Zenith & Quasar Designs - Strike off Botanist's Notebook

I've blogged about Zenith & Quasar before. They run fantastic science themed prints. The round opening up for pre-orders July 1 through July 15 is Botany. There are some lovely prints this round. But this one is by far my favorite this round. You can find all the prints and order here www.zenithandquasar.com

But you should see a few close ups to see the beautiful details in these drawings.

I almost used a new shirt pattern for this strike off, but chickened out. I didn't want to screw it up. So I decided to stick with one of my favorite patterns.

Here are all my pieces cut out. I almost paired this with another print, but decided to play it safe (and boring) and do a solid. I rarely buy solid color fabrics. I just love patterns and colors. But I had made a point a month ago to buy some really nice solids when I was at Super Textiles on Perth Street in the Dallas Fabric District. This coral knit is a terry knit (I love a heavier weight knit) and was only $4/yard.

The first step in this pattern is to sew 2 lines to gather the front and back pieces.

Then to stitch the sides together.

Then on to make the sleeves. First I sew the darts, then down the seam.

The dart makes the sleeve lay nice and flat against my arm.

Now to attach the arms to the body. Which I apparently forgot to take a photo of. I did this shirt while I had some pretty severe pain in my arm. I went to the doctor and he said it was an extreme case of tennis elbow, and he thought I may have torn the muscle since I had significant swelling in my arm and hand. He told me to do as little as possible with my right arm for 4 days to see if it would heal. And it worked. So I wasn't quite on top of things when doing this top as I usually am.

Then it was time to prepare the yoke (neck band). I do mine different than the pattern. I like to do it as one piece and just sew it on as one piece. It requires more work up front, but I hate either hand sewing or trying to hide the stitches following the pattern instructions.

Then I gathered the front and back so they matched the notches on the yoke.

I pin the yoke to the body. I then baste it together, then I serge it. The photo below shows it basted together.

Now my yoke is connected to the top.

I had just a little bit of this vintage botanic drawing fabric left over, so I added a cuff to my sleeves. Really, I didn't have enough so the inside of my cuffs have some white - but no one should be looking that close to what I am wearing.

Here I am in my finished top. The doctor put me in a compression sleeve and I tried to keep it hidden under the sleeve.