Finished Project: Plaid Archer Shirt [Grainline Studios]

Pattern: Archer by Grainline Studio
Fabric: cotton flannel from stash (bought at Joann Fabrics a few years ago)
Size: 2 graded to a 4 at hips
Snaps: Dritz

Jeans: Michael Kors

Well, I think I successfully used my new camera remote for these pictures!  It was a little tricky, especially with the late winter afternoon lighting, but I’ll get the hang of it.  I’m just glad I finally got pictures of my Archer, because:

I really wanted a plaid Archer shirt after seeing Lauren’s awesome Lumberjack (or Lumberjane?) Plaid Archer on her blog.  Let’s be real: plaids scared the crap out of me before I attempted this shirt, and to try to match them up not just at the side seams but also at the front?  Getouttahere.  But her tutorial was awesome on how to cut out plaids and I owned this plaid LIKE A BOSS.

I think the trick is to really take your time and breathe when cutting out plaid.  Oh, and cutting out the pieces on a single layer really helps as well.  Being that this fabric is flannel, which can be tricksy and shifty, added another dimension of difficulty to cutting this out, but after the pieces were prepped it was smooth sailing with the sewing.

I will always use Andrea’s tutorial on collar stands from now on.  Andrea, you rock!!  This shirt would not have been a success without your awesome step-by-step instructions.  Muah!

I have the sleeves rolled up in the other photos because I haven’t installed the snaps yet on the cuffs!  This was the first time I tried using snaps as a closure on a garment, and while it’s super-fun to rip off my shirt Hulk-style, they kind of were a pain to install properly.  I had the handy Dritz pliers, too, and I kept screwing up snap after snap, so I gave up on the cuffs.  I probably won’t use snaps again, but it’s something I can at least say that I tried – I didn’t find them easier to do than buttons.

The bias cut pieces were another key part of plaid success.  Certain pieces, like the yoke and pocket, would be a bitch to cut out and match up, so I cut those two pieces as well as the button-band on the bias.  It broke up the striping of the plaids and added interest, and forget trying to get all that stuff matched up.

I absolutely love this shirt and have worn it several times since I finished it around Thanksgiving.  Maybe I’ll make a striped one now?  But it’s a definite: I never need to buy a slouchy J Crew button-down ever again.  Look out, 2014: there’s a boat-load of Archers headed your way.