Another Archer – with added flouncing

Outdoor pictures – it must be Spring!

After making the quick and easy Plantain (which I wore three times last week – so definitely a huge win) I felt like getting back into something a bit more involved.

Lucky dip shopping at Abakhan turned up some fabulous white cotton shirting fabric. It may have been a fine twill or it may not, but it was soft, drapey, pressed perfectly and felt lovely. I decided to make another Archer – this time going for view B with the flounce at the back (flounce? ruffle? flap? I am going to stick with flounce because it is such a good word!). I haven’t seen as many makes of this version but I think I like it better than the usual View A.

When I made my first Archer I lengthened the body as I wanted it to fall below hip length. I kept that adjustment this time but I went down to a size 10 – my first version was deliberately over-sized but I wanted slightly more fit this time – it’s still quite loose though – I think I could go down a size again at the shoulders. I meant to shorten the sleeves slightly but forgot, so I just fold the cuffs over.

As this was my second time it was a bit easier to put it all together and it went much more quickly. I made the effort to use french seams for the side and sleeve seams which came out well. I think going a bit faster meant I wasn’t quite as careful as the first time because I rather messed up one side of the collar stand which has ended up with raw edges, because I don’t wear it buttoned up