Make | The Cap Sleeve Shirt by The Assembly Line
Being of a bustier shape, I have never been big on wearing shirts. For years I painstakingly took to pinning between buttons to stop the dreaded gape, and then I just gave up on them.
About 20 years has passed and I don’t think I’ve worn a shirt since (my carolyn pjs don’t count right?!)
And then I saw a post on Instagram that instantly had me *needing* a shirt. Specifically this shirt!
It was maybe 3 weeks ago when Miss Maude (one of the gorgeous fabric stores in NZ) posted a photo of Arna, one of their team wearing the coolest, most laid back but smart outfit. She was wearing a crisp white Cap Sleeve Shirt.
The Cap Sleeve Shirt has got the air of a timeless classic. It has a loose boxy style, but a tailored look thanks to the crisp cuffed sleeves and neat straight standing collar.
Within a matter of minutes, without stopping to think about how I don’t like wearing shirts, the pattern was in my basket and checked out.
As it was all very impulsive I didn’t give much thought to what I would make it from but in the time it took for the pattern to arrive I had hatched a plan.
the most slippery shifty
Cupro Twill Fabric
I bought this fabric some months back from Lamazi Fabrics in the UK. It was in the sale and I bought it with no plan just because I loved the striking check.
When the fabric arrived though, I realised just how tricky it would be to sew, never mind to get it to stay still and lined up enough to pattern match.
I became intimidated by the idea of it and so it sat in the stash.
And then I thought I’d sew it up for this.. I’m not sure what I was thinking at the time. The Cap Sleeve shirt is a really crisp and simple shirt, but one with clean lines that need to match…
I guess I didn’t really think about it for too long because the image of the shirt made from this just felt too good not to try. Had I stopped and thought for too long I probably would not have attempted it.
Cutting
I realised quickly that if I was going to have any chance of getting the pattern to match up cutting out was going to be a slow process.
With fabric this slinky and straight lines to match it was an effort just to get the fabric to stay still and the lines straight and not warped.
I remembered that I’d had real success when making my Opium Coat by pinning the fabric down the along the checked pattern and so I did this again.
With the fabric folded, along each horizontal black grid line down the selvedge side I pinned. I did the same half way across the fabric, and the same again on the folded edge. Now at least my grid was staying still.. phew.
From this point on cutting was actually straight forward as the grid created the perfect system for matching seam lines. Cutting was still a very slow process though which I think really paid off.
Sewing up the Shirt …?
This was my first pattern sewn by The Assembly Line and I am 1000% impressed.
The instructions were incredibly well written with a heap of helpful info at the beginning
The shirt came together so well and it was such a satisfying sew with some nice techniques to get those crisp sleeve edges
As soon as I finished it, I could tell that this is a shirt that will become a wardrobe staple and as always, I am already planning my next, maybe in an easier fabric next time though 
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And so there you have it – my Cap Sleeve Shirt by The Asseembly Line. I really enjoyed sewing this up and I’ve been enjoyng wearing it even more.
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Good Day, congratulations on a great finds. I would love to try your pattern but cannot locate pattern?
Hi Crystal, this is the Cap Sleeve Shirt pattern by the Assembly line. You can get it either on their website or I know it is also available on The Foldline 🙂