I don’t have a dog, but I loooove me some pups. By some karmic miracle, Marc and I moved to an apartment across the street from a dog park, meaning I can get my fill of doggie action without the responsibility of owning one. (Though I want to someday!) When the sun finally broke through the clouds this past chilly Sunday afternoon, Marc kindly agreed to snap some pictures of me outside, and we found ourselves chasing golden-hour light in the snowy field adjacent to the dog park. Within seconds, a couple of rambunctious ladies were barreling toward us, blissfully unaware that they were crashing my photo shoot. It was perfect.

Their owner must’ve asked me if I was freezing about 10 times. One of the pups obviously picked up on that and proceeded to nuzzle my legs before plopping down directly on my feet. Canine foot warmers are the best when it’s 22º F and you’re laughably underdressed.

I could muse about pups all day, but then I’d never get to the juicy stuff: this brand spankin’ new Archer Button Up, another slam-dunk pattern from Grainline Studio. I’ve been drumming up the courage to sew this for awhile now, especially after seeing so many lovely versions (here, here, and here, among many others). This turned out to be a refreshing departure from the walking foot and finicky fabrics of my recent knits binge.

The Details

Pattern: Archer Button Up, view B

Material: Robert Kaufman 5.6oz. linen-cotton chambray in Rust

Size cut: straight 8 (my measurements: 36-29-38; 6’0″ tall)

Alterations: lengthened the sleeves and body by 1.5″; cut the back pattern piece in a single layer since I was low on fabric (it’s supposed to be cut on the fold); used Jen’s alternate Archer pocket tutorial to create the envelope-look pockets

I truly took this project one day at a time, and it could not have been more rewarding. I followed with the Archer Sew Along instructions pretty religiously, sometimes sewing up a few days’ worth of steps at a time if I was in a particularly productive mood. I’ve read quite a few blog posts regarding construction and fit, and it seemed like the general consensus is that Andrea’s collar tutorial is fantastic when it comes to attaching the Archer collar. I haven’t had the best luck with collars in the past, but her instructions were incredibly clear and easy enough to follow. I got a little tripped up by being too eager to kill two birds with one stone: I should’ve slipstitched the inner collar in place rather than go straight for the edge stitching. I ended up not catching the seam allowance in two spots and had to rip some stitches and re-sew in order to ensure that I caught the seam allowance. Le sigh. I’m hoping that step that will become easier with more practice.

For some reason, I was super nervous about sewing the plackets and cuffs, but those went on without a hitch. And the buttons! Ohhh the buttons. I picked up these awesome, kooky shank-style buttons at Soutache in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, and I’m pretty sure I ended up spending more on them than I did on the fabric… OOPSIES.

Before hemming this bad boy, I sewed a row of basting stitches at 1/4″ all the way around, a curved-hem tip picked up from the ever-helpful By Hand London blog. That made it infinitely easier to press the seam allowance up and then fold it over again before stitching in place. I finished all the inside seams with a zig-zag stitch, but I wish I would’ve tried bound or flat-felled seams instead, since the chambray is ravelly and a little scratchy at the edges.

I’m considering adding some bias binding to the offending side and sleeve seams, but it might be tricky since I already topstitched that seam allowance to create the look of a flat-felled seam. I’d say there’s about 1/4″ of excess to work with, so I might give it a shot.

I’m racking my brain for other pain points, but construction went more smoothly than I had hoped. The shirt also miraculously fit right out of the package (minus the length additions I made); normally my RTW button ups pull a bit at the chest since I have a broad back, but I haven’t seen any such issues yet. I’m already dreaming up a color-blocked version for the spring after seeing this little number on the Dusen Dusen blog:

The wheels are turning! The possibilities seem endless with the Archer—it’s probably one of my favorite, most satisfying projects to date. Here’s hoping there’ll be a few more in my future!

Have you sewn your own Archer yet?