Disclaimer: this pattern was given to me free of charge to review, at my own request. All opinions are my own and I aim to be unbiased. If I’m gushy it’s because it deserves it!
Today I’m very pleased to be reviewing the newest pattern from Sewholic Patterns, the Granville Shirt. As you may know, Tasia and Caroline from Sewaholic draft with a pear shape in mind (smaller bust/shoulders and waist compared to bum/hips/thighs). As you may also be aware, I am a pear shape. An uber pear shape, with a whopping 15″ (38cm) difference between my waist and hip measurements – for reference, my measurements are 40-32-47″ (101 – 81 – 119cm. Does anyone else live in metric but use inches for sewing?).
Because of this, I’ve never really been able to find shirts that I can wear comfortably – if they fit my shoulders and waist they wont go over my hips resulting in bunching up (or needing bottom buttons undone), and if they fit my hips the rest of my body is swimming in fabric. I can imagine this is a common problem not only for pear shapes, but for bigger-busted ladies as well. So you can imagine my excitement when Sewaholic released the Granville shirt, a fitted button-down with waist and back shaping, and with all features you want to find on a tailored shirt. Trying to contain my giddiness, I contacted Tasia to suggest I do a review for the CSC (her new model is gorgeous, but makes it a bit harder to imagine the shirt on a curvier person) – thankfully, she said yes!
Design
The pattern is described as “a button-front collared shirt with a great fit. It’s got a two-piece collar and stand, self-lined yoke, tailored plackets and cuffs, and front button band.” There are bust darts in the front, and princess seam shaping on the back below a self-faced yoke. I would call it semi-fitted, so it’s loose without being boxy .
The princess seams mean that it can skim in at the waist while still fitting over the bum and hips, without any pooling at the lower back or pulling at the side seams. Most of the shaping is, however, at the side seams so if your bum is where you keep the extra inches rather than your hips, you may need to fiddle with the seams a bit to get the perfect fit.
You can see the “dart” between the back pieces, 3 and 4, which can be manipulated to give more shaping over the lower back and bum if needed
Other than the shaping, it’s created like a traditional dress shirt – the left front has a folding placket and the right front has a separate button band. There’s a separate piece for front interfacing which is nice (or you can just cut a strip of 1″ wide interfacing). It has a two-piece collar and collar stand which is excellent, but note that there’s only one pattern piece for each: I recommend trimming the under collar ~2mm so it rolls under nicely.
Long sleeves are included and have a tower placket that buttons up. There is no short sleeved version so you would have to alter the pattern if you wanted one (I can do a tutorial on this if anyone wants).
Like the other Sewaholic PDF’s I’ve worked with (Yaletown and Rae), it went together smoothly. There’s a total of 36 pages (including the first page which is a test square) and the sizes are all nested together – the sizes are easy to tell apart. There’s numbers to join the pieces together and a grid to help line everything up. I did find that my button placket was about 1.5cm too short, but I have to check this wasn’t just a tracing issue (likely).
I do really like how she has the yoke, collar and collar stand as whole pieces rather than “cut on the fold” – makes it much easier when you have to cut two of each.
Sizing
This is the first pattern released with Sewaholic’s new size range: they now go up a size 20 – yahoo! – which corresponds to a 45″ bust. I cut the size 14 and graded out to a size 16 in the hips. Things to keep in mind when choosing your size: there is a reasonable amount of ease in the pattern (4-5″ / 10-11cm of ease at the bust) so you will have plenty of wiggle room – see the finished measurements at the bottom. Also, the shirt doesn’t actually reach the widest part of your hips/waist, and the hem is curved to give the hips a bit more room, so you wont have to alter as much for wider hips
As mentioned above, the pattern is drafted for a pear shape so if you have smaller hips/bigger waist/other differences, you may need to fiddle with the shape. For those of you who are more generously endowed, Mary will be doing a tutorial on how to do a FBA on this sort of pattern.
