plaid Archives - Sew Wrong

Lucinda December 30, 2013

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.

Oh hey there, pretty perfect collar stand #grungesewalong #archershirt #grainlineatudio

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.

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Lucinda November 4, 2013

On My Sewing Table – Plaid Archer [Grunge Sew-a-Long]

Matching plaids like a boss #grungesewalong

I’m conquering two of my biggest fears/challenges this month: matching up plaids (eek) and sewing another button-down shirt with a collar stand (double eek). I had three yards of this red cotton plaid flannel hanging out in my stash for the past two years, thinking that I would make a cape from it (hello costume, I don’t think so) or maybe a dress (again…no). Funny enough, when I decided to throw caution to the wind and cut out the plaid to make another Archer, there was conversation on Twitter about November being a Grunge Sew-a-Long month. Perfect timing! I think the Archer pattern is a great pattern to pair with plaid – it has a loose, but not too loose fit, and I think it’ll look adorable with skinny black pants and boots (not leggings, please, because leggings are NOT pants. That’s your public service announcement for today).

Thanks to Lauren’s tutorial, I feel like I’m matching up plaids like a boss so far:

I was freaking ecstatic when I tried this on and saw the plaids matching up perfectly! Sadly, I don’t think I cut the sleeves out correctly so they don’t match at the underarm seam, but I’m really happy how this is turning out so far. Just cross your fingers for me, I’m about to tackle that collar…

Oh, if you want to participate in the Grunge Sew-a-Long this month, post your finished projects in the Sewcialists Flickr group.

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Lucinda October 20, 2012

Saturday Stitching

My sister couldn’t make it up for the sister-weekend we’ve been planning (she’s been really sick for the past three weeks), so I started making my Halloween costume this afternoon. If you haven’t seen my Twitter updates, I’m going as a zombie housewife this year and my boyfriend is going as a zombie survivor (he bought a cowboy hat and shotgun a la The Walking Dead).

The skirt is a simple circle skirt pattern but it’s my first time sewing with plaid, eek! I’m pretty happy with how it turned out even though the alignment of the intersections isn’t exactly perfect…I think I had some issues with the fabric being off grain when I cut out the pattern pieces. All that’s left is the hem and some hand-stitching inside. See that green? That’s a grosgrain ribbon waistband technique that I tried out from Claire Shaeffer’s Couture Sewing Techniques (psst it’s the October book for the Sewing Book Club).

Ok, now I need to finish that Carnac sweater! Happy crafting!