Simplicity 2255, or ‘the comfiest shirt in the world’

Sorry it’s been a little quiet on the western front but I have been sewing, I promise – I even finished another make! Last Sunday I finished making Simplicity 2255 in an Indian print cotton voile and it’s basically the comfiest thing ever.

I’d seen a girl at work wearing a sleeveless Indian print shirt and thought to myself “I need it“. As I have this knack of liking something someone is wearing only to find out once I’ve asked where they got it that is years old, which only reaffirms that in am the least on-trend person on the planet. This time I decided to cut out the middle man of disappointment and decided to make my own!

Now, you would think picking a sleeveless shirt pattern would be simple but it was surprisingly difficult! Some were too formal, some too shapeless and some were too frilly. After a few weeks of deliberation I settled on Simplicity 2255 because it had the shape I thought would work best on me as well as couple of nice variations for future versions (I like buying patterns with lots of options so I can get my moneys worth!).

I made a toile, cutting a 16 based on measurements and I finally did my very first Full Bust Adjustment! *fanfare* I used the method from Fit For Real People and it was so simple that I berated myself a little for being too damn lazy to have done it sooner. I increased the bust by an inch each side to allow room for the girls, and was surprised at how much of at difference it made. The fit is more comfortable, there’s no gaping at the arm hole and it just generally looks nicer than some of my RTW shirts. Ladies, don’t be put off by FBA’S as they are not complicated at all!

I also omitted the side tabs, graded in a little at the waist, graded out a little more at the hip, increased the width and length of the back darts to help get rid of some fabric pooling (still haven’t cracked the swayback issue yet) and curved the collar piece instead of having the square corners. I didn’t want it to be too figure hugging as the fabric is quite sheer, so I’m always going to layer this over a vest top.

The pattern went together really quickly although I was a little baffled at the collar construction – I’m used to making up the collar and then attaching, but this pattern has both construction and attaching at the same time, which is no more complicated than the other. I did however use an interfacing that was probably a little too heavy, but it was all I had and I was in the zone. Once I’d ironed it on to my button stand I was concerned it would be too stuff but actually now that I’ve worn it for a full day it’s fine. Although I know how to make bias strips, it can be quite time consuming so I wanted a quicker method so I could neatly bind the armholes – I remembered reading a tutorial on makery.uk and it’s so much easier! I used my normal scissors but I am considering buying a rotary cutter just for speed when cutting. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I’m really pleased with how it turned up as it’s soooo comfortable to wear! The fabric is from the Fancy Silk Store in Birmingham at £8 per metre. I only picked up 1 metre but at 150cm wide it wasn’t too much of a squeeze to fit it all on. For my next one I’ll make it a bit shorter as this feels almost a little too long on my 5ft 2 and 3 quarters frame (short people problems). Simplicity currently have a half price sale so if you can I recommend picking up a copy of this pattern as it’s a great staple pattern for any wardrobe.

In other news I’ve finished my Refashioners project (soon to be blogged) and eaten too many sweets so it’s been a good day! Tomorrow I’m going to finally make a