Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Pattern Review: Felicity Patterns Kieran shirt




 
I was recently asked to do a pattern review for an Aussie designer, Felicity patterns, so of course I said yes!  After perusing the many boy options on the site, I settled on the Kieran Shirt.  This pattern had several things that appealed to me.  

The first is that I was a woven pattern.  I have a sizable stash with lots of woven fabrics and…. well, I’ll be straight, my four thread overlocker was broken and I was avoiding knits!  The second was the neckline.  Both of my boys are, how shall I say it? Top heavy?  I like to say they have big heads to fit all the brains (it probably has more to do with the fact they are destined to be tall). I endlessly have trouble with clothes that simply do not fit over their heads.  The open neckline is fabulous for this.  Finally, (and probably the most important) I think this pattern is pretty cute.  Mr 2 and I are very happy with the results.

 
Initially I was planning to make one shirt with a pair of matching Rascal Pants, but as the weather is starting to get warmer, I thought he probably would have grown out of them by the time the weather is cool enough to make the most of them.  So, I decided to make two shirts using different options instead.
 
I raided my stash and came up with some aeroplane fabric and a robot themed fat quarter.  Luckily I had a blue to contrast with the robot fabric, but I had to make a trip to the fabric store (oh no!) to match the aeroplanes. 

The pattern itself has clear instructions with lots of pictures, so it is beginner friendly.  The finishes are simple and effective.  I enclosed the edges of the facing instead of just stitching it down.  This is a personal preference rather than a necessary change and I clipped the curves to ensure that it sat nicely.

I made the size 4 as Mr 2 is currently about 100cm or 40” tall (he is 2 ½ - I think he is going to be VERY tall).  The sizing is spot on for his height. He is a skinny boy, so it is a bit roomy, but that is not bad for an active boy.

The robot shirt was made true to pattern and I love that it the yoke, pockets and facings were all cut from one fat Quarter.  You may not be able do the facings in larger sizes, but it is handy to have a project to use some of my fat quarters and scrap pieces.

For the plane shirt I left off the pockets and added piping to the bottom of the yoke and arm scythes.  I think the effect was good, however, if I added piping again I would use piping on the shoulders and neckline.  There is a great tutorial for adding piping to sewing projects here.

You can get the Kieran shirt pattern here.

Happy Sewing! :-)


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