Peter Pan Girl's Uniform

My neighbor asked me if I could re-create a school uniform dress shirt for her little girl like the one found here. I had been itching to sew something and undertook this project fast. (After being found on Amazon though, my neighbor said I didn't need to make it anymore. Too bad, I had to try.)

With a similar shirt, I drafted out a pattern. Measuring to make sure everything will fit together is the biggest step. And now, I have a pattern to whip up more anytime.

I was also really happy to work on a dress shirt again. Some of the fun things they can include are self-lined yokes, and plackets for the sleeves.

Whipping up this beauty was easy. I only ran into one problem at the end. Sometimes, my machine likes to eat up buttonholes. Luckily this happened on my last one on a cuff. So besides replacing a cuff,  there were no hiccups.

I tried out something new with this shirt as well. Because the collar didn't extend to to the edges, there was going to be a seam at the neckline. Most shirts have binding sewn over the seam to keep it enclosed. I did this and it worked out great. I can't wait to finish more shirts with exposed seams like this.

Hopefully soon I can get my little neighbor to model it for me, since I only snapped a few sad pictures before handing it over. The things I learned were totally worth the time.

Also, I've found it is hard to find a great quality white cotton that won't be too see-through. After purchasing some cotton I wasn't happy with, I ended up using a white sheet. Sheets can be low quality as well, so double check before buying any. Mine was a good quality Ralph Lauren top sheet. Also as temping as it is to use the finished edges for hems, don't! The seaming won't match and the fabric can pull.

If anyone is interested, I may make a tutorial for some elements such as the neck binding, faced yoke, and plackets, as well as upload my size 8 pattern.