You guys, I did it!  I sewed the perfect shirt!!!  It’s pretty, comfortable, not too difficult to sew, and looks so professional!

The fabric I used is some very awesome shirting from CaliFabrics.  It’s super soft shirting, lightweight but not transparent, so no undershirt required.

The particular koi shirting fabric I used can be found here, and they have a whole bunch more shirtings in stock, from more by “Tori Richards” like the one I used to Brooks Brothers, to a silk/cotton shirting from Calvin Klein.  Serious options for shirting fanatics like me!

I used the Willamette Shirt pattern from Hey June Patterns. (affiliate link to a really awesome pattern!)  It’s the perfect shirt for someone wanting to sew their 1st shirt, but is intimidated by buttonholes, plackets, collar stands and so on.  On the Willamette Shirt, the placket is fake/faux, there is only 1 button, no sleeve cuffs or plackets, and no collar stand!  While I love sewing traditional button up shirts and have sewn quite a few, this pattern is a fast and easy alternative.

The combination of the high quality fabric, and the thorough instructions allowed me to sew a very nice shirt for myself!  This is very apparent in the details like the pocket, placket and collar.  Crisp finishes and fun details all come together in a very comfortable and classy shirt.

I have handmade labels, but often forget to sew them onto the yoke before assembling a shirt pattern!  This time I was determined to have a label on this nice shirt, and just hand stitched it in to the inside yoke after the shirt was finished! 

The orange button won a button color poll, and I’m really glad it did even though I would have voted for a blue on.  (Did you know you can buy buttons from CaliFabrics???)  I’m tend to choose safe colors/combinations when it comes to buttons and the like!

One really nice thing about the Willamette Shirt is the pattern has lots of ease, so fit issues almost never happen if you take your measurements before hand and sew accordingly.  However, when a shirt has lots of ease built in, it’s important to use a fabric that has nice drape or the finished garment won’t drape on your body, but stick out like a tent.  This fabric is stiff enough to make a nice collar, but drapey enough to flow around your body when worn.  Also, it’s a very kind combination to a mom body that just had a baby several months ago!