Well, I am a very big fan of a fruit platter and/or a fruit filled grazing table, and this Japanese cotton by Hokkoh is a sophisticated version of those things.  At 70gsm it is the perfect shirt weight, so you guessed it, I sewed a shirt.  I am of course in my self claimed ‘Shirt Era’!

I’ve always been a big fan of both The Assembly Line patterns and Needle + Cloth, so when they collaborated on the Front Pleat Shirt, I purchased it as soon as the hardcopy arrived at work.

This was one of those slower projects.  The timeframe was driven by the weather.  I cut it out late summer, started piecing it at a sewing weekend in Autumn and then finished it at another sewing weekend at the end of Winter.  Sharon took these photos in Spring and here we are!

When the weather is warmer, and I want to look put together, and have a little bit of extra sun protection that a collar provides, this is the shirt that I gravitate towards.  It’s already had many wears and washes and still looks the same as the day I finished it.

Styling this shirt has been a bit of the learning curve.  In the photos you may have noticed it untucked, tucked in, fully buttoned and open at the collar.

The fabric keeps the form of the pleats when it is unbuttoned and tucking contains some of the boxiness, so this is my preferred way to style The Front Pleat Shirt… as seen in the very first photo in this post (it’s buttoned up in the photo below!).

I love this shirt, and I’m wearing it so much, that I am considering raiding my Liberty stash and making another.

Pattern:  The Assembly Line’s and Needle & Cloth’s The Front Pleat Shirt (purchased from work)
Size:  Small
Fabric: 100% Cotton [sold out] from The Cloth Shop
Alterations:  None!
Outfit:  Denim Skirt from Manteau Noir (several years ago), Radical Yes slides (several seasons ago), Trovelore brooch via EST (a gift from Sharon), antique locket and earrings (a birthday gift from my Mum) by Emma Jane McDonald.
Photo Location:  Eastern Suburbs, Melbourne