Pleats & Pockets -- Butterick 6459 & 6461

Nothing like a new shirt and pant to welcome Spring!

Even with the wet and gray

weather we've been experiencing

here in the northwest,

sewing with lighter colors and florals

brings on a smile.

Butterick 6461 Pockets Pant, cropped version.

Reminds me of what's to come --

flowers and sunshine.

Keep an eye on marcytilton.com 

for the great stretch wovens Marcy offers.

Butterick 6461 Pockets Pant.

The pants have two deep pockets

on the front leg which add a nice design detail
along with some practicality.
An extra deep hem
offers the versatility to wear the pant long
or to roll up the finished hem for a cropped look.

This top can be worn as both 

a shirt and a jacket.

Butterick 6459 Pleatback Shirt or Jacket.

It works alone as a shirt or as a 
jacket layering piece over a tank or T.

Butterick 6459 Pleatback Shirt or Jacket.

A multi-colored version was created

using different patterned taffetas. 

Pre-washed taffetas waiting to be pressed.

Washing softens the taffeta 

and pressing readies it for cutting.

Taffeta version of Butterick 6458.

Four different taffetas

were used in this version.

Buttons are vintage.

Fabric swatches on pattern pieces.

Always look for balance and harmony

in the design. 

One way to do this

is by shifting swatches around

on the pattern pieces.

Work with one side of the pattern

and then the other
when making design decisions.

In the photo above each pattern piece is ready 
to be cut singly in two different fabrics,
one for the left side and one for the right.

Curving pleats enhance the back.

 Pleats are marked on the inside 

& stitched to the outside.

I like to begin by stitching up every other pleat.

Then finish stitching 
the remainder of the pleats and press.

The yoke was cut double so there would be
more contrast fabric by the face.

The center front facing was trimmed off 
and tucked up under the the yoke lining/facing.

The yoke lining/facing pinned
and ready to be slip-stitched in place.

The yoke and collar crush softly around the face.

Pleats in the back yoke 
repeat the design element
and can be pressed up or down.

Back of the taffeta version.

Butterick 6459 (ignore what it says on the photo).

Happy Sewing!

Butterick 6325 -- A Sweet Shirt

Butterick 6325

Totally into shirts these days -- 

must be Spring! 

Perfect weather here in southwest Oregon 

and the Bernina has been stitching up 

some fun versions of Butterick 6325.
This chic version of a classic shirt
has a pleated collar, 
asymmetrical pleat on right front and back
and asymmetrical hem with layered peplum.
This simple to sew pattern
lends itself to many design iterations
and the envelope contains both
 long and short versions.
All shirts shown are long.

Version 1 - pieced in cotton

This version is made up of 

three different Japanese cottons from marcytilton.com. 

Pre-washed in my usual cavalier fashion 

-- a quick wash and a toss in the dryer, 

then to the ironing board.

The fun part is figuring out what goes where.   

Placement is pondered 

but frequently the size of the remnant 

determines what happens with it.

In this version a seam was created

on the left back side to utilize

a piece of the pale green.

It was needed to balance the sleeve 

and underside of the collar.

Underside of collar

The under collar was pieced,

using the selvedge edge as an overlap.

It's such a joy using the selvedge edge 

of these beautiful Japanese cottons

as they frequently have words printed on them.

The selvedge edge was used

for the sleeve 'hems' on this shirt and

French seams keep the look tidy

when the sleeves are rolled up.

Version 2 -- in striped rayon

Into loving blue these days.

Certain blues are known in the trade 
as being 'denim friendly'

 (I'm such a jeans girl).

Version 3 -- an irregularly dyed rayon and linen blend

When washed and dried this fabric

softened but kept its body.

Sewed up like a dream.

I used the selvedge again,

as sleeve edges, as the 'hem' edge

on the peplum panels

and as trim on the collar.

Collar detail with selvedge accent

Front of collar with selvedge detail

The pattern piece for the under collar was cut double 
and used for the top collar as well, 
eliminating the pleats.
The selvedge trim's length was determined
by what scraps of selvedge were left.
Edges that would show were hemmed
and pinned randomly to the collar,
folded a bit for interest
and then stitched into the collar seam.
(After stitching up six plus

shirts I am ready for some variations!)

Here you can see the back pleat and peplum detail

Then there's the question of fabric.
Butterick 6325 is perfect for linen
(mid to lightweight), cottons and
other wovens with or without stretch.
All the fabric is from marcytilton.com.

Now about the yardage and layout...
The back piece of this pattern is asymmetrical
and wider at the hem which means 
it's an ample pattern piece,
more so in the larger sizes.
The pattern envelope only notes yardage for 60" fabric.
If you look online you can find many
fabric conversion charts which will help
knowing how much to buy.

There are several solutions to the layout of the fabric.
The Japanese cottons are narrow
which is one reason a back seam was added.
Add a back seam or on a firm woven 
the back can be cut on the crossgrain.

Still openings in our ParisTilton tour
in May and November
if you want to join us!

Happy sewing!!!