Maker Inspo: Gauzy Remy Raglan
It's a new year, which for me means it's time to sort through my stash and make some plans! And in particular, it's time to use some of the extra-nice fabric that I've been saving for the perfect project.
Like many of you, I got some gorgeous fabrics in the Spool & Spindle closing sale, and I've been a little slow to use it. I'm not usually the biggest fan of double gauze (See: many shirt attempts that either fell apart or don't fit. At all.), but the prints on the Nani Iro Cotton/Linen blend Double Gauze were just gorgeous, and I couldn't resist. This one has some shimmer, a lot of depth, and a pop of bright colour.
Another thing I love about this fabric is that the shimmery parts are painted on, and they give a different texture. Gauze normally has very little stability, but the paint changes that. Cool, right? Let's hope it holds up to washing :)
I stumbled across the most perfect pattern for this fabric: the Remy Raglan by Sew House 7. Why is it perfect? It's a boxy top, so I don't waste a lot of the fabric. It has blocks that I can play with to change the direction of the stripes. And 100% of the seams are enclosed, so if (when) the gauze does fray, it won't be visible. Win!
This pattern was super straightforward to sew, and had great instructions. A few notes about the pattern, though. The sizing is huge. I looked at the finished garment measurements and decided to go down 2 sizes from what they recommended for my measurements, and honestly I could have gone down 1 more and still had a loose top. I had to shorten the button loop a lot to make the chest fit without gapping. And it's a little more cropped than I was expecting, an inch or two shorter than I usually wear. If I'd realized, I would have lengthened it, but that's on me for not doing a toile, or paying close enough attention.
I was also looking for a way to use the selvedge of this fabric, something I've seen others do on dresses. The downside of Nani Iro is that it's typically very narrow (you have to work hard to round up to 44"), and the print doesn't extend all the way to the selvedge. But in some cases, that means you can put the selvedge on an edge and leave it unhemmed, because the print looks intentional. Here, I did that with the sleeves. The pattern has hemmed sleeves that you then roll up, so I left them unhemmed and only rolled them up once, so you can see the inside of the selvedge. I love that it uses the whole width of the fabric, but it doesn't have to show the writing that's on one selvedge end.
Overall, I'm super satisfied with this shirt. I expect to wear it over and over, until the gauze eventually falls apart! And with a few minor modifications, I'll definitely be making the Remy Raglan again.