The Kid was in the studio the other day and since I had my sewing machines out, he decided that mom absolutely had to make something for him (it must be nice to have a personal wardrobe maker on command?!). After a quick 15 minute websearch, we stumbled upon Dans La Lune’s Cotton Shirt pattern (she also has an etsy shop). The pattern is designed specially for woven materials, and seemed easy enough to whip up. Sewing with the Kid generally means straightforward, easy designs that don’t require too much fussing around.
Dans La Lune patterns make things simple. Unlike a lot of U.S. patterns, Dans La Lune patterns are sold by the size (she also offers special pricing for buying 3 sizes of the same pattern) and her patterns show both the sew line as well as the cut line (includes seam allowance) — a practice that is very much appreciated by yours truly, as seeing 16 different sizes all at once on one pattern has somewhat of a miasmic effect on me.
Being unfamiliar, with Yasuko’s patterns, I selected a 6, which is one size larger than what the Kid would typically wear. It’s also the reason why you don’t see the Kid modeling said shirt. It’s just a bit too big on him. Maybe next year. Based on this, I’d say that Dans La Lune patterns are quite true to size — I can tell you more definitively, once I get around to sewing the size 5.
In general, the pattern is very straightforward to sew, and her instructions are written clearly. As a point of interest, her sleeves feature a European cut, where the back and front of the sleeves have a different slope. More about these type sleeves here.
On the fabric front, the Kid is rather fond of double gauze. We selected Kokka’s Boston Terrier design paired with Tiny Gingham (for the trim) in Nite. I also found this water soluble glue pen quite handy — it held the two layers of double gauze fabric together in some tricky parts better than pins. With some supervision from the Kid, I was able to sew the pattern together in under an hour (after all the pieces had been cut).
Next on the docket, I’ve got her Jinbei pattern all cut and ready to sew . . .
Can I be “the kid”, can I, can I?
LOL! One of quite enough for me 🙂