This pattern was a bit tricky at times, for instance, how to sew the collar and the armholes facings without the aid of the detailed instructions found in beginner's books. When I cut the collar pieces, I had to trim them to avoid looking like Harry Hill (great comedian, by the way). This little adjustment caused me some confusion because nothing matched! I managed to fit them thanks to online videos and some unpicking.
The armholes diagram in the pattern wasn't that clear, the facings had to be attached and trimmed but then I wasn't sure how to go on to attach the remaining part, so there is a bit of puckering on the sides, which doesn't look that bad; it seems like gathering and is also partially hidden in the underarm area.
One of the things I feel most satisfied with is the buttonholes. It's something I've been putting off for a while but they are not that complicated at all; you just need a good practice, about half a dozen or so in a scrap of fabric and that's it. My sewing machine (Singer 8280) has three settings (two for the long vertical sides and one for the short horizontal ones at the bottom and top), so the only thing to adjust is the stitch length (how close together the stitches are). A great tip from the basics book I have is to open the buttonholes from the side towards the center to avoid cutting through the stitches. I then attached the buttons by hand, which were recycled from an old shirt.
As the pattern says, it's a loose fit, and once I put it on I found that I prefer to have darts, to give some shape. I'll try, though, other views with long sleeves, more useful for the winter, and possibly the long one (view a) in knit fabric for a sort of jacket to wear at home.
