Seamwork Thyme Shirt: Jenni’s New Shirt-Making Skills

A trip to the horse races calls for a horse-print shirt, right? That was Jenni’s thinking when friends invited her to Saratoga Springs, New York, over Labor Day weekend. She found a rayon covered in tiny horses and jockeys, chose the Seamwork Thyme shirt, and turned her travel plans into an opportunity to learn something new.

Jenni joins me in this video to share the finished shirt, the fitting adjustments she made, and how she finally figured out tower plackets. She has been sewing garments for about three years, and her resolution this year was to stretch her skills by making fun outfits for events.

Read on or watch here:

Sewing Something Special for an Event

Jenni does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work at TomKat Stitchery. After she started working with me about four years ago, we decided she needed to learn to sew garments instead of asking me to make everything for her!

She has discovered that sewing for an occasion gives her a reason to try something new. I made her a silk dress for the Kentucky Derby that she still loves wearing. Then, for her trip to the Rose Bowl, she made herself a rose-print shirt. Wearing something that connects to an event is part of the fun for her.

Saratoga Springs offered another opportunity. Her friends suggested a weekend of good food and three days at the horse racing track. Jenni enjoys an outdoor event, and she was happy to join them—even if her approach to choosing a horse is admiring the pretty gray one and placing a small bet!

With the trip on the calendar, she started looking for fabric.

Choosing the Pattern and Fabric

What Are the Features of the Seamwork Thyme Shirt?

The Seamwork Thyme Blouse* is a popover shirt, which means the front opening stops partway down the garment instead of extending to the hem.

Its features include:

• A band collar.
• A partial front placket.
• A tunic-style silhouette.
• Long sleeves with tower plackets.
• Buttoned cuffs.

Jenni chose it because she wanted to practice collars, cuffs, and plackets. She already knew the fitting adjustments she typically needs in Seamwork patterns, which helped her feel confident about trying new construction details.

Jenni sews almost exclusively from Seamwork because she knows the patterns tend to fit her well. Having that familiarity gave her one less thing to figure out while learning the new techniques.

If you would like to join, you can get 50% off Seamwork’s Unlimited Club Membership through my link*.

Is Rayon a Good Fabric for the Seamwork Thyme Shirt?

Jenni loved the feel of her finished rayon Thyme, although the fabric added a challenge because it shifted while she sewed.

We found the Horse Print Rayon from Minerva* during a sale earlier in the year. The tiny horses and jockeys were perfect for her trip to Saratoga Springs.

The tan background has lighter areas that give the print an almost antique appearance. You have to look closely to see the horses, which was exactly what she wanted: a subtle connection to the event.

You will hear us call the fabric viscose in the video. Viscose is a type of rayon, so those descriptions refer to the same fabric in this project.

Getting the Fit Right

What Fitting Adjustments Did Jenni Make?

Jenni used the adjustments she already knows work for her in Seamwork patterns:

• A ½-inch forward shoulder adjustment.
• One inch added to the body length.
• One inch added to the sleeve length.

Those were her only fitting changes. Knowing what she needed let her concentrate on learning the construction techniques.

Jenni’s growing understanding of fit has made a real difference in her sewing. She no longer has to approach every pattern wondering why the sleeves feel short or the shoulders sit in the wrong place.

If you are wondering how to identify your own usual adjustments, our earlier post about Jenni’s pattern-fitting journey shares how she began recognizing repeated fit issues.

Cutting a Directional Print

The project hit a small interruption when Jenni injured her thumb at home. Her scissor hand was not working well enough to cut everything out, so she brought the fabric over to me.

Our summer intern helped with the cutting. Jenni’s request was very specific: please make sure none of the horses were upside down!

With a directional print, the layout needs to account for which way the motifs will face in the finished garment. It is easy to focus on fitting the pieces onto the fabric and overlook a little horse standing on its head.

Our intern did a wonderful job. Every piece faced the correct direction, and Jenni was especially pleased to discover that the horses lined up at the side seams, too.

Once her thumb recovered enough to sew, Jenni got back to work. Despite making plans months ahead, she finished the shirt the day before leaving. A travel deadline certainly helps move a project along!

Learning New Shirt-Making Skills

What Is a Tower Placket?

A tower placket finishes the sleeve opening above a shirt cuff. It has that familiar pointed shape at the top and allows the sleeve to open so you can get your hand through.

Jenni had never sewn one before. A few days before the trip, she was struggling to understand the Thyme’s front placket, so she pulled up the tower-placket lesson in my Shirt Making 101 course.

The construction clicked when she realized the partial front placket used the same idea as a sleeve tower placket, with the orientation flipped. Once she understood that relationship, the steps made much more sense.

She started sending pictures because she was so pleased with her work! Her sleeve plackets, which she sewed afterward, turned out even better because she had already practiced the process.

How Do You Stabilize a Placket in Shifty Rayon?

For Jenni’s shirt, I suggested interfacing the entire placket rather than only the areas specified in the instructions. That extra support helped her control the rayon while folding and stitching.

She was learning an unfamiliar technique in a fabric that moved easily. Giving that small section more stability made the construction more manageable, especially where she needed precise folds and stitching.

Can a Shirt-Making Course Help With a Different Pattern?

Jenni used Shirt Making 101 to revisit the techniques she needed for her Thyme, including tower plackets and collar construction.

When it was time to attach the band collar, she remembered parts of the process but wanted to check the little details. Rewatching that lesson helped her finish it confidently.

That is how I hope people use the course: return to the technique you need for the project in front of you. Jenni did not need every lesson to benefit from the demonstrations.

In a final rush before leaving, she brought the shirt over and asked me to sew on the buttons while she worked on something at the computer. A little help at the finish did not take away from what she accomplished. She had sewn the shirt, worked with rayon, and learned those plackets.

Wearing the Shirt—and Planning the Next Project

Jenni wore her Thyme during the trip and received lots of compliments. People stopped to ask where she had bought it, and she got to tell them she made it herself.

She came home feeling proud—and ready to call herself a shirt maker. I agree!

Her Rose Bowl shirt had been a pull-on style without buttons. The Thyme added a front placket, sleeve tower plackets, cuffs, and a band collar. Each project has given her something to build on.

Now she has her eye on a piece of deadstock fabric that has been waiting in her stash for roughly a year and a half to two years. Its design suggests the holidays without being a literal holiday print, and she thinks it would make a beautiful shirtdress.

Jenni’s project is a lovely example of choosing something you are excited to wear and letting that enthusiasm carry you through a new skill. If sewing a themed outfit makes an occasion more fun, go for it. If a particular fabric has you imagining your next trip or celebration, that can be a wonderful place to start.

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