The sleeves as drafted are rather long. I’m not sure if I have particularly long or short arms, but I am 5’10” (178cm) so it’s something I would check for on your muslin. The cuffs do fit snugly so it’s not too much of an issue, and to be honest I’ll almost never be wearing the sleeves down so I don’t mind (I hate clothing on my forearms). I’m also not sure if I need to narrow the shoulders a bit on mine, which would lift the sleeves up.
Instructions
The instructions are good. They’re detailed and thorough without too much hand-holding. There were a couple of placed that made me go “huh?” but actually, were very clever additions – like pressing the collar raw edge at the seam allowance before sewing, to allow for the turn-of-cloth. I also appreciate the diagram’s in her patterns, which are thorough enough that when I re-make the pattern I can just glance at them to remind myself of the order.
The instructions just say to finish the seams and topstitch. I decided to go full hog and do flat felled seams – this was easy to do even on the curved seams. I even flat felled the sleeve seams which wasn’t too difficult (the sleeves are set in, because doing the placket while they’re attached to the shirt would be tricky). I finished the armhole seams with bias binding, and also finished the hem with bias binding rather than turning-and-topstitching.
And speaking of the sleeve – I didn’t bother doing the gathering stitches at the sleeve cap. Instead, I just sewed the sleeves in with the sleeve against the feed dogs and used them to ease in the fabric. This works well but it was a bit fiddly (definitely a technique that works better when you’re sewing them in the flat)
Novelty label, because why not?
The instructions for the collar were new to me, and I think it worked really well (usually I use Andrea/Four Square Wall’s tutorial). I will admit I need some more practice on my precision sewing! The yoke seams are all enclosed using the burrito method.
I will just say – this shirt was a dream to sew up. The pattern is drafted well, the instructions make sense and are in a logical order, and the whole thing felt great. I would class this as an intermediate pattern just because shirts can be tricky, but I think an advanced beginner could tackle it with the help of some online tutorials/sewalongs – there are a few places where I relied on my previous experience to know what to do.
Pros
- A semi-fitted shirt for curvy ladies! I love the Grainline Archer shirt on others but never end up wearing mine because I don’t like the boxy look on me and I can’t really wear it un-tucked.
- The increased size range is such good news. Even if you’re above the size 20 (which is possibly a lot – I know there’s at least a few readers who are size 26-30), at least it’ll be much easier to grade up from 20 than from size 16.
- Great instructions with good diagrams
- It should be relatively easy to alter to different shapes because of the back seaming and the bust dart. As mentioned above we’ll have a tutorial on how to do a FBA on this pattern.
- Seriously, it fits over my bum with no tugging!
- I think it will work in a variety of fabrics. You won’t want anything toooo stiff, but it’ll work in cotton shirting, linen (which mine is), and drapier fabrics like rayon/viscose
- Curved waistband not only looks nice, but gives extra room for the hips
Cons
- Would be nice if it included a shorter sleeve
- Will need altering for bigger busts
- The sleeves are a bit difficult to roll up because they’re close-ish fitting – but that means they STAY up
- While the bust dart is perfect on me, I have a low bust so watch out that you don’t have to raise it up
So what’s your thoughts on the pattern? I’ll also be reviewing the Oakridge blouse when I get the chance – that one is also so beautiful. And I must say I’m really pleased that Tasia explained why she released them as separate patterns – having looked at them both it was probably a good move as they both have different pattern pieces, and it would have seemed more “cramped” to have them as one (even though the silhouette looks similar).
You can find more information on the shirt on my blog, www.tworandomwordsblog.com
soooo i’m not pear shaped and i’m kind of new to all of this. if my bust size is 44 and my hips are approx 38 I should be able to make size 20 and grade inward for my waist and hips right? I need shirts like this for work and i have a tone of fabric waiting to be used up. 🙂 looks very good on you!
I already bought this patter, am waiting on shipment, and . . . YAY! Your measurements are mine these days. So now I’m not feeling apprehensive about the fabric I chose.
