A little black and white gingham shirt

I know I'm a little behind and it's about time I made an effort, as I mentioned in my last post, to show you what I've been doing.  

I made a gingham shirt.  I love gingham and had planned to make this shirt about a year and a half ago.  I bought the fabric but couldn't decide on the pattern.  Finally I chose Butterick 6085, a great basic semi-fitted blouse with sleeve variations. 

 

I made view E the sleeveless version.  The only alteration I made was to shorten the waist however after I wore it the first time I realised, as you can see below, I should have made a sway back alteration as well. 

I think the collar is much wider than the cover illustration so next time I make this shirt I would probably make the collar half the width of this one.  (I don't like really big collars on me)  I also had a small problem with pattern matching.  I had to fudge it a bit.  I got the sides to match but the fabric was not exactly on grain; it tended to curve down near the selvedge.  I matched the pattern at the bust when I sewed the buttons on but if you look closely you can see it doesn't match exactly the further toward to the hemline you go making the hemline uneven but I can live with that better than not matching at the bust.  Note to self - washing the fabric beforehand might have avoided the problem.

So there you have it my first make for 2014!  Well... that's not technically right as I cut it out last year but didn't get time to sew it until this year and finally on it's third outing I actually got around to taking photos.  My review of this pattern below.

Details:
Top; Butterick 6085
Cardigan; Tempt
Jeans; Suzanne Grae
Bag; Guess
Shoes; Pazari

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My review of this pattern
 

Pattern Description:
Semi-fitted top has collar and shaped narrow hem.  Sleeveless, above elbow or three quarter sleeve, pocket and side split variations.

Pattern Sizing:
14,16,18 - I made size 14, view E.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, it did.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, very easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I don't like the size of the collar.  It's too large for my liking.  I love the simplicity of this tip making it a great basic style.

Fabric Used:
Poly/cotton gingham.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I made my usual short waist adjustment but otherwise I made no alterations to the pattern.  However, on me it really does need a reasonable size sway back adjustment.  I don't usually wash my fabric first and I had a few problems pattern matching because the fabric was off grain.

Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?
Yes I would sew this pattern again with a sway back adjustment for a better fit.  I would also reduce the size of the collar.  Would I recommend it to others?  Yes, most definitely!

Conclusion:
I love this top.  It was easy to sew and it's easy to wear.  A great basic for the wardrobe which will be worn often.