DIY fashion for beginners: a trendy Insta shirt today

Vanessa Kim

15.11.2018

Translation: machine translated

Pictures: Natalie Hemengül, Vanessa Kim

Support: Anne Chapuis

In the new series "DIY fashion for beginners", Anne and I show you how you can easily sew cool fashion pieces. I'll tell you here why our first sewing session turned into a drama in three acts.

The other day, I was scrolling through my Insta feed on the bus and got stuck on a picture. It showed a white blouse - simple, but with that certain something. My first thought: "Wow, I want to sew that. It doesn't look that difficult". My second thought: "No, not at all. I can't even manage a straight line with my two left thumbs". Luckily, Anne Chapuis works for us. My colleague from the Translations team is studying part-time at the Swiss Textile College. When I ask her to sew this shirt with me, she agrees without hesitation. The beginning ~~of a drama and~~ of a new series. [[image:17835261]]The object of desire.

After I show her a picture of the blouse, she explains the exact process to me. I understand the station, but I trust her blindly as I will "only" be a silent observer throughout the whole process.
For our DIY project, I ordered a white blouse from Vila. What bothers me about the blouse in retrospect: Its hem is a little too rounded for me. If you order a blouse, pay attention to the length - it shouldn't be too short because of the loop (at the front)
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For the Insta shirt you need:

1st step

First, Anne pins the left side seam with a pin after measuring the height for the loop. Depending on how loose you want your blouse to be, pin the side seam higher or lower. She then separates the shirt seam up to the güfeli. Anne uses her machine to sew a small bar tack to stop the seam from opening up any further. Finally, she topstitches the separated sides with her sewing machine so that the fabric does not fray later. To make the whole thing look professional, our brave little tailor pins the sides with pins. Then it's off through the machine. Now the loop that we will later pull through the buttonhole is ready. [[image:17797850 "We choose the ideal loop height to suit my upper body.",17797842 "Then Anne will carefully undo the seam with a «seam ripper»."]]

2nd step

Now the centre of the new buttonhole height, which will later serve as the loop for the shirttail, is determined. To do this, I put on the blouse so that Anne can take measurements. To ensure that everything looks accurate, the height should be parallel to the opposite buttonhole. The spot is marked with a trick marker. [[image:17799743 "Anne carefully separates the seam up to our «marker».",17797893 "Thanks to the pins, Anne can then topstitch the side seam better."]]

We place the final buttonhole, which is 3.2 centimetres long, 2 centimetres away from the buttonhole. Although the Insta picture shows the hole on the button placket, we personally like it better next to it or on the side. [[image:17797892 "A trick marker and set square help with measuring.",17797894 "Accuracy is required when taking measurements."]]

3rd step

Anybody can do copycat. That's why Anne and I decide to sew the buttonhole in a different colour to give the blouse a personal touch. We chose dark blue. These days, most sewing machines have an automatic buttonhole function for sewing buttonholes. Because I pester Anne with questions while she is sewing and she wants to switch on the turbo because time is running out, the buttonhole fails. The result should definitely not look this crooked. I think I'll have to think again about working with her. Or I could stuff a sock in my mouth from now on so that she can concentrate better.

Because she thinks I can do something - apart from writing and bombarding her with questions - I'm allowed to finish unravelling the seam for her. After all, I don't want the fabric of the blouse to tear, otherwise we'll have to abandon the project for today ~~and have a glass of red wine~~. But no, we're not giving up... Our mistake: we forgot the interfacing on the back of the blouse. It ensures that the buttonhole doesn't warp unattractively when sewing. So please don't be as lazy as we were. [[image:17799740 "«Merde!» Something went really wrong...",17799411 "This is what the buttonhole should actually look like."]]
20 minutes later, I'm done. The next faux pas: I want to throw away the iron-on interfacing, which looks like a scrap of fabric, along with the loosened threads. A small moment of shock, but Anne finds it in the bin. We can finally move on. But then: Ono, my camera has run out of battery. I charged it before the sewing session. Have I ended up in a programme of "Breakdowns, bad luck and mishaps"?

After Anne has handed me her camera, she presses the interfacing onto the back of the fabric at the point where the buttonhole will be sewn. So, now we try again and... it works! Phew. Now comes the supposedly most dangerous step. One mistake and the shirt is ruined: Anne has to undo the sewn hole for the loop in the centre so that we can pull the shirt loop through it later. Fortunately, Anne keeps a cool head and masters the unravelling with flying colours. [[image:17800164 "Back on track: This time with an iron-on overlay that prevents the fabric from warping unsightly.",17800143 "David versus Goliath: After my Canon has given up the ghost, it's Anne's Olympus' turn."]]

4th step

The moment of truth. I try on the blouse and pull the tip through the tab or buttonhole. The tension mounts. Anne and I burst out laughing at first because the whole thing doesn't look as Insta-worthy as it does in the picture. Can we do something? In my opinion, the front of the shirt is a bit too long, longer than the loop. [[image:17826396 "The hem is a little too long and too tightly rounded for my taste.",17835698 "Anne didn't fall on her head and saves my shirt without further ado."]]
"The top looks disproportionate," says Anne. "By turning the front inwards, we can even out the proportions again." Without further ado, she sews the spare button to the bottom of the shirt front, folds the side down and attaches the excessively long hem with the button to the buttonhole. [[image:17826488 "This is what it looks like afterwards.",17835703 "Happy me! I would give the shirt off my back for Anne's sewing skills."]]
In the next part of our series, we'll show you how to make your favourite shirt wider after the festive season to fit your biscuit belly. Follow me with one click so you don't miss the next part
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Vanessa Kim

Editor

vanessa.kim@digitecgalaxus.ch

When I’m not exploring the depths of the sea as an open water diver, I enjoy plunging into the world of fashion. On the streets of Paris, Milan and New York is where I keep my eyes peeled for the latest trends. And I’ll show you how to take them from the catwalk to your everyday life.

Arts and crafts