The Bonn Shirt

Once more I have been testing a new pattern for Kennis from Itch to Stitch – the Bonn shirt and dress. I really like being a tester for Kennis – her patterns are always well drafted and the instructions are thorough, even during the testing process. That’s not to say that there never is any need for changes, like this time with the Bonn shirt, but I always get the sense that Kennis knows what she’s doing and what she’s looking for when looking at in-progress photos. And that’s something I really appreciate as a tester.

The Bonn shirt (and the dress, too) has a mandarin collar and several sleeve lengths: short, 3/4, long and even a sleeve option with a flounce (I need to try that one, too!). The design has clean lines and is pretty simple, yet elegant and sophisticated, depending on the fabric.

I made my final version of brushed cotton twill from Miss Matatabi – the same fabric I used for my Camellia skirt and my Coachella shorts. I can’t believe that I managed to make three garments (OK, the shorts are pretty tiny…) out of three meters of 44″ wide fabric! I like the softness of the fabric is and the colour is perfect, too.

Making a shirt is never the fastest sewing project, but the Bonn shirt is sewn pretty quickly, compared with other shirts. The folded part of the placket is part of the shirt front, which means less cutting and less sewing. The mandarin collar is sewn more quickly than a traditional collar with a “real” collar and a collar stand, and the sleeve placket is a continuous bound placket, which in my view is quicker to tackle than a regular placket (you know, the one with the pointy end).

Thanks to Kennis’ advice I ended up with a very well-fitting shirt. After making a muslin (something I skip quite regularly…) I made the shoulders about 1 cm/3/8″ wider and lengthened the bodice at two different places, about 2,5 cm/1″ in total. I like how long and slim the shirt looks on me, I think it really suits my body type. Not just the fit in general, but also the neckline style.

I didn’t really know what kind of buttons I should use – I didn’t want to go too matchy-matchy, but didn’t want  the buttons to stand out too much, either. In the end I bought some bright blue and shiny buttons at the store – with the intention of using the back. I like the back of these buttons so much more than the front, and they work really well with the fabric. Don’t you agree?

Autumn is truly on its way up here and many days are quite cold already. Scarves and hats are already necessary on many days – and I think they’re actually lovely accessories for the Bonn shirt.

The wool scarf is one that I wear a lot – just beaten by this grey and black wool scarf that you can see on some of the photos of my Sanibel shirt in this blog post. And the hat is super local: It’s from the Norwegian brand Haddock, located in Lofoten, where my husband comes from, and made in the Himalayas.

But enough of that – head over to the Itch to Stitch shop to buy your copy of the Bonn shirt! It’s still on sale, although not for long, since I was so late getting this blog post out to you…

– This blog post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are, as always, my own. –