Prince in Purple and the King in an Eagle Jumpsuit

Kathy, if you are reading this, thank you for nominating me for the Creative Blogger Award! You are too kind! Me, creative? I cannot even draw stick people! Even Heather draws better than me!

I was seamin' when I wrote this. Forgive me if it goes astray...




Pattern Description
Misses Shirts - with collar, sleeve and cuff variations. I made View A. I noticed that just as pictured on the envelope, the shoulders are slightly dropped. It seems to be an intended style feature. So I sewed a "12" at the shoulders which resulted to be adequate for my liking, but still a little roomy for my shoulders.


Size
Misses' 10-22. I made a "12" at the shoulders and sleeves, tapering to a "14" at the hips.


Fabric
Rayon linen from Fashionista Fabrics




Favorite Features
*Vertical darts in the front and back
*Bust darts. I notice a strong correlation between bust darts and no drag lines and no bust darts and drag lines. My Hot Patterns shirt that I recently reviewed had no bust darts and drag lines...hmmmm....


Not-so-favorite Features
*As mentioned by fellow PR'ers, I did not care for certain pattern pieces printed with sizes in strange subgroups(i.e. 8,12 or 10, 14, etc). What a waste of extra tissue paper! It would have been convenient to include all or certain consecutive sizes on each piece, such as a 10-12-14 combination.

*Since I cut an estimated "12" at the shoulders and sleeves, I assumed that it was fine to cut a "12" for the front facing and the cuffs. Uh-oh. It ended up not being a wonderful idea. In stitching the front facing along the front edge and the neckline, the top edge the front facing (folded at the seam allowance), missed the shoulder seam by a tad! Also each cuff after encircling the lower edge of the sleeve did not intersect its starting point to form a "V", missing the vertex by 1 cm, thereby forming some sort of "U". I could have decreased the seam allowances of the cuff before turning them inside out.

*I find the collar to be unflattering for me due to its overall design. It has a tendency to stand upright and to creep along the back of my neck. Oh well, I did not inherit my mom's long and slender neck.


Directions
They are fine with good illustrations. I did not encounter problems in deciphering each step.




Modifications
* Since the shirt is really form fitting, I decreased the width of the front and back vertical darts which resulted in a little more ease. I was able to button the front with no problem.

*Omitted the topstitching in the front due to a personal style preference.

*Placed the top buttonhole slightly higher than originally for modesty. The neckline did not come as low as anticipated. It is wise to make a wearable muslin and adjust if necessary.

*I used 5 gold-colored buttons each embossed with a coat of arms emblem which look suitable on a uniform. I purchased these along with other fancy looking buttons that came in a ziploc bag from a Michael's craft store.


Conclusion
I can see why this pattern has many reviews! The shirt provides a flattering silhouette once you figure out fitting issues. Next time, I'll abandon the collar.



For some reason, I am having a vision of the King in his iconic eagle jumpsuit! It must be the upright collar, huge cuffs, and v-neck.



Maybe I'm paying a subliminal tribute to his 70's style along with Prince in all his purple glory. Strange.

Although the pattern envelope is marked "easy", it is easy to sew, but not quick. I spent the same amount with this "easy" pattern (maybe even more) as with those that have no rating! I still recommend this patten.