A shirt for my birthday: I sew Sirine by Cha Coud

Gaetan is not the only one who deserves a fabulous shirt for his birthday!

I wanted one too, and not just any shirt: this one had been on my to-sew list for at least a year!
This shirt had really caught my eye... yes, I mean Sirine by Cha Coud.
This gorgeous shirt with inserted trims! 
I made a very necessary toile before cutting into my gorgeous Japanese fabric with little cats, which I had fallen for while placing orders with my suppliers in Japan.
Here is the story of my sewing adventure.

The design

Sirine is a lovely shirt, perfect for every season depending on your choice of fabric. Wear it with little pale flowers in spring, darker patterns in autumn, a lovely mohair cardigan in winter, and in summer in Belgium when the weather decides that 14°C is quite enough for July 😂
In short, I think a shirt is something you can wear all year round!
The special touch is, of course, the insertion of ladder lace, lace or trim (whatever you fancy) into the shirt's various panel seams.
The shirt features a lovely shirt collar, slightly puffed sleeves and buttoned cuffs.
Its V-shaped panel seams give it character, enhanced all the more by the ladder lace.

Information for sewing this design

Sirine is available in sizes 34 to 52 as a paper or PDF pattern on our website and in our shop. 
The PDF version comes in A0 and A4 formats, depending on your printing preferences.

To choose your size, prioritise your bust measurement. Here is the size chart to help you decide.

In the sewist's basket

My supplies

As I mentioned above, I really fell for the Japanese fabric with vintage cats and flowers. I could really picture a beautiful shirt in this fabric!

For me, it was the perfect match!

So I cut 2.3m of this beauty.

I spent a long time deciding between black and beige ladder lace... and finally chose the brighter beige.

I selected some understated buttons from my stash, as the print speaks for itself, suitable fusible interfacing, matching thread and thread cones.

Then I thought I should make a toile to check the size... I admit I hesitated, because I knew that inserting the lace would make it a lengthy toile to sew. I could have saved time by leaving out the insertions, but then I would not have seen the full effect...

After some deliberation, I decided to make a wearable toile: one in a less expensive fabric, with my fingers crossed that I could still wear it if it fitted!

So I made a toile using a 3m remnant and I am glad I did. I explain why in my sewing experience below 😊.

Technical points

The shirt is an intermediate/advanced project, and Sirine, with its ladder-lace insertions, is intended for experienced sewists.

The techniques involved are:

- sewing a shirt collar

- making a button placket with buttonholes and sewing on the buttons

- inserting ladder lace

- inserting a ruffle into the body and cuff

- making a sleeve placket

- setting in sleeves

- ...

My sewing experience

I chose size 36 from the size chart for my toile.

I cut out the pieces and assembled them following Charlotte's instructions. Everything went smoothly until the second fitting 😱... disaster! Then I realised I had swapped two pieces: the front and back side panels! It just goes to show that everyone makes mistakes, and I would do well to follow the advice I give my students.

That said, making a toile was worthwhile, as I made the following adjustments:

- widening the front pieces by 1cm for more room at the bust

- widening at the hips

- shortening the sleeve by 3cm for my little arms 😂.

Will I wear my toile? Good question! I do not know yet, as it feels a little tight... but I am so grateful for it, because it helped me make a shirt that fits like a glove!

For reference, here is my sewing schedule after altering my pattern and cutting out my fabric.

Thursday, 9–11am: here I go! I remove my pins, overlock the pieces (and carefully label what is what to avoid the same mistake) and apply interfacing to all the pieces.

I prepare the button plackets and insert the first trims.

I prepare the ruffles for the body and the bottom of the cuffs.

I sew the shoulders.

I head to my favourite haberdashery to pick up more beige trim and wish a happy birthday to Mamie Crochet, also known as Céline, whose birthday is on the 19th.

12.30–4pm: back in the workshop. I insert the ladder lace and sew the body ruffle. I sew the body side seams, taking care not to mix them up. I attach the button plackets prepared this morning and sew the collar and collar stand. I work on the sleeves, making the sleeve plackets and inserting the ladder lace.

I close the sleeve seams. Time to go and eat Céline's cake and give her her present!

5pm: I rush back to my workshop to finish the shirt. I set the sleeves into the body, attach the cuffs, make the buttonholes and sew on the buttons. One last hem and it is finished at 7pm.

Total sewing time: 7 hours 30 minutes 😊 And so much pleasure watching this beautiful shirt, which I love so much, take shape! The fitting is very satisfying. I love it ❤️.

So, what do you think of this beautiful shirt?

Would you like to sew it?

Find all the Cha Coud patterns here

And if you would like to learn to insert trim, sew a shirt or simply improve your sewing, discover our classes here.