October 2019 | Mismatched Buttons (A Monthly Journal)

After the relaxing vibes of September, October ramped up again with a spot more pressure sewing, this time in the form of an invitation to a quick-turn-around wedding. But after Frocktails, I’m well-versed at deadline sewing, and was pretty chuffed with my final outfit! However, October started calmly enough, with a return to what’s become a familiar friend…

Another Month, Another Kalle

If you follow this ol’ blog regularly, you’ll be justified in feeling like the content is getting quite repetitive, with a third cropped Kalle Shirt in just a few months. I mean, I know I am! In fact, my original plans for October included no fewer than three linen Kalles and two pairs of Philippa Pants by Anna Allan Patterns.

Although that full complement of Kalles didn’t eventuate however, like a friend with a new crush, you’ll have to put up with me regaling you with Kalle’s many wonderful traits just a little more.

(To avoid going over the same territory too much, though, I’ll just turn you in the direction of these two other posts—don’t get up, I can just swivel your chair around—to give you a recap on my thoughts about the Kalle Shirt Dress Pattern by Closet Case Patterns. My sunny double gauze version is over here, and my saturnine green smoke linen version is right here.

For this second linen Kalle, I used the Bone mid-weight linen from The Fabric Store. I chose to do an exposed button placket this time, to show off these adorable bamboo buttons by Arrow Mountain. Run by Ho-mei out of Melbourne, Australia, this Etsy shop is a treasure-trove of beautifully-designed buttons, badges and notions. I’m a particular fan of her bamboo sewing gauge, and have a stockpile of her buttons ready for the perfect project. The Fabric Store’s bone mid-weight linen teamed with these funky lil’ Four Hole Shirt Buttons seemed like just such a match.

This time, I sewed a full collar instead of the band collar I have been using, a style I’ve been rather reluctant to return to after being forced into white button-up shirts with neck-ties for all of my schooling. I really struggled to see passed that grumpy school kid, trussed up in a much-loathed uniform. But I felt like I could trust this shirt pattern to help me get beyond that hangup. And while I reach for this Kalle less often than I do my others, it has helped a lot to make the style much more anodyne for me. I can look at myself in the shirt—whether in photos or in the mirror—and definitively say that I had forgotten that school-girl association until I sat down to write this post, and I think that’s a big win.

One of the things I find hugely beneficial about posting photos of me wearing my makes on Instagram and in this blog, is that I have a generally better outlook on my looks. Admittedly, I choose to exclusively post photos that I feel positive about—I like the way I look, or I’m goofy in a way that makes me smile, or I think the outfit I’ve put together looks great—and I won’t resile from doing that because it’s helped me build my confidence. And it’s been the case that seeing myself in this Kalle in photos that I feel positive about has reframed my feelings about the shirt style over all. Do I see more button up shirts in my future, dear reader? Hell, yeah!

But maybe, in the name of variety, I’ll try a different pattern next time :-D

Evie Scoutfit for a Spring Wedding

Given how accidentally well the fabrics ended up working with each other, I decided for the October wedding Scoutfit to use the remnants of both my 2018 and 2019 Frocktails dresses. (You can see 2018’s frock here, and 2019’s frock here.) The silk crepe de chine from 2018 is still one of my all-time favourite fabrics, and I love the drape of the satin twill I used for 2019. To showcase the fabrics, and also to not overwhelm myself with too much sewing for the month, I picked two simple patterns that ended up working together beautifully.

For the top, I selected that perennial darling of the sewing world, the Scout Woven Tee by Grainline Studio. This is such a versatile pattern, lending itself perfectly to both casual and lux fabrics. The scoop of the neckline is nicely balanced—not too high nor too low—and the sleeves are a just-right length for me. I made a size 10 and the only modification to the pattern was I shortened it at the shorten/lengthen line by 3 inches. I love a French seam so, as with many of my makes, I Frenched the Scout’s seam, making for some lovely guts.

To compliment the Scout, I used the Evie Bias Skirt by Tessuti Patterns. I cut a size 12 with no modifications. I was pretty nervous about branching into wearing anything bias-cut, having in the past comprehensively internalised the myth that only women “of a certain size’ should dare tread into bias-cut clothing, but PISH to all that, I say! As far as the sewing went, I really didn’t do a great job. I’ve never sewn anything on the bias before and, ordinarily, I would have taken the time to research techniques, including how best to French seams when working with bias cut, misbehaving, slippery satin twill.

As it was, though, in my haste to get the skirt finished I forged ahead unthinkingly only to stumble into a series annoying problems en route. Although one side seam sits flat, the other bubbles in a slightly annoying manner, and I really made an absolute dog’s breakfast of the waistband. It doesn’t look to bad from the outside, but the guts are a bit of a disaster. At the moment Evie is in my pile of mending, as I would like to readdress that waistband.

But…

But… What a match!

I am so thrilled with how this outfit turned out! I love the swishiness of Evie: the way it swings and moves as I walk about it something seriously special. And I adore my Scout! Its in super-high rotation in my wardrobe: even though the pattern is very simple, having it made in such a beautiful, luxury fabric is a quick way to elevate jeans to something much dressier. Although I don’t have plans for more Evies (one bias-cut skirt might be all my wardrobe needs) I am dead-keen to make more silk Scout Tees.

But What About Philippa?

—I hear you ask. Don’t fret, dear reader! She was not forgotten amongst the excitement of Kalles and Evies and Scouts. I did manage to get a pair cut out from the left-over duck cotton canvas I made my Persephones out of, but more about that anon…