These two great shirt fabrics from Minerva Crafts screamed ‘shirt’ for my work summer wardrobe. And their colours are strong enough to contrast against the purple fabric. But I love a good shirt and a good shirtmaker dress. So that’s what I did.

Classic shirt using Pattern Magic collar
January is one of our hottest months in Australia. It’s holiday time for lots of people until after Australia Day (26 January).

If you work in an office, the aircon can be icy but you’ll get a warm blast of heat as you leave the office at the end of the day. 

The fabric is a stretch sateen and when I prewashed it, I thought the pink/red colour would run into the white background and it didn’t. Hurrah. This fabric is also easy to manipulate where the pattern has easing. 

I wanted to make a white shirt with a twist so the fabric is kinda white but the collar (with two distinct impressions) is from Pattern Magic. My Pattern Magic collar post is here. 

This shirt (Butterick 5538) was adjusted for me at a workshop but I took more volume out of the side back piece because the shirt felt a bit too loose on the previous versions. It sits much closer to me without pulling lines. The centre back panel needs a sway back adjustment.

I did a test collar construction last week, just to refresh my memory and make sure I didn’t waste this fabric from Minerva.

Because this fabric is a bit heavy, the collar looks like a double collar, which it is. It just doesn’t sit up as I wanted.

Using a satin bias tape finished the collar constructions nicely. I love how the french seams give this shirt a beautiful finish.

Check out the buttons Vicki chose for this shirt. Thanks Vicki.

 I used tiny white buttons on the cuffs from my stash. 

This works well with my Minerva trousers and jacket. If this was a summer weekend blouse, I wouldn’t have included the sleeves, but for work, sleeves are a must.

Shirtmaker dress
This classic, dark paisley print was meant for a second shirt but because the paisley is large and I’m short, I thought the fabric and I would look better if this was a shirtmaker dress. 

This fabric is a light weight cotton, washes easily and irons so well. Another good choice. I love a well ironed dress. And the dark print hides creases too.

This pattern (New look 6214) has a two-piece collar and this fabric was lovely to work with. This is the third time I’ve made this dress so all the adjustments were already done last year.

Vicky was the ‘button master’ for this dress. And as I changed my mind (women’s perogative), I used self cover buttons on the skirt.

I’ve used a bias tape to finish the waist seaming. 

The same bias tape is used as piping on the sleeve. And I made a belt with it too.

French seams were used throughout the rest of the dress.

It’s great to wear and I can pair this with my Minerva jacket. 

Does this all match too much? 
I love my Minerva summer work collection – trousers, jacket, knit top, blouse, dress and skirt. I got the skirt fabric from the left over jacket piece.

Hop over to Minerva Crafts and see what fabrics catch your eye for your own summer collection.