Thanks so much for reviewing this! I’ve already ordered it – I just made my first Archer and have been having issues with fabric pooling in the lower back because of my hippier shape – but it was really helpful to see this shirt on someone closer to my size than the pattern model.
My pleasure! I hope it goes well for you – consider posting it to the Flikr page, I’m sure more people would love to see it on curvier figures.
You mentioned in your review, blog, or bio that you are pear-shaped. I have pinned your garment to the Pearables Pinterest Board. Please let me know if you would like it removed.
An explanation of the Pearables Pinterest Board may be found in the first post in the Pearables forum.
The link to your blog is included with your pinned garment.
I used the photos from your blog. If you have other photos you would be prefer to be used please send them to me.
I wasn’t even thinking about buying this pattern let alone sewing it until I saw your review. What a wonderful review. The blouse looks wonderful you and you surely did a beautiful sewing job. Congratulations on sewing a work of art!
Thank you so much Kathy, that made my day!
I love your shirt and yes, I need help with the FBA on this one. I’m looking forward to a tutorial.
Thanks Nothy! I’m not sure when that post will come out (depends on how busy Mary is) but hopefully not too long for you 🙂
Absolutely beautiful, Sophie-Lee! You did such a wonderful job with fit and that fabric is gorgeous on you. I love how the Granville really nips in at the waist! Between that and the classic tower plackets, I’m swooning over here.
Thanks Mary! I look forward to seeing your version ^_^
This looks amazing Sophie-Lee! Love the fabric and all of the details. Great to see Sewaholic have expanded their size range. I love these reviews as they are really helpful.
Thanks Poppy! I try to include everything in there that I can think of – if there’s anything else you’d like to see in my reviews, let me know 🙂
I love this colour on you and what a great pattern, and beautifully made too! It does amuse me though about the name – to my generation Granville will always be David Jason’s wet grocery shop assistant from Open All Hours – hardly aspirational! LOL!
Thanks Maryanne! I’m rather proud of the construction on this one.
And having just looked up pictures of him, I would have to agree – though this could look fetching with a knitted vest over top…?
It is good to know that Sewaholic designs are tailored for the pear shape lady. Unfortunately, I am a rectangle albeit a plus size busty one, so this pattern line is probably not for me without a lot of altering. When you do your reviews, the shape the pattern company targets is excellent information.—Denise
I agree, it always makes it much easier when you know what kind of figure the pattern is drafted for, at the very least so you know whether to go up/down a size in the shoulders or bust. Most patterns I have to grade 2 sizes in the hips but because Sewaholic is for pears, I only need to go up one.
I wonder if Grainline patterns would be a better starting point for you? The Archer would look fantastic on a busty rectangle 😉
Does this pattern need a little more fitting on the bust, too? On this particular model, there are horizontal wrinkles that pull towards the arm. The pattern is beautiful. The wrinkles up top are distracting.
By “this particular model” do you mean me?
I am wondering if I should try using a smaller size in the shoulders/bust (maybe I’ll try that on my next one), but I think in real life the bust looks fine – but because it’s a looser fit and linen it will tend to wrinkle depending on how I move (this was photographed after a full day of work in my clinic)
You are so very fast!! Thanks for the awesome review. Your shirt is beautiful, I like the addition of bias binding around the armhole seams for an even cleaner finish.
It would be easy to change these to short sleeves, simply cut where you want and hem. Although you may want to enlarge and curve the hemline for a shorter sleeve, so it doesn’t look like a long sleeve chopped short.
I love the comment below that we ‘only used one model for the photoshoot.’ I didn’t consider hiring two, it would add to the costs but likely be helpful to illustrate the same garment on multiple sizes. Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll keep that in mind as we grow!
Yeah and I’d also extend the seam allowance out to match the sleeve, so you don’t get pulling. I’m going to try making it with the straight hem to see if the sleeve cap is high enough, and I’ll be trying a 3/4 sleeve with cuff as well (partly because it’s what I’ll wear most, and partly because I’ve been watching Suzy Furrer’s sleeve class and want to try it out).
