French Navy Patterns Belinda Button Up Shirt

It appears that I've been in a shirt making mood of late so, hot on the heels of my recent Belle shirt, here's my version of the French Navy Patterns Belinda Button Up Shirt.

The Belinda Button Up is a long-sleeved shirt with collar and cuff options. View A has a neat, narrow collar and plain cuffs, while view B has a rounded ruffled collar and ruffled sleeve cuffs. Both versions feature a breast pocket. For my Belinda, I used the plain cuffs of view A, the ruffled collar of view B and omitted the breast pocket.

The pattern is sized for bust measurements from 31.5" to 59.5" and hips from 34.5" to 62.5".

As with all collared and cuffed shirt patterns, the Belinda is a slightly involved project that takes a bit of time. I enjoyed working through the steps gradually and didn't find any of the individual processes particularly complicated. The instructions were really good and explained everything with a good level of detail, and they're accompanied by clear diagrams.

Admittedly, I have made a few shirts in the past so there wasn't anything unfamiliar to me, but even if this had been my first attempt at a shirt I think the instructions are good enough to ensure that sewing the Belinda would be a fairly smooth experience.

My (high/full) bust/waist/hip measurements vary between a size E and F and halfway between the two. Having looked at the finished garment measurements, I decided to make a straight size E for my toile and go from there. That was mainly because my high bust is the right measurement for the E so I thought that would hopefully mean the shoulders/neck should fit.

My toile turned out nicely and the only fit adjustment I made was to lengthen the shirt by 3 cm, which is a standard alteration for me (I'm about 5'9"). I also used an extra button, partly because I'd lengthened the shirt and partly because I always position a buttonhole at my bust point to try to prevent gaping and I needed an extra button to make even spacing work around that.

The fabric that I used is a floral cotton poplin that I bought locally from a shop that doesn't have it available online. It's a pretty print and I think the fabric works really well for this shirt.

I really enjoyed sewing my Belinda Button Up shirt, and I think it turned out nicely. I particularly like the ruffle collar - it's cute without being twee, and gives the shirt a bit of a distinctive character. I could definitely see myself sewing this pattern again, and that's always a good verdict isn't it?!

Peppermint x Modern Sewing Co Belle Blouse

Every now and then I like to get my teeth into a slightly more involved sewing project, and shirts are often top of the list. Especially if those shirts happen to have some interesting details to make them a bit unique. The Belle shirt, which was recently released by Peppermint magazine in collaboration with Modern Sewing Co., definitely fits that description!

The Belle shirt is a relaxed fit blouse with a slightly A-line shape. It has a dropped front collar and voluminous sleeves that are gathered into the sleeve cuff. The pattern has shirt and dress options.

The pattern is drafted for a C cup and 5'8" height. The size range covers bust measurements from 29.5" to 55.5" and hip sizes from 32.7" to 58.7".

I enjoyed sewing my Belle shirt, and the instructions were generally very good. They give you a good level of detail and are accompanied by clear diagrams. I like the fact that they result in a nice neat finish on the inside. All the seams apart from the armholes are French seamed, the edge of the facing is hemmed, and the back facing is top-stitched down from the outside to keep it in place.

I will say that I noticed a few oversights/errors in the instructions, which I emailed Peppermint magazine about. I received a reply very quickly saying that they're in the process of correcting them. The issues didn't cause me any major problems (they were more obvious omissions or typos rather than anything being incorrect) and because of that and the fact they're being fixed, I won't go into too much detail. The only thing I will say (because it might be helpful for someone buying supplies for the shirt) is that the pattern actually calls for 7 buttons for the shirt and 9 for the dress - the supplies list in my version of the instructions says 5 and 7 respectively.

It seems a bit strange to me that the pattern includes a dress option, but that's not shown on any of the photos or line drawings. In case you're interested in that option, the dress is a lengthened version of the shirt (i.e. there's not a separate skirt piece), and I think it would be a fairly short dress. For my size, the dress is 22.5 cm longer than the shirt, so it would definitely be well above knee length.

My measurements put me pretty much exactly half way between a size F and G. I consulted the finished garment measurements and decided to try a straight size F. This worked well for my toile and I made my finished shirt with no fit adjustments. As the pattern is drafted for 5'8" height, I didn't even have to lengthen it - hurrah!

The only alteration I made was to change the button spacing so that I have a button positioned at my bust point to prevent gaping. To get a sensible spacing around that point, I've also used more buttons than the pattern calls for.

The fabric I used is a fruit print cotton (with added glitter!) that I bought from Simple Life Fabrics. It's in their bargain section, and at £5.60 per metre it really is a bargain! It's also great quality, was a pleasure to sew and is lovely to wear. It's a great fabric for a shirt.

All in all, I'm really happy with my Belle shirt. Yes, there were a couple of issues with the instructions, but they've been recognised and they're being fixed. I enjoyed sewing the Belle and I'm pleased with the end result. I particularly like the collar and the full sleeves. I think it'll be great to wear with dungarees this autumn!