JJ the third

Newest JJ... still slight puddling at the back.

Almost done with this pattern? Well, almost. Sorta. I still haven’t *nailed* it yet, although this version was a lot closer. At least in terms of construction.

Black JJ with silver buttons.

I added 1 cm to each centre front piece this time, in an attempt to avoid the bust gape and get the front princess seam falling in a slightly better place (it tended to fall inside my bust point, which is not quite right). This accomplished my aim, but at the expense of some fit; the side seams were edging back and the whole thing was quite big when I tried it on, and the side-seams were riding a little far back. I took the side-seams in (curving from very little at top and bottom to 1.5 cm at thewaist, and I could have taken it in more… there’s probably still about 2 cm of extra ease. Apparently what I needed wasn’t extra room along the whole front, but just at the bust. So I guess I should take 1 cm off the side front (to match the 1 cm I added to the front) and then do a small full bust adjustment (!!! me!!!). Who’d’a thunk? And probably shorten the waist a cm or 2, which I think would get rid of the last of the back puddling.

Black JJ---Back

Construction-wise, however, this shirt is a thing of beauty. The fabric is 100% cotton with a subtle woven-in stripe that looks like cross-stich up close (I adore it… and I have lots more!) and it was delightful to work with. I actually got the collar attached properly (meeting, not overlapping) at the centre front) and neatly. I made one more slight alteration to the ruffles, tapering them at the ends, and I like the effect very much. I think I could still narrow them slightly… they seemed perfect on the sheer blouse, but a little big still on this one, maybe because the fabric is heavier? I bit the bullet and hand-finished the inside of the collar and sleeve cuffs, and hand-rolled the bottom hem, and if I get really ambitious I’ll overcast the raw edges on the inside. The machine did manage to make a disaster of the bottom buttonhole, but the others are perfect. I adore my little silver buttons.

Work it, work it!

I could spend a lot more time dissecting the shirt,but really, I’m pretty darn happy with it. I can still see myself making one more version of this shirt (in opaque white)… but maybe I’ll have to change it up with the ruffles or something. And then figure out a long-sleeved version for winter…

(An interesting aside… as a smaller-busted girl, I have spent the last ten years or so largely braless aside from nursing and athletics, once I got over the excitement of actually getting to wear a bra and realized that most of them didn’t fit very well and weren’t comfy. This doesn’t bother me in the least… but with the addition of a couple of non-stretch JJ blouses to my wardrobe, I realized something. My usual staple tops are snug knits. These actually provide a bit of support in and of themselves. Not much, but enough to feel… comfortable. Without that, in these woven blouses… well, a bra just feels welcome. Interesting. no?)

Low camera angles courtesy of my mini-tabletop tripod.