Inspired by Sew Manju, I bought McCalls 7811. I have many shirt patterns but this one featured a princess seam in both front and back, which allows for fine-tuning of the fit.
I should have taken her lead and made an FBA but instead, I cut size 18 at the shoulders and armholes and sized out to give enough room over the tummy and hip area. My tummy is the fitting problem, it used to be the bust but time has changed things. Now I need that extra room over the expanding waistline and area just below it.
So the shirt was too tight to button in this area. Since the fabric was a very busy print, I figured I could add a wedge on both side seams, adding 1" at the bottom and reducing it to nothing at the underarm. This worked just fine. And I have now adjusted the pattern, so that future versions will be large enough in this area.
My fabric is a 100% cotton that I bought from Blackbird Fabrics, I think, although I am not entirely sure. They often have very nice cotton shirtings and I have never been disappointed with their fabrics.
This is a nice pattern, it is not my favourite for a shirt. But I think another version in a plain, somewhat dressy, fabric would be very nice to have to wear with black pants. I rarely wear skirts anymore, so dressing up consists of black pants with a nice top. I could see this in a quality polyester or a silk if I can find one.
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