Hello,

Hope you are all managing well through these troubled times.

I confess I am starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with all this situation but I will keep this space dedicated to sewing as I also believe it takes our minds out of negative thoughts and it helps keeping us sane.

A few years ago, I received the most beautiful present from Constança. It might sound silly, but I liked it so much that I was afraid to use it and ruin it, or not use it wisely. Well, it took me years to finally make something out of it!

Constança kindly sent me some of the fabric she used for her son’s Christening gown, gorgeous broderie anglaise and entredeux. The responsibility, right?

Initially I thought about trying to recreate a lovely blouse my daughters had but then I thought it wouldn’t last long, as Children keep growing so fast and I wanted something to last. Finally, a few weeks ago I was looking for a white shirt and couldn’t quite find what I was looking for, so I thought it was about time to use the fabric and broderie anglaise. Boring as it might sound, I like white shirts/blouses and wear them all the time. After all, it goes well with everything.

So, about the fabric. It is a soft lawn, lovely to work with and to wear. It feels great against the skin. Also, as it is lightweight, the ruffled collar worked beautifully.

The broderie anglaise is supposed the be used differently. However, I thought it would work well for the sleeve and I honestly think it looks lovely this way. It is a darker shade than the fabric but it doesn’t really bother me.

Now, one important thing was to decide which pattern to use. I wanted a pattern I trusted and knew I would wear regularly, so I chose the Recital Shirt by Liesl + Co. I have used it previously and I wear that shirt all the time.

As previously, I made a size 0, without changes other than the sleeves. For the sleeves, I did not change much, in fact I only omitted the cuff and add the broderie anglaise instead. First, I thought about adding an inch or two to the sleeve but, in the end, decided not to as I did not want the sleeve too long so that I can easily wear with ¾ sleeved cardigans.

I attached the broderie to the sleeve and made the elastic casing with bias binding. Simple but effective and it is not itchy against my skin.

Summarizing, I absolutely adore this shirt. I am glad I took the time and I am pretty sure I will wear it quite a lot.

Thank you for this lovely gift Constança.

As for you reading this post, stay safe.

Maria x