Dolls clothes pattern hack - 1837 Everyday Shirt part 1

 

Hack A

The first hack for the Everyday Shirt is a back yoke, a pleat in the back, a hook loop and making the 2 piece sleeve a 1 piece sleeve.

You need a shirt pattern to start with.

Create the back yoke and lower back

You can follow my video tutorial on how to create the yoke and lower back from the 1837 shirt back pattern piece 

If time and/or skill make this difficult for you to do yourself there is a Hack Pack for the shirt. You will also get a pattern piece for the hook loop.

It's called 1837 add-on Hack Pack 1. 

You can find it in my shop

It is an add-on because you need a shirt pattern to start with. The hack pack pieces are only the hacked pieces. They don't make up a whole shirt. You need some pieces from the original shirt pattern. 

It doesn't have to be my 1837 pattern. You can use another brand pattern along as it has a business collar with a collar and stand style. You do get 3 new designs you can try.

When I cut out my shirt I used an old shirt of mine that I didn't want anymore.

I cut two back yokes on the bias grain.

I also cut the two cuffs on the bias grain.

To construct the back

Back Pleat

• Fold the lower back in half, right sides together, and pin it together along the fold.
• Stitch 3/4" from the fold using a basting stitch from the top to the hem edge.
• With the wrong side up arrange the pleat so it forms a box pleat and press.
• Baste across the top edge to hold the pleat in place.

Hook Loop

• To make the hook loop you will need 1 rectangle 4" x 1 1/4".
• Fold the hook loop strip in half and press. Open it out then fold the raw edges to the centre fold and press. Fold it in half again to enclose the raw edges.
• Stitch along the open edge to secure it.
• Fold the ends up to make a loop and centre it on the lower back.
• Baste it in place.

Back Yoke

• Lay one back yoke in place and stitch.

• Lay the other yoke right side down on the wrong side of the lower back and stitch through all layers.

• Press up the yokes to enclose the seam.

• Tops stitch across the yoke.

My green shirt has a single yoke. That's why I pinked the seam allowance before pressing up the yoke.

My blue check shirt has two back yokes.

This encloses the seam and gives a neat finish on the inside.

You continue from here with the shirt instructions. 

When you come to doing the hem don't forget to unpick the back pleat first. I nearly forgot on my blue check shirt and had to unpick it on the fly while I was doing the overlocking.

The next blog post will describe how I made the sleeves with the placket in the side seam of the sleeve.

You can read about it here.

Don't forget to sign up for your Basic A-line Skirt and the patterns hacks that go with it. Click the image below.

   

Happy Doll Dressmaking,

Val