I think having two models would be a great idea if it doesn’t add too much cost – your model is gorgeous but it can often be hard to imagine it on my body type when we’re such different sizes.
Yes, I think it could be cost-effective if we shot a bunch of styles at once! Models are costly to hire (especially for a very small business) but I’d love to represent two different looks for the same design, especially since we’re usually sewing up multiple samples anyways. I’ve been looking at a ton of models in preparation for our next photo shoot and am taking all of this feedback into account!
Sew cute!! can you share what the finished size is on the upper arm area, that is always my trouble spot on button downs.
I’ll do that when I get home! What size are you wanting to know about?
I was wanting to know the size on the finished bicep area. I am not good at alterations and my upper arm is 16 1/2 inches.
I measured 5cm down the side of the sleeve on the pattern (that’s where my arms are the biggest) and the size 20 was 45.5 (18″) . Take 3cm (1 1/4″) off for the standard seam allowance and that gives you 1.5cm (5/8″) ease – probably not quite enough though you could decrease the seam allowanced to 3/8″ or less,
I’m not sure where you measure on your arm but I also looked at how wide the sleeve is at the under arm seam (the very widest part of the sleeve pattern excluding the seam allowance) and it was 47cm (18 1/2″) which would be enough, I think.
Does that make sense?
Otherwise you could check out T’s post on how to grade up a sleeve! http://wp1094.hostgator.com/~waezmq0ac6rs/making-your-sleeves-fit/
thank you SO MUCH for sharing that info and the link to grade up. 🙂
My pleasure!
Gorgeous shirt and excellent review, Sophie-Lee! I bought the Oakridge blouse and am patiently awaiting it’s arrival in the mail. I can’t wait for your review of that one! 🙂
You have more patience than I do! I think that’s why I’ve starting just using PDF’s, because I don’t want to have to wait for 1-2 weeks for the physical pattern to arrive.
Thanks for reviewing this pattern and for the comparisons with the Archer shirt. I saw this had been released the other day but didn’t find the photo’s very useful as the only used one model for the photoshoot and she was very slim. I shall await Mary’s FBA version…
My pleasure, prolificprojectstarter 🙂 I actually meant to write a bit more about how it compares to the Archer, but hopefully you can see that with the pattern pieces
I was already 100% sold on this pattern and buying it end of this month. But because of your review I’m even more excited than I already was! It looks so good on you and I love how it’s fitted without being tight.
I would love for you to do a tutorial on shortening the sleeves. Living in South Africa and it is HOT here!
Yeah where I’m living is STINKING hot right now. I’ll try and get on to the tutorial quickly 🙂
And thank you!
Can’t wait for the tutorial on short sleeves – I too cannot stand fabric over my arms, mainly due to tendinitis in my elbows which seems to make me really sensitive to it. My arms are also a bit heavy as well so I usually need extra room and it’s just easier to deal with short sleeves on that issue!
What a great pattern and what a wonderful job you did. I’ve been sewing for years and have never attempted anything with buttons because they frighten me:) so I am super impressed with how professional your shirt looks
Thank you Buffy! I’ve used buttons for a while now, but for this shirt I used snaps for the first time. They’re awesome! They were cheap ($3.30 for 6, plus a one-off cost of $2.50 for the tool you need) and rather easy once I got my head around it. For me the scariest bit about buttons is getting them lined up perfectly so the placket stays straight.
Excellent review, thank you! The shirt looks terrific on you. I’ve avoided a few button downs for fear of the the hip fitting problem, and for being too boxy where I’d like to show some shape. Indeed, the model on the sewaholic site is lovely, but her body type is so subtle it’s impossible to tell how the shirt would look on someone like me (I have almost the same measurements as you). I’m going to try this one now, thanks again!
My pleasure, Alicia! I’d love to see it when you do – maybe post on the Flikr page?
And yes, I don’t think I’ve ever really worn button downs except for my school uniform at high school. I actually just assumed it was a style that would always look terrible on me – but apparently not. I felt really flash yesterday at work 😀