I have had a shirt in progress for a few weeks, and recently it reached completion.
I bought this handwoven cotton at Beautiful Silks in Melbourne some time ago. It takes quite some skill to go into that treasure trove of beauty and colour and come out with something so plain (and not made of silk), but apparently that is one of my superpowers. I didn’t have quite enough for all the pattern pieces, so used some scraps from my skirt for the inside cuffs. I have made this shirt in order to have more than one top that works with the skirt, so I think this is a great feature, rather than a flaw.
The pattern is Vogue 2592, purchased many years ago. I worked back through my records, such as they are, and found I first made it in red linen (it turned out to be stretch linen–which I did not appreciate in the shop at the time)–in 2004. I am still wearing that shirt with just one hand mend where the lower edge of the button band had come adrift. Turns out I am still wearing shirts I made as far back as 2002, though some have worn through or gone to other owners in that period .
The buttons came into my stash from the op shop.
Not only had they been saved from a shirt that has presumably gone to become rag, but they had been lovingly stitched onto recycled card. I think the women who tend the Save the Children op shop on Goodwood Road must have been responsible for this thorough act of rescue. The craft supplies section of their shop is organised and priced by people who know what they are dealing with and who value recycling.
I appreciate their efforts. I didn’t have enough of these buttons for the cuffs, but it’s likely no one will ever notice that the cuffs have round buttons unless one of us tells them…
I ran out of thread just about buttonholing time and so had an unexpected trip for more thread. In case anyone from southern Adelaide is reading (I know there are a few!)… only blocks from Spotlight Melrose Park (near Castle Plaza) and just off South Road is the independently owned Tricia’s Discount Fabrics.
In case you don’t know it and want to–Tricia has been running this shop a very long time. It no longer focuses on dancewear and knits (though there are neon and metallic look knits and chiffon to be had). Instead she caters to quilters as a priority, though there are plenty of other fabrics too. She has a gigantic range, far bigger than Spotlight or Lincraft (these are our ‘big box’ stores, if you’re reading in North America). She’s in an old industrial building, one of several she has occupied over the years, with a suitably glamourous entry:
She also has a huge range of notions and quilting gear, quilting books and thread. She rivals any quilting shop I’ve been into in our city for range but without associated glamour. And she gave no glimmer of a frown when I just purchased my reel of thread. She is knowledgeable and I live in hope her conditions of work and pay are a whole lot better than those notorious at Spotlight. I guarantee the queue is a lot shorter!
Local & Bespoke 