Sleeveless Popover Archer
Taking a little break today from costume sewing (both historical and some cosplay) to share a quick shirt I made. Yet another variation on the Grainline Archer.
The Goal: I bought a yard of this fabric with the idea that I would use it for a different project but I never ended up making that other project. Instead I was left with only a small amount of fabric. What could I make…?
The Pattern: Ah, the ever popular Grainline Archer. It’s a well drafted pattern and I love it because no darts. Seriously, not having darts is the greatest thing.
The Fabric: Some metallic on white Kokka Japanese fabric from The Cloth Pocket. I think it’s a linen/cotton blend.
I didn’t have enough fabric for every piece so I cut the under collar, inside yok,e and arm hole bias binding from some plain white linen.
Buttons came from my stash.
The Changes: With limited fabric I couldn’t do a full length placket so I scraped together some leftover bits to make the half-placket.
I made one other popover Archer before so I thought I remembered how to do the placket technique. I was wrong. And messed up a couple times. Finally I reviewed the same tutorial I used last time which worked but the tip of the placket is a little wonky. It’s times like these that I have to ask myself: “do I care?” And usually the answer is “not enough.”
I also took Grainline’s advice and sliced off a bit from the shoulder area in order to make the pattern work better as a sleeveless design.
The Results: I’ve been doing so much costume related sewing lately which I enjoy, but with so much more detail and handwork, it seems like those projects are ever never finished. I rely so much on the motivation boost I get when I complete a garment, so I it’s good sometimes to take a break and sew up something quickly.
Very cool fabric! And I’m impressed that you can make a top with only one yard.
Thanks! I always seem to underestimate the amount of fabric I’ll actually use when I buy it.
Super cute top, and it will look awesome with a cardigan or sweater if it ever gets cold here!
And I’m totally with you on the not caring enough to fix the slightly-wonky things. Since I’ve started sewing, I’ve noticed so many slightly-wonky things on RTW clothes that I literally never noticed before I started sewing, so that’s made me care a little bit less if everything is 100% perfect.
Thanks nicole. Yes, I’ve seen sloppy sewing in major RTW stores. The worst was a dress i got as a gift that had three decorative buttons under a peterpan collar that were completely, obviously off center. I returned it to the store and the lady tried to blow it off like the manufacturer expected the customer to re-sew the buttons after they buy it. Wtf? Ain’t no body got time for that!
Yeah, right, what manufacturer would actually expect that!?!? If anything, manufacturers seem to know that most RTW consumers are like, “Oh no, a button fell off my cardigan. I guess I’ll just throw this thing away and buy a new one!”
Lovely! I adore the fabric – very cool. I’m glad it got made into something so wearable so you can enjoy it! I’ve been wanting to hack the Archer into a popover so this was a very timely post! Thank you!
Thanks Sallie, you should totally do that. A sleeveless archer would look great on you!
This looks fantastic! The perfect fabric for it too!
Thank you, Heather!
Gorgeous ring!
And lovely sewing too, obviously!
Thanks, it’s my wedding/engagement ring. My guess is its from the late 40s or 50s.
That’s such a cool fabric! I really like the pattern you chose. Nice work!
Such a pretty fabric! That shirt looks great on you!