The Sarah Shirt Sewing Pattern : My Ditsy Print

I received the Sarah Shirt sewing pattern for free. You may recall that I was involved with the #patternswap19 which was running on Instagram in June this year. See previous post here.

I swapped 4 of my unused sewing patterns and received 4 sewing patterns in return. Which, included this lovely pattern to which I had my eye on for quite some time.

What Fabric Did I Choose?

Well that was easy for me as I knew as soon as the pattern arrived on my doorstep it needed a ditsy print. I do love the charm and vintage feel you get from ditsy print fabrics. The little prints are just so adorable and I don’t think I have ever not liked a ditsy print pattern. There is a vast selection here at Minerva Crafts. They have an amazing selection to choose from.

I had this gorgeous Moda Fabrics, White Climbing Rose from The Windermere Collection by Brenda Riddle. Such a pretty print with its tiny pink and red rose buds wrapped with tiny green sprigs on a white background.

Buttons

The pattern stated that it required 10 – 15 buttons. I knew that I had to get the button choice right, as there were 10 buttons running down the front of the blouse.

As this fabric is quite a busy print, I knew I needed buttons that wouldn’t be swamped in amongst all this prettiness. I did intend to use Mother of Pearl buttons in the natural but they were just lost on the fabric. I then moved onto Mother of Pearl in a pink cerise shade thinking they would be a perfect match. But no they were completely off the mark.

Option 3 was to go for a plain white button perhaps with a fluted edge, or flower shape but I didn’t think they were right either. So I took myself off to my local haberdashery shop with a scrap of the fabric to see if I could find the right button.

This was my last ditch attempt, and if unsuccessful I was going to have to resort to some plain wooden buttons I had which would of been adequate. But I really wanted the button choice to be perfect, as I knew that this project was going to be so lovely when finished.

Thankfully I found these pretty red buttons and they were the perfect shade too. I was happy and I think it was worth searching for.

The Pattern

The Sarah Shirt pattern which is originally from the Simply Sewing Magazine included 2 options. Where you could mix and match two collar styles with 2 sleeve lengths.

I decided to go for the short-sleeved version with the shirt style colour. But you could also choose the long sleeve and also a Peter Pan style colour. The pattern came with quite a few sizes too. Ranging all the way from UK size 6 all the way up to UK size 20.

In the US the sizes range from size 2 right through to size 16. So there are plenty of sizes to choose from which is good. I fell in between a UK size 16 and a size 18 based on the measurements in the pattern. So I went for size 18 as I erred on the side of caution.

The Sarah shirt is quite a loose fitting drapey swing silhouette style which hangs just below the hips. The finished garment measurement is also bigger than the actual body measurements. Which means it has quite a bit of positive ease too. I love the swing style effect and the drape on this pattern.

I found the instructions fairly easy to follow. But I did struggle at times with the picture image instructions as they were on a dark fabric background. So I had to read the instructions a few times over, especially when attaching the collar.

I used my duckbill scissors to grade the seams around the blouse and collar seams to reduce the bulk. This made it easier when easing the lower part of the collar onto the blouse. It also helps to give a more professional finish too.

These scissors are amazing and perfect for this. See my previous post on what scissors to choose in dressmaking. If you haven’t got these I would highly recommend them. I purchased mine here on Amazon.

The collar did involve some hand stitching for the collar and obviously the buttons. I used a blind hem stitch for the under part of the collar which was fine for me. I do love a bit of hand stitching so found this part quite relaxing. I also opted to hand stitch the buttons in place rather than using the sewing machine.

If your fairly new to dressmaking you may need to practice your hand stitching beforehand.

The button holes were added without so much as a hitch, which I was really pleased about. All button holes lined up perfectly after the first attempt. Thank goodness my sewing machine was on its best behaviour as it may have been a different story.

Will I make It Again?

The Sarah Shirt sewing pattern was a really enjoyable make, so yes definitely without hesitation.

I plan to make the long sleeved version with the Peter Pan Collar and perhaps in a jersey fabric. I also have plans on making a collarless pattern hack version. Just so I can then wear my Crochet Peter Pan Collar with it too.

I also made a YouTube Vlog on how I made this pattern. I love chatting about my dressmaking plans and makes. Join me for sewing chatter and my pattern review. You can also find my Betty Blouse Sewing Vlog here too!

Hope you enjoyed my sewing pattern review and my version of The Sarah Shirt. If you were thinking of making it but still unsure then I hope I have inspired you.

Until the next time, happy sewing!

Jayne