{Sewaholic} Revisiting the Granville

It's no secret I love making shirts. Hell, if you've been following my sewing for a while, you might be sick and tired of being beaten over the head with my shirt making stick by now. I'm not even sorry. 😁

My relationship with shirts wasn't love at first project. My first ever shirt can only be described as a disaster. I didn't see it like that at the time and it's still in my wardrobe - even if I don't wear it. When I look at it now I find it quite endearing that past me thought it was good enough to wear out of the house. I will never get rid of my first Granville because that's the one that started my love of shirts. Apparently, I have a lot to say about revisiting this pattern so this is going to be a long and wordy one. If you don't care about shirts, move right along. No hard feelings. 😊

I love the fit and the shape of my first shirt. But because I had a nightmare with the collar stand, I've been putting off my second attempt for FOUR YEARS! A couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to try again. I was a little apprehensive because I was using a very special Merchant and Mills fabric for it (which unfortunately I can't find it on their website anymore) and I didn't want it to go wrong. But I decided I'd just go for it and see what happened.

So... The fabric. Ugh, it's soooooo lovely! It has a twill weave but I think it's been brushed or combed or blasted or something and it's very snuggly and soft, like a brushed cotton. The colour is gorgeous. It's a very rich indigo blue and it's the same on the reverse side.

The pattern is from Sewaholic. The company changed ownership a few years ago and has been pretty much dead in the water since then, despite early promises from the current owners that they'd continue to develop the brand. It's a shame because I love their patterns. They are drafted for a small bust/big hip shape and even though I don't fall in to that category, all of their patterns I've made have suited me fine. I made a size 6, same as before. Chart size measurements 33-27-39 (my measurements are 34-29-38), final garment measurements 37-33-42.

The first thing I had to do was work out why my sleeve tugged so hard on my arm when I stretched them forward. Even driving is a nightmare when I wear that original shirt. I had a good look at the fit. Everywhere I looked, it was suggested I needed a broad back or broad shoulder adjustment. However, my armhole seams looked to be in the right place, both on my back and at the top of my shoulders so I didn't think those adjustments were what I needed.

The only other option was a full bicep adjustment.  I read that you should allow yourself 1.5in-2.5in of ease on your upper arm for comfort. Upon measuring myself and comparing it to the pattern, I only had about an inch of ease so maybe that was what I needed to fix. I added 2cm to the upper arm of my sleeve, following the Fit For Real People instructions. It's a slash and spread method, very similar to  this one that Caroline once shared for my benefit. What I did differently was to mark the seam lines and use those as hinges instead of the edge of the pattern piece; that way there would be no changes to the length of the seam on the sleeve head. It worked a treat and I can move my arms forward now without cutting circulation to them! 🙌

The length of the arms on this shirt is a point of contention to a few people who have made it. I love a long sleeve. Like, really long. You can see in these photos that the sleeve cuffs hit way past my wrists and that is the perfect length for me, but a lot of people think it's far too long. Just something to be aware of.

The other adjustment I made was to shave off 1cm from the hem, at the sides, blending it back in to the waist curve. I did that on the front and the back, essentially taking a total of 4cm off the hips. The reason for that was that the 42in final hip measurement was far too wide for my 38inch hips and the shirt kicked out at the sides, almost like wings or a skirt or something. It's much better now.

The instructions are great. I think these are the best burrito method instructions I have come across, or maybe I'm that bit more experienced now and it just makes sense because I know where this is going. 

One note about the collar stand: this is by far the longest collar stand I've ever had to ease in. The instructions say to stay stitch the neckline and clip into it and this is a crucial step in order to make the stand fit. You REALLY need to clip that neck. Big time. Like, every 1cm or so. It's quite absurd but it gives you an exceptionally lovely collar. I must admit I don't know if they're related but I love the fit of this collar around my neck.

The whole shirt is flat felled because I wanted the inside to be clean. Including the sleeves which was a very stupid idea on such a fitted arm. To add to the stupidity, I insert all my sleeves flat, so that meant that the laws of Physics made it impossible for me to topstitch the sleeve in one go. I had to first work from the wrist to the elbow, then flip the shirt around and topstitch it from the hem to the elbow bit I'd reached previously. Not the best idea I've ever had.🤦‍♀️ But I can wear it inside out if I want to...

I wanted to use white topstitching thread because I thought it'd look great in contrast with the deep blue. At the same time, I didn't want to go overboard on the topstitching and make the shirt too casual and gaudy. To that end, the sleeve plackets, side and sleeve seams are done in regular thread. I think I managed to find a good balance. I love topstitching, but topstitching thread gives me nightmares sometimes so I was prepared to fully regret my decision to go with white on indigo. Luckily, I didn't really have any problems with this one, except for a bit around the arm at the back, which you can see below and I'm fine with.

The uber cute little matte metal buttons are from Textile Garden, ref TGB2734. They were made for this shirt!
I am over the moon to have remade this and that it's been a success. I've loved this shirt for so long and I'm pleased that I have finally nailed that collar stand and the fit so I can make loads more of it now. I have 2 Liberty versions planned for very soon.