Sewaholic Renfrew Shirts

I have very much enjoyed sewing things for myself this past month.  :)

I'm trying to be more specific about what clothes I sew and pick projects that purposely fill holes in my wardrobe.  I've been steadily improving my church wardrobe over the last year with a few dresses.  The wardrobe hole I chose to work on in August was nice shirts.  I have plenty of everyday t-shirts and a few dressy church tops but not much in between.  I work part-time and found myself rotating through the same three shirts over and over.

I'd read about the 'Sewaholic Renfrew' shirt many times on sewing blogs and thought I'd give it a try.  Total winner!  I had to alter the neck/upper shoulder area to fit me nicely, but once the fit was worked out the shirts were very quick and easy to make.  I could crank one out in an afternoon, start to finish - the cutting AND the sewing.

I really like the cowl neck version (view C).  I love that the cowl is small and nicely proportioned.  Usually I admire cowls/scarves on other people but when I try to wear them I look like I'm drowning/choking/smothered in fabric.  This pattern seems to be just the right amount of fabric to be a nice design feature without going overboard.  In fact, I'll probably use the cowl pattern piece to make small scarves in the future since I know I like the size.

Finding knits locally (that aren't ugly) is a challenge for me so I ventured online again.  Girl Charlee seems to have a decent selection for decent prices and so far the quality has been good.  Before cutting into the 'good' Girl Charlee fabric I made one from some unidentified-in-the-stash-a-long-time-crushed-velour type knit.   I am happy with the way it turned out and think it'll work nicely for work or church.

I used the pattern's waistband and cuffs but decided afterwards I didn't really like them.  I removed the cuffs from the sleeves (and just hemmed them with my twin needle) but I left the waistband on for length.  Its growing on me after seeing it in the pictures, so I'll leave it on. 

The second shirt was another cowl neck, this time in a solid light green knit.  The second and third pictures shows the truest color.  I left off the waistband this time (lengthening the shirt to compensate) but did use a cuff on the sleeves.

The third shirt was an experiment in color blocking.  I love these Marianne dresses but don't have much need for knit dresses so I thought I'd try a shirt with similar style lines.   I think the colorblocking worked out okay and like the stripe.

This one was a very different weight knit and I'm hoping it relaxes a bit in the wash.  The shoulder seams are a bit wobbly and it just doesn't seem as soft and drapey.  I'm definitely still learning about the many different kinds of knit fabric out there.  

I drafted my own neckline for this one.  The Renfrew pattern comes with a scoop neck but I like higher necklines so I drew my own line.  I overcompensated so its actually a little skinny/tight but that is easily adjusted next time.   My ribbing/binding worked out great on this shirt and I even topstitched it with my twin needle so its looks professionally finished.  

My favorite part about the shirts is that they are long enough for my long torso (because I made them that way).   Ready to wear shirts are never long enough for me.  The Renfrew pattern is super easy to work with and I think it has a lot of potential for using in different ways.  Now I have a couple of nice new shirts to add to my drawer.  

And thanks to Leah for being photographer on the driveway while I tried on all three newly made shirts.  :)