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Atelier Brunette Cheyenne with Pussy Bow Collar // Imagine Gnats Contributor

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Atelier Brunette Cheyenne with Pussy Bow Collar // Imagine Gnats Contributor

Hi friends!!

Today I'm over at Imagine Gnats, sharing my second (consecutive) Cheyenne Tunic! I LOVE this pattern, and I used the most fun hack on this one!!

You guys MUST go and find out about this amazing fabric and where to find the tutorial for this gorgeous hack!

It's so so good, so RUN HERE and check out the post. 💖

Atelier Brunette Cheyenne with Pussy Bow Collar // Imagine Gnats Contributor

Atelier Brunette Cheyenne with Pussy Bow Collar // Imagine Gnats Contributor

Atelier Brunette Cheyenne with Pussy Bow Collar // Imagine Gnats Contributor

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

Hi all!

Today I present to you, my very first collared button up shirt! Complete with sleeve plackets and beautiful cuffs. Having already chatted with many of you on Instagram, I know it may come as a bit of a surprise that I haven't sewn a proper "shirt" up until this point!

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

It was my deep, dark secret. A silly fear that I hadn't really wanted to face until recently. Recently I have been pining after a GOOD plaid button up shirt!! So much so that I nearly caved and bought one from a store. But I kept telling myself no, because I have several pieces of fabric in my stash that would/will make really great shirts!

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

I don't know how things go for all of you, but sometimes, I have so many ideas crashing around in my head that I feel like I'm running in a thousand directions at once, starting the planning process for one project, and then yelling "squirrel" and running the opposite way!

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

Because of my tendency to do this, I also find myself with a well stocked fabric and pattern stash. Lol! And to be honest, I'm really quite happy with this arrangement. It allows things like this particular Cheyenne Tunic to happen!

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

I should really start my story way back in March of this year. I did attempt a Cheyenne Tunic, View B, the popover version, during a Cheyenne sew-a-long hosted by Grace of Maker Mountain Fabrics. It ended up in a very failed project, unfortunately. It was a big combo of things. Mostly my fabric choice. I was a super inexpensive cut that I bought online years ago and really didn't care about it, so I thought it would be a great "wearable" muslin fabric to use for my first attempt at the pattern.

Turns out, it was a huge reason why my end product wasn't wearable at all. Ha! But let's not purely blame the fabric. There were several other things that made me chuck it into the fail bin. I have really never, ever been a fan of popover style shirts on myself unless they were quite fitted, so that should have been a forethought. But, like I mentioned above, I was scared of the silly collar stand.

Guys. I truly think collar stands are easier than the popover was!! The last reason why I didn't like my first attempt, was sizing. I'm between a size small and medium, and went with the medium. It was just too much fabric, especially around my mid-section and lower back. I also made some pattern adjustments that I recently found out, just didn't work for me.

So let's fast forward 9 months to this project!! I had an upcoming project for Imagine Gnats (that is going live tomorrow!!), the fabric I was to use was amazing, and I needed to choose the exact right pattern for the project. I knew that I really wanted it to be a button-up shirt, and was considering the Cheyenne Tunic and the Montana Shirt. I had settled on the Montana Shirt, actually.

But then... I saw a completed Cheyenne on Instagram, just days before I was going to start working on this project and immediately switched gears! See... Squirrel...

SO. I already had my unwearable muslin project under my belt, and knew what changes I needed to make to "hopefully" make this pattern an absolute win for my body! And with that knowledge I dove in head first.

A month or so ago, I had been chatting with Jen of Desert Blooms about fitting patterns, and she mentioned that she usually removed length in patterns between her waist and hips for a better fit. This was a true light bulb moment for me!!

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

I should mention that having too much fabric in my mid-section and lower back is a VERY common problem for me in all button up shirts I've ever owned. It's also a big reason why I've stayed away from wearing them, almost ever, because I never liked how they fit. I thought it was just because that's how I was shaped and they'd never fit me! I'm shaking my head at myself now at how silly it is to still think that after so many years of sewing for myself.

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

Back to the light bulb moment; I had thought I would need to do a sway back adjustment on my current pattern to remove that excess fabric. It turns out that I was literally just removing length in the wrong place! I almost always have to shorten shirt patterns, especially Hey June Patterns. This time, instead of cutting at the indicated lengthen/shorten line, I cut 3 inches below that and removed my typical 1-1/2". I was super hopeful that this would take care of my issues, but was still ecstatically excited when it worked!!

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women


The other fit adjustments I made were to size down to a small, and remove 1-1/2" of length in the sleeves as well. I tried the shirt on after sewing the first seam in the french seams when assembling the arms and side seams. (how many times can I say "seam" in a sentence???) I decided after trying it on, that I really liked the fit and didn't want it any closer fitting, so I resewed the seam with a 1/4" smaller seam allowance.

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

Honestly, since this shirt has no darts, the fitting adjustments are super simple!

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

The fabric is from Imagine Gnats. It was in the shop last year, and I believe it was a tencel/rayon blend. Whatever it is, it is incredibly soft and dreamy!! I absolutely fell in love with this color-way and had intended to make a simple long sleeved woven tee with it last year for the holidays, and I'm so glad that never happened!!! Lol.

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

I also chose my plaid placements based on the shirt I wanted to buy. I got a lot of questions when sharing the sewing process on Instagram about why I didn't cut the plaid on the bias, for the plackets and the back yoke. The simple answer is, I didn't want to! :)

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

I really like the look of the lined up plaid, and it was worth the bit of extra effort to achieve it!!

Speaking of achieving it... I PROMISE the plaid lines up across the button placket!! I was in a hurry when I got dressed for these photos and forgot to check it. UGH! All it takes is a tiny shift so that the buttons are centered in the button holes and they line up exactly. Haha, that's my Type A coming out!

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

In summary, I'm impossibly proud of my very first Cheyenne Tunic. I've already made a second that I'll show you tomorrow, and I have plans for one more very soon, and who knows how many after that!?

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women

Cheyenne Tunic // Sewing For Women


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