Sewing tops – Broad in the seams

November 9, 2020November 8, 2020

Torrens Box Top Bonus Sleeve

Leila and I are on Patreon, and we’ve been super overwhelmed (and thrilled) that 100 lovely folks have signed up to support us on a monthly basis! This sleeve that I’ve made was the September pattern bonus for the Insider and Maker level supporters of the Muna and Broad Patreon!

I’ve wanted a gathered sleeve addition to the Torrens Box Top for quite some time! When I tried to make myself a cuff-sleeve pattern piece, it never quite went as smoothly or turned out like I was hoping, so it’s great to have a vehicle for putting out these pattern bonuses on a monthly basis to help folks (and me) extend the possibilities of the M&B patterns!

I got a whole bolt of this slightly strange feeling viscose (it’s matte in colour and almost furry in person- it’s not at all slippery, but it does crush as soon as you look at it and I did struggle with the back bottom hem)! Since I’ve got so much of this viscose, I imagine you’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the future (linings for things, pocket fabrics, maybe even pants for an outrageous matching set)!?

Other Patreon pattern bonuses have been:
August: the Semi-Breve Pouch (a quilted pouch which practices a lot of the techniques for the Grainger Coat), September: this gathered sleeve bonus for the M&B Torrens Box Top, October: 2 bonus collar options for the Waikerie Shirt and Waikerie Dress. Makers and Insiders also get 15% off any patterns on the website and we share lots of other content on Patreon too!

September 28, 2020September 28, 2020

The new Torrens Box Top

You’d think that after more than a year of trying to photograph my makes, I’d be a bit better at posing or doing a good face- fear not! I’m here to prove that I’m just as un-photogenic as ever before! It probably doesn’t help that I’m always trying to have a conversation with my photographer- I popped out with a sewing friend and took some pictures of this re-drafted Torrens Box Top before heading out for a coffee!

Here I’m wearing my current favourite ‘leaving the house outfit’, my plum Willandra Pants (blogged here) and new viscose Torrens Box Top!

The Torrens Box Top got a thorough redoing when we updated the sizes recently! The neckline has been tweaked the most and the top is also a little longer. The shirt now sits perfectly in our block now and folks at the upper sizes should experience a little extra room around the hips! Even with my narrow shoulders, the neckline is still bra-strap (or Banksia Bralette strap) friendly for me, which I’m very pleased about!

Size Details: All my previous Torrens Box Tops are made in the original Size 1 sample size, but I took the opportunity to size down in line with my bust measurements, instead of my hip measurements. I made a straight Size E (which would have been a Size i in the old size chart), and my bust is 47″ and the widest part of my hip/belly area is fluctuating between 52-56″ depending on the day.

Fabric usage: I can’t say exactly how much fabric I used for this as I cut it directly from the roll, but I generally use a little over 2 metres for my sleeved Torrens Box Tops! You could use a little bit less by making the short sleeve version, and cutting your neck facings from lining fabric could save a little extra fabric if you’re caught short.

Also, these shoes are my latest love! They’re from Sevilla Smith, a business that I’ve admired from the longest time. I ordered two pairs of shoes, this being the largest (and the right choice for my feet). I find that I have a hard time finding shoes to fit when shopping in store, and because the back of these shoes doesn’t contain anything to stiffen them up, they don’t rub when wearing!

September 10, 2020September 10, 2020

Waikerie and Willandra plums

This Willandra Pants and Waikerie Shirt combos is one of my favourite (and most worn) outfit combinations.
Muna and Broad is celebrating a Willandra Pants this week as it seemed like a perfect time to revisit this pattern, which we unfortunately released right in the middle of lockdown- just at the time where nobody was thinking about sewing slightly elevated pants which are a little bit elevated and perfect for workwear.

Size Details: I sewed a Size 1 in the Willandra Pants (New Size F), and my Waikerie Shirt is a Size i (New Size E). Not all of the patterns in the range are available in the updated size range, but I included the conversion so that when they are changed over, this info will still be relevant.

