Bonn Shirt

I made a shirt.  I've been eyeing the Bonn Shirt pattern (affiliate link) since it came out, and I finally bought the PDF a couple of weeks ago.  I love everything about this pattern - the shape of the open neckline, the mandarin collar, and the shirt-tail hem.

Based on my current 41-35-44 measurements and knowing that my shoulder size is always a bit smaller than my bust size, I chose a size 10DD graded to a 12 waist and a 14 hip.

I didn't muslin this one.  I pinned the dart closed on the pattern piece, pinned the shoulder seams together, and laid it over my body.  It seemed as though the dart would be in the right place (or at least close enough), and that I was definitely going to need a forward shoulder adjustment.  I eye-balled it the forward shoulder adjustment at 5/8", but when I was done sewing I realized that I only drew the line on my front pattern piece, and forgot to actually remove the resulting triangle.  As a result, the front shoulder is too long and it still migrates backwards a bit.

Obviously, I should have made a muslin.

I also knew that I was going to have to do a full bicep adjustment on the sleeve (something I've never successfully done before), so I measured my arm and the pattern piece and used this tutorial to figure out the rest.  I ended up doing a 1.5" adjustment to the size 10 sleeve.

I am 5'8", so I lengthened the top 1.5".  I did end up shortening the shirt in front before I hemmed it (but this was probably also because of the way I messed up the shoulder adjustment).  I'm really quite happy with the fit, aside from the shoulder issue, though you can see in this photo that the dart isn't quite in the right place - the dart point is right on top of my bust apex, and the dart needs to be moved down about an inch.  I've made adjustments on my pattern piece to fix this for next time.

The fabric is a gorgeous linen I bought from Fabric Mart three years ago.  Those of you who know Fabric Mart know that, if you wait a few days, whatever you have your eye on will go on sale.  This is a rare fabric that I bought at full price because I was afraid it was going to sell out before the next sale.  I used some of it to make a dress for Z last year, and this shirt took out the rest of the cut.  And I feel completely satisfied with that - it's like the fabric met its perfect destiny in this pattern.

I think this shirt will get a workout with my skinny jeans, but I also wore it yesterday with a skirt, and I like it with shorts as well.  I don't know why I waited so long to buy this pattern, but I know I'll be using it again and again.  As with the other Itch to Stitch patterns I have tried, the drafting and instructions are very good.

See you next time!
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