Wardrobe basics: the white shirt

While probably the most boring part of the girls' wardrobes, a plain white shirt is part of it.  As summer turns into fall, their summer sleeveless dresses would still be wearable... if they had sleeves.  So I usually make them at least one white blouse to wear underneath to stretch those dresses until their fall/winter dresses are finished.  I've only made something like this once for Lizzy--when she was just born, we found a new, tagged, heavy knit dress at a consignment sale.  The thing is, by the time she grew into it, it would be much too cold in Virginia, where they were living at the time, to wear it.  So I obtained a pattern--McCalls 5825.  I think it's early 90s.  The pantaloons and overalls are kind of goofy, but the shirt pattern itself is fine.  I just changed it to puffed sleeves for a little girl.  The first one was maroon to go with the maroon embroidery on the cream-colored jumper.

The one I just finished is basic white.  She's barely into 2Ts, and all her summer dresses were that size, so if we pop the blouse underneath and a sweater on top, she's good to go.  Basic white blouses are boring.  Peter Pan collar, button front, out of cotton/poly batiste and puffed sleeves.  What shocked me is that she's still in pattern infant sizing... though everything needed lengthened.  Lizzy was a tiny baby and while she's average height for her age, she's incredibly thin, despite my sister stuffing food down her every chance she gets!  Length was added to both the sleeves and the body, but other than that, it's exactly as the original infant pattern... which I'm planning on using again to make a shirt for Nicole.

The most interesting part of this is the cuff treatment.  Instead of making incredibly tiny cuffs, it uses a button and thread loop to bring in the shirt.  Having made tiny cuffs before, I approve!  Since most of her dress-wearing time is inside a church, I wasn't trying to go really warm--though the original was that way since the only fabric in the color I needed was polyester suiting!

If I"m making blouses, I really prefer doing more interesting fabric or a different pattern rather than simple, plain and basic.  But basics can be the most used part of a wardrobe instead of something that sits in the back of a closet!  

But I can't really argue with how it looks underneath a jumper or sundress!  (This is a Strausburg pinwale corduroy jumper we picked up second hand for $7.)