Silk minimal waste buttonup
I moved last week. But the week prior, I still decided to sign up for my first ever pattern test because Maja Stabel and the rest of the zero waste innovators out there always get me so excited, and it’s a community I really want to support in every way possible.
Now, Maja’s Stella Shirt is only available in Norwegian for now, but that shouldn’t stop you. I ran into only a couple tiny issues with mine due to some graphics and text not quite aligning in what they seemed to indicate, but Maja fixed that in the final pattern and looking at the diagram, it makes sense. She is going to come out with an English version, but if the design/concept grabs you, I think it’s well within reach of any reasonably experienced seamstress to get through in another language!
This pattern, like all of Maja’s that I’ve encountered, isn’t a printable, it’s a measure-on-your-fabric situation. Which is very slick when you’re sewing on a deadline.
Where my finished shirt differs from the finished pattern is the dart placement. Actually, I messed up in a big way that has nothing to do with the pattern - I only inserted one dart. And, as I understand it, the dart take up should actually be larger than what I did. NEVERTHELESS. My dart, such as it is, comes out of the armhole rather than being placed in the body. All of these issues generally get dealt with by the fold it in half and sew it together up to the required length for armholes instructions, so it ends up being fine and possibly a technique advantage for doing your own thing. Thanks to the generous fit, I’m not too bothered by the mismatched darts, which is good because I do not feel like unpicking this delicate silk would be a great idea.
That actually brings up the fabric - i say it’s silk based on a burn test that smelt of burnt hair, but I’m no burn test expert, so. It’s actually kind of special fabric, my first (real - i’ve made on mask with some adorable pink gingham i have designs on making into a two piece dress) project from my abuela’s fabric stash, only discovered by my parents this pandemic. And I’ve used almost all of it up in this project, which is a treat. Minimal waste design appealed to me for this since it is one of those things that I wanted to really really use up, and while I was thinking something with drape was called for, buttonups will always be the thing i wear the most.
I used scraps for the interfacing and rayon bias from the thrift store for the neckline. Buttons are also a thrift find from sometime. Buttonholes are of wildly varying quality, due entirely to me being inconsistent. I did back them all with tissue paper for sewing and that helped a bunch, but just look at this gallery of buttons: some just lovely and fine, some just so wildly wonky. Good thing they’re just buttonholes. Gotta find my automatic buttonholer or just use mom’s machine for these!!
To use up the fabric from where the neckline is cut open, I made little tabs for rolling up the sleeves. This I did just by cutting the oval in half, folding each piece on themselves and sewing with a scant 1/4” seam, turning and pressing. Then attached by hand. The button didn’t get interfaced as with the seam allowance and layers of the tabs, I hoped it would be stable enough. Not a particularly high-strain area.
Oh! The sideseam features my spoonflower-printed “bespoke/victoria” tag ^_^
Fabric: silk from my abuela’s stash
Pattern: Maja Stabel Stella Skjorte/Shirt
Size: M
My Measurements: 92 cm bust
Next time: I’ll pay a bit more attention to sewing darts?? But actually with the easy fit and good match for fabric I don’t have major notes.
