Amy Butler: The Liverpool shirt.

An exercise in patience.

(A virtue, so I have been told)

When I learnt to sew at school,

we were taught to do everything properly.

Tie off the ends- don't just backsew.

Baste in your zips, your sleeves, your everything.

Iron. Everything. Lots.

I even used a tailor's ham.

Hand up if you ever used one of those.

It has held me in good stead.

(Though I am crap at ironing as I go.

I am getting better

but it is a pain as my ironing is set up far away from my sewing space.

But I digress...)

Upon leaving school,

I rebelled and haven't made anything tailored, lined or out of crepe ever since.

(One day remind me to tell you how many times I had to redo that zip in my crepe de chine skirt!)

Collars? Too much effort. Cuffs? Pah. Multiple buttonholes? Do I have to?

But the Amy Butler Liverpool pattern caught my eye.

A lovely, shaped (and yes, collared, cuffed and with multiple buttonholes) shirt

that I really wanted to make.

Even more suprisingly I wanted to make it out of fabric that was beige (my 3rd most disliked colour)

and had some yellow in it (my 2nd most disliked colour)

(No orange though. Even I couldn't bring myself to wear that colour.)

Pattern: Amy Butler "Liverpool" shirt length version

Fabric: Heather Bailey Nicey Jane Hello Roses

Approval rating: I love it! It looks more slimming in real life

and it is really nice to make something for myself that I am really happy with.

Sweet little button loops on the cuffs.

Little cream vintage cabbage rose buttons to finish.

And, as a nod to my grade 9 sewing teacher,

the pattern asked for topstitching of the collar to attach and finish the inside seam.

But I handstitched it instead.

Just like I did learnt to do back in 1983.

Because I think it gave a better result for me.

(But I still don't baste my zips)