First Wardrobe Piece -- Jalie 2322 Women's Button Down Shirt

Okay, so I'm a little slow moving on this wardrobe contest thing.  But I am making progress.  Though, I have to confess, I don't think I'm going to get all four pieces done in time for the contest deadline.  Don't get me wrong, I haven't given up hope.  I still intend to keep working away.  I might be able to make it yet.

I do have the first piece done.  It's Jalie 2322.  I've made this pattern once before and I wear that shirt all the time.  This one is also likely to get a workout, because I really like how it turned out.  It's made with a soft stretch linen with an oh-so-subtle pinstripe.  Comfortable because of the design and the stretch of the fabric.  And Jalies fit me so well without having to do any altering, so I can wear it right out of the envelope. 

I love absolutely everything about this pattern.  Starting with the paper it's printed on.  Heavy white paper that's easy to trace and doesn't tear if you look at it too sternly.  The instructions are printed a little inconveniently, but Jalie solved that problem by making pdfs of the instructions in English and French available on their website.

 I very much like the way Jalie does their darts.  Just three dots and a measurement for how far from the edge you should sew for the center dot.  Somehow, when I do darts everybody else's way, no matter how carefully I try to mark them, I always get the alignment messed up somewhere along the line.  I don't have that problem with this method.

I like the folded over self-facings for the front closure as well.  Much nicer than sewing on a separate piece.  And the three layers give you built-in interfacing, too.

All the  pieces fit together like a dream and even the sleeves went in without a sliver of protest.  The curved hem is flattering as is the very subtle waistline shaping.  The collar has a nice shape, too.  Not to big, not too pointy.  I'm really picky about collar shapes and I'm always grumbling about them as I cut them smaller.  This size of this one is just right for my taste.

The only thing I'm on the fence about is the seam allowances.  I'm used to 1/2 or 5/8 inch seam allowances for woven fabrics, and the 3/8 inch seam allowance on this pattern was a little hard to get used to at first.  After working with it, though, I think I might even prefer the smaller seam allowance.  The collar stand was so easy to attach to the shirt, and it might have been part of the reason the sleeves were so easy to install as well.

I just finished the last buttonhole and button placement this morning and I couldn't wait to wear it.  It goes nicely with my favorite forest green Nautica cargo pants.

As for the rest of the wardrobe, the tank top is also nearly done.  I just have to change the threads on the coverstitch machine and topstitch the bindings around the neckline and the armholes.

Half way there.  Too bad I saved the hard parts for last  :o/