Style Maker Fabrics Fall Blog Tour -- My Color Blocked Shirt REVEAL!

I was excited to be invited to participate in the Style Maker Fabrics Fall Blog Tour this year -- I love this kind of challenge and it's always fun to see what other people make.

What Michelle Stoffel, the owner, has done -- brilliantly -- is to create a fall fabric collection.  (You can view it here. )  There's a video of each fabric being described and handled (it's long but VERY informative) so you can really get a sense of what each fabric feels like before purchasing.  Naturally you can also order swatches.

I wanted to try my hand again at color blocking. I chose a mix of solid cotton chambray flannels in three colors (blue, black, and brown), along with a touch of brown and mustard flannel plaid (cut on the bias and interfaced to prevent stretching).  The plaid is actually quite beefy and would be perfect for a shirt or shirt jacket.  The chambrays are as soft as cashmere and require gentle handling when sewing.  (These aren't the stiffer chambrays one associates with denim or denim-look shirts.)  I recommend stay-stitching the neckline to prevent stretching before the collar is attached. 

One of the fun things about color blocking is the challenge of figuring out which color goes where.  As you can see, I used primarily the blue and gray for the shirt fronts and brown for the back.  I opted for plaid accents on the inside collar stand, the inside cuffs, and I added a single front pocket (with solid pocket flap to tame it a bit). Naturally, the plaid has the most visual impact but I think it's pretty well balanced. 

I am particularly proud of the upper collar, which I split in two: gray on one side, blue on the other.

My buttons are genuine mother-of-pearl. 

Here are links to the actual fabrics I ordered.  I used one yard of each of the solids and half a yard of the plaid (each approx. 44" wide) and there wasn't a whole lot left.  If you're going with a single solid, I'd order three yards.

Denim Blue

Brown 

Black (reads charcoal gray)

Mustard plaid

These are lovely fabrics to work with.  Style Maker Fabric offers a wide selection of cotton flannels to choose from.  (Check them all out here.)  Not only are they beautiful, they are also well-priced.  (Finding flannel plaids here in the NYC Garment District has always been something of a challenge.)

Thank you again, Michelle of Style Maker Fabrics, for inviting me to participate!

A little birdie has told me that tomorrow's Style Maker Fabrics Fall Blog Tour reveal will be Holly of the blog Holly Dolly Darling -- do check her out!

Happy sewing, everybody!