linen’ eliminates funky and weird designs, as well as all those knit tunic tops. So, here’s Stan, great project…

It’s really interesting, with lots of gathers and puffs, and many mix/match options. I decided on a plain shoulder, puffed short sleeves, and a traditional button band.

I admit I was a little stunned when I started working with the taped pattern pieces – this shirt is voluminous! As I recall, the original hemline was about 67″ around. Wowser. But the sleeve and yoke looked promising, so I set to work.

To reduce the volume, I courageously removed a lot of the width in the front bodice, both sides, and the back skirt. And I diminished the swing in the side seams. These were my major changes to the design.

Once the shirt was constructed, I shortened the hemline by 3.5″. The original length would be perfect for a tucked-in look, but I’m totally into the ease of cropped shirts this year.

Other sewing notes:

• The instructions are thorough and sensible, with great illustrations and lots of tips on technique and construction. I used the English version and found the translation to be perfect.
• I sewed the size 10 US/French 42. A major checkpoint was the width of the collar stand – I can’t abide a collar that’s too big around (the latter is why I never wore my Fabrics-Store Noa shirt). I printed and measured the stand before moving forward with printing all those pages (I really don’t mind, I enjoy cutting, taping, measuring and drafting with a good movie on TV).
• The pattern includes 3/8″ seam allowances, but I drafted my tissue with 1/2″ allowances. Narrow allowances on patterns for woven fabrics are kind of a pet peeve for me. What if I make a mistake!
• The armscye is a bit high, and I think it’s probably intentional to highlight the gathers in the sleeve cap. I simply used a 3/8″ seam to insert the sleeve and will adjust my tissue.
• A tip – for a simple cuff with no placket, you can gather the sleeve edge into the cuff before sewing the under-sleeve seam. It’s way easier than doing it in the round after the seam is sewn!

My lovely fabric is cotton Swiss dot, so soft and drapey. I think silk, crepe, and viscose would work well, but anything with much more ‘hand’ or crispness just wouldn’t sync with all those gathers.

A note on interfacing: I used Pro-Sheer Elegance Medium fusible from Fashion Sewing Supply. I highly recommend all their interfacings, no shrinking or bubbling of the fabrics. Because Swiss dot is so lightweight, I interfaced both sides of my collar and collar stand, and used a single layer in the button band to keep it flexible.

And notes on the button band: this shirt has a 1″ wide button band, whereas the edge of my buttonhole foot is at 5/8″. A bright basting stitching down the center of the band really helps with sewing straight buttonholes in the right place.

I used 3/8″ diameter buttons to stay with the airiness of the fabric. And as usual I used a buttonhole with multi-stitched ends to prevent fraying. All my thread tails get sent to the back side and woven into the buttonhole.

I love this shirt!

Bye for now – Coco