A couple of years ago I was one of many sewists who bought Named Clothing’s book ‘Breaking The Pattern’ and my 2019 #makenine contained a tongue-in-cheek pledge to sew everything in that book.

While I didn’t complete that pledge, I did sew several of the items from that book including two Ruska knot dresses, a Ruska knot t-shirt, a Solina dress, the Halla coat, the Sade blouse and the Rae pants. I’ve just reprised my love for everything in this book by completing the Saraste shirt, the very neat button-down shirt with a stand collar which has an interesting feature of open vents in the shoulders.

I used cotton poplin which I received from Minerva in my role as a brand ambassador, perfect for a shirt pattern.

Using the book again reminded me that while I’m besotted with the patterns, there were a few issues with using the book. I’m not a great lover of tracing patterns so I was really pleased that you can download them as PDFs with a code you can get when you buy the book. So I printed out my patterns rather than having to trace, which I much prefer and using my now favoured newsprint for my patterns it means that they fold away more nicely than the stiff printer paper that you would normally use.

I don’t really like having to flip back to instructions for another garment halfway through the process. I’ve always thought that this is something that makes this book less accessible for inexperienced sewists.  I found the shirt very easy to put together because I’m an experienced seamstress but even I found the flipping back and forth quite frustrating and you just don’t need the distraction, that’s how mistakes happen.

That aside, the well-drafted pattern and the fabric turned out really nicely. I decided to do the collar first as I was impatient to see it made up and then I completed the shirt. The vents were a little bit challenging – both getting the gap even and the length matching but they worked out in the end and the rest came together really easily.

Notes that I have made for any future versions would be about the fit; I did a bit of a cheat’s FBA and added a centimetre in the princess seams because my previous Ruska dresses were definitely a bit close-fitting around the bosom.  In addition to that, I need to look at a swayback adjustment as I think I need a bit more room in the back. I also felt the sleeves were a tad short which was a surprise considering Named state that their patterns are drafted for a taller woman but obviously not a long-limbed one.

My finished object I think is really delightful, I love the collar and I am again pleasantly surprised as I usually I don’t like things that hide what neck I’ve got. I love the fabric and I love the shape of the blouse and I think they both combined to make this turn out fabulously. I’m going to wear it a bit to decide whether the vents are comfortable and make a decision for my next one.

Who is still working through Breaking the Pattern? What’s your next make going to be?

Thanks for dropping by,