Holy cow, has it really been an entire year since I’ve shared a blog post?! I don’t mean to neglect this poor website of mine, but I’ll admit I don’t have much motivation to keep it up these days. Between buying a house, moving to a new city, losing my senior dog, and getting a new puppy(!) all in the last nine months—at the end of the work day it is a relief just to sew and not worry about documenting the process or end result.

Nonetheless! I do enjoy *having* a blog, the dopamine of sharing, and having a record I can look back on to see what I’ve made. So even though I don’t know where this particular burst of motivation came from—let’s ride the wave, shall we?

This is my latest project, the Fougère Overshirt from Deer&Doe. Believe or not, this was a bit of a palette cleansing project for me. I love the more technical details of a button up shirt (the straight lines! the top stitching!), and because this is an overshirt I didn’t have to worry an iota about fit adjustments.

I also adore this fabric. It’s the Telio viscose/linen slub that all the indie shops seem to carry but name something different. It’s nice and heavy like a linen but it’s got the beautiful drape of a rayon. This particular fabric is from Core Fabrics, a birthday present from my dear husband, and I liked it so much that I’ve already ordered more in the same color to make a matching pair of Genêt Shorts.

So what’s fun about this pattern? There is an abundance of button ups on the pattern market, but there are a few things I find particularly compelling about Fougère:

  1. That curved hem! Seriously, the hem is beautiful, and is finished with a facing so it’s relatively easy to achieve a nice result. I’ve sewn the Melilot blouse before, which also features a dramatic hem shape—but that one is not faced and is considerably more challenging to sew. The downside to this method is that serged edges of the facing are visible on the inside of the shirt, so you may want to take extra care matching your thread here. I had fun with it and decided to try out my new “pastel sprinkles” serger thread.
  1. The three piece sleeve construction. Unfortunately this is a detail I didn’t manage to get a great photo of (too much drape!), but it certainly was fun to sew! Any excuse to top stitch is a good one IMO, and it also meant that these sleeves feature a “vent” rather than a true placket. Like the hem facing, I found the vent quite a bit easier to sew than a true placket and I very much enjoyed trying a new technique. I do find that the vent wants to gape open, but I think this is because my fabric has so much drape. It’s nothing a small pair of buttons (once I find some) can’t fix.
  1. The dropped armholes. I think it’s more obvious in Version B (the cinched jacket view), but since this pattern is intended as an overshirt it features a lower armhole depth to make wearing it over other garments that much easier. Perhaps not what you want in a standard button-up, but for an overshirt/jacket it’s a nice touch.

Of course, you can feel free to take all of this with a grain of salt—I am obligated to mention that Deer&Doe is one of my freelance clients, so I am definitely not an unbiased reviewer. But my sewing time is limited, I have no obligations to make or review this pattern, and given how much time I spend on sewing Instagram and Reddit—I consider myself pretty well-versed on what’s available in the market right now. Which is all to say, I have one short and precious life, and I’m not going to spend it sewing patterns I don’t want to, damnit.

Anywho! I think that about covers it as far as this pattern goes. As for other updates—what do you think of my IG-ready white photograph wall? Like I mentioned earlier, I bought a house and moved this year! And because I’m a ~content creator~ now, a place to take indoor photographs was a top priority in my new office/sewing space. I don’t want to get anybody too excited (this is my first post in over a year, after all)—but I am hoping this means I can be better about taking photos of my finished makes now.

And while we’re on the subject of general life updates (this is why you’re here, isn’t it?!), here’s a gratuitous photo of my new puppy Rigo. Not to be too dramatic, but losing my old man Chubbs in April has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through. This little pup has healed my heart and brought me so much joy since he joined us in July. I haven’t felt this good in at least a year and a half, and I’ve got more spoons for things that were starting to feel impossible—sewing, sharing, being.

Until next time, whenever that may be!

The Details:

  • Fabric: Textured Viscose Linen from Core Fabrics
  • Pattern: Fougère Overshirt from Deer&Doe
  • Size: 38, View A
  • Adjustments: None
  • Total Cost: $51
    • $40 for the fabric (2.5 yards)
    • $0 for the pattern (approx. $14 USD to purchase)
    • $1.40 for Dritz button kit
    • $3 for matching thread
    • $6.50 for fancy serger thread