Fabric Consumption: My View B of the Waikerie Shirt uses about 2 metres of 150cm wide fabric (so long as your fabric doesn’t have a right or wrong side or a directional print), and I squeezed these Willandra Pants from 2 metres of 150cm wide fabric. This was a tight squeeze with fabric tetris but I got away without needing to cut my pockets from lining fabric.

The Willandra Pants have a flat front and elastic back. They have a unique diagonal side seam which was inspired by RTW pants (which weren’t available in plus sizes). These pants feature a diagonal side seam which wraps around the body, and the pockets are built in to the side seam with a unique and tidy finish.

The Waikerie Shirt comes with multiple views- this one is finished with mitered edges and I changed the back from an inverted pleat to a classic ‘menswear shirt style pleat’- I love that style of pleat in shirts. Not pictured, the inside yoke is from white linen and I’ve popped a Stitch Collective label in there too!

You might not know that Muna and Broad has been my full-time job/main source of income for a little over 2-months now! It’s amazing to be able to work on this passion project (especially at a time when my health would make it difficult for me to work in an office every day)!

In celebration of our Willandra Week Muna and Broad email newsletter subscribers get a 10% off discount code and if you’re a Maker or Insider supporter on the Muna and Broad Patreon, you’ll have a 15% off discount code to use whenever the mood strikes!

September 2, 2020September 2, 2020

Huon Shirt in Sister Mintaka

The Huon Shirt and Dress is the latest pattern release from Leila and I through Muna and Broad.

I’ve wanted a gathered shirt like this for the longest time but could never find the right pattern, and if I found something close then it was inevitably never in my size!

This top was inspired by French artist smocks, and much like our other patterns, it’s oversized and quite dramatic.

We were really thrilled to work with Sandeep from Sister Mintaka fabric on this release. Leila and I both got to choose the fabrics we wanted to make our sample garments from out of the gorgeous Sister Mintaka collection. For my shirt, I knew I wanted this viscose from Atelier Brunette- I find that the Atelier Brunette viscose fabric is a bit thin, but the colours here are gorgeous.

Size info: I made Size E, which matches to my bust measurement (but not my hip measurement). I knew there’d be lots of room, and since the side-seams are straight, it’s best to avoid grading out in the underarm, since it would change the shape quite a bit (especially if you were grading between multiple sizes). My current measurements are 47″ bust 40″ waist and 52″ hip

The gathered back of the Huon is where the real magic happens (for me, at least)- I love how the gathers lay and how they look. The pattern calls for lightweight fabric so that you get gorgeous gathers than hang nicely. This is especially dramatic in the dress version of the pattern!

The Huon has a hidden button placket which is constructed (and the buttonholes done) as part of the first step. I love this because even though I’m a bit more comfortable with buttonholes than I was 3 months ago- it really doesn’t matter if you make ugly buttonholes, or if they’re so ugly that you want to start again- just cut another placket. You could even cut the placket from totally different fabric because it’s entirely hidden once constructed!

This is something a little different from our other Muna and Broad patterns, but it’s so great to have it out in the world!

June 19, 2020June 28, 2020

Silk Noil Waikerie Shirt

The latest pattern from Muna and Broad is the Waikerie Shirt pattern, and this here is the collarless variation (View C) with short sleeves.

I’ve avoided buttonholes for pretty much the whole time I’ve been sewing (all my pants have elastic), even though I love shirts, and finding shirts that fit both my bust and my hips was one of my biggest issues when shopping RTW!

This Waikerie Shirt is made from moss coloured silk noil from A+R Fabrics in Australia, and I love the earthy/organic look and feel of the fabric, which feels really relaxed but also super-luxe at the same time!

Although I usually make Size 1 (our M&B sample size), this time I set my base size as Size ii and graded out at the hips to a Size 1. The split hem gives a little extra room, I’m definitely pleased that I graded out at the hip and am very happy with the final size and fit.

The idea of a collarless shirt intrigued me a lot and although a lot of the inspiration I found was from vintage 80s-90s sewing pattern illustrations, I’m pleased with how modern and versatile I think this view is!

The inverted box pleat is the standard back for Views B and C, and while I also lover the look of a box pleat, I love how the inverted pleat looks so elevated here. Of course, I’m already planning more shirts (including a long shirt dress version and a cropped version)!