Stretch & Sew 1568 - Oxford Blouse

As you know from prior posts, I had ordered some clearance denim from Fabric.com but didn’t end up with it. Yeah, I still bummed but it wasn’t a total loss as I had also ordered a few other fabrics to meet the free shipping minimum.

This white polyester was one of those other fabrics. It is nasty! I figured it would be, but at $1.95/yd. I also knew that the intimidation factor would disappear when trying out view C of this Stretch & Sew pattern from 1982.

Before I started, I compared my Bernina My Label shirt pattern to it.  Other than lengthening the body and shortening the sleeves, the patterns were similar in size.  However, there are no bust or waistline darts on the Stretch & Sew pattern; also, the collar stand and collar are shorter. I like the smaller collar though the narrow stand was more difficult to sew at the center fronts.  The box pleat at the back yoke and the traditional sleeve plackets are classic shirt details that the My Label shirt lacks. I followed the instructions for the plackets and they turned out fine considering I hadn’t sewn this type of placket before and the polyester would not press into crisp points.

The sleeve cuffs, like the collar, are not as wide as the ones on my Eddie Bauer or My Label shirts.  I can live with that.  And, if I decide I can’t, it would be easy to merge the two patterns.

For buttons, I pulled some from the stash.  I chose these as the white buttons I have were too big or else had a yellow or gray cast to them.  These, at least, were the right size.

Other than the icky fabric, the styling of this shirt rivals the ones in my closet.  However, I’m thinking I need to figure this buttonhole thing out.  Since this shirt was an experiment, I decided it was an excellent opportunity to make friends (finally) with the Bernina 930 buttonholes.  I very carefully marked the shirt, using a fine point Mark-B-Gone pen, and sewed the buttonholes. Yes, they were quite easy to create but after taking a ruler to them, I find I have a variety of sizes…..

I’m sorry, but we’re still not friends and I’m confident that it is all my fault.  I haven’t given up, though I must admit that I’ve paid a visit to eBay and purchased a vintage Singer Professional Buttonholer for my Singer 403A.  What can I say?