Pattern Blocked Shoreline Boatneck

I've had this vision for a shirt for awhile that had polka dots and stripes.  I finally found the perfect fabric from Girl Charlee.  It's a dreamy Ponte de Roma knit that is so soft and was super easy to sew up.

I decided to use the Shoreline Boatneck from Blank Slate Patterns as my starting point since I love the nautical look for summer.

Here's a mini-tutorial of what I did:

1. I folded the sleeve pattern from the arm pit points across the top edge of my ruler in the picture.  When I cut it out, I added .5 inches to the top piece and bottom piece for seam allowance.  Then I sewed up the polka dot sleeve top to the striped sleeve bottom.

 

2. I repeated the same thing for the bodice pieces, folding from the bottom of the arm whole across the bodice front and back.  I considered only pattern blocking the front piece but I like having the polka dots on the back too.  Then I sewed the polka dot and stripe front and back pieces together using a .5 inch seam allowance.

 

3.  Then I just followed the rest of the pattern as written.  Things did get a bit bulky under the arms with all of the seams coming together, but a quick press made everything lay flat.

 

I just love this shirt and want to wear it everyday.  I paired it with my Burda Style Anita Jeans for a fun all Me-Made outfit.