The Illusionist.

You gals/guys are the absolute best. Thank you for your shared enthusiasm and support in this little wardrobe experiment! I feel really great about the results of these projects, and it's fun to share them here. 

This next set of the Archer blouse and See'N'Sew 5076 is currently my favorite. Initially, when I chose fabric for and cut my pile of Archers, I held-off pairing them with skirt fabrics. Once I settled on my skirt pattern, I began to match them up. It was a little challenging. So many of the blouse/skirt fabrics I chose are interchangeable, I thought I might save myself some time by sewing a few fewer skirts and doubling-up when it came time to photograph for the blog. I was running out of ideas for combinations. By the time I went searching for a fabric to pair with this gingham, I had already matched the mustard, the white, and the denim fabric I thought I might want to wear with this blouse to other Archers in my pile.

I did, however, still have a few yards of gingham leftover. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about wearing a matching shirt and skirt, but the more I considered the idea, the more I convinced myself that, together, they would look like a shirtwaist dress. And, golly, THEY DO! I'm pretty thrilled about it. 

It's the best of both worlds. I get to create the illusion of a shirtwaist dress, but I have the flexibility and fit of separates. I know I'm going to have fun mixing/matching these pieces.

The whole time I worked on this blouse, I knew it was going to be my new favorite. I adore gingham. It doesn't get much more classic than a good gingham check, does it? 

I had fun personalizing this blouse with little touches of detail. I cut the button placket, yoke, cuffs, and also the skirt waistband on the bias. I am really happy with the way they look on my finished garments. It's a small customization that makes a big difference. I matched my checks along the horizontal lines; next time, I want to be better about matching up the vertical repeats, especially if I have a bias cut seam, like on my skirt. Overall, I'm happy with the result. 

The other change I made to this Archer was to substitute the sleeve placket for a more traditional placket. I used the same tutorial demonstrated by Heather on her recent Archer. Prior to making this modification, the sleeve placket was my most dreaded part of constructing this blouse. No matter the number of times I've sewn the placket as drafted, I can't seem to sew it completely free of puckers. I have some minor anal-retentive tendencies, and this drives me crazy on my other versions of this blouse. I prefer this alternate placket and implemented it on several other blouses in my pile.

Have you sewn coordinating separates or multiple garments from the same fabrics? Would you?