A Plaid Flannel Granville

It was only a matter of time before I made a winter-worthy Sewaholic Granville shirt. I am well-stocked in RTW sweaters, but don’t have much in the way of warm shirts. A plaid flannel Granville shirt seemed perfect for my upcoming trip to Japan… and it didn’t hurt that a fire was lit under me when DD proclaimed one Friday at work to be “Plaid Friday.” (He gets random sometimes to spice up the normal boring work day.)

I hurried to finish it in time and I was able to wear it on “Plaid Friday!” Hooray! Now he’s thinking of another theme for a future Friday for something that I don’t already own. I told him I quit after Hawaiian Shirt Friday and Plaid Friday!

Like all of my other Granvilles, this is also a size 10, but I did something different this time. In my other Gs, I had pulling at the shoulders and bust and someone suggested I try a full bust adjustment. I used The Curvy Sewing Collective’s tutorial and did a 1/2 inch FBA and it went something like this:

It was easy enough to do and the only adjustment I had to make while sewing the shirt was to grade down my side seams by 1/2 inch in the waist and hips since I basically added more width overall. I kept the volume in the bust by not grading my side seams there. I think it worked out perfectly as there’s not a whole lot of pulling going on!

The fabric is this plaid flannel from Cali Fabrics and it’s so soft! It’s a good medium weight and it definitely keeps me warm as I can layer thin t-shirts or heat-tech shirts underneath.

One thing did boggle my mind while I was making it… in my first Granville post, I lamented that I needed to cut down my collar and collar stand pieces a whole seam allowance to make it fit the shirt. It’s been that way for all of my Granvilles and I thought it might have been a drafting error – up until now! For some reason, the collar and collar stand fit perfectly without any changes! WHAT IS GOING ON?! I can now button the top button without choking myself! Hooray!

As I was finishing this late Thursday night, pre-Plaid Friday, I thought these cheapo pink buttons I had in my stash would work perfectly to complement the pink in the fabric. When I donned it the next morning, I noticed it looked a little too pink. I was self-conscious, but after some positive feedback from my co-workers, I decided it doesn’t look too bad after all and it’ll stay. Plus, I’m too lazy to find different buttons and replace them!

I cut the pockets, pocket flaps, one collar piece, one back yoke piece, the cuffs, and the front placket on the bias to break up the plaid. I tried somewhat hard to match the plaid all around (side seams, back seams, etc.) but didn’t try hard enough. It’s OK since I’m not too OCD and it matches well enough across the front.

I am so happy I have a new shirt to wear in Japan to keep me warm and I now have a plaid shirt in my wardrobe! I just finished another plaid shirt/tunic for Japan, but I’ll share that later. MUST. MAKE. ALL. THE. PLAID. THINGS!

Are you sewing to keep yourself warm?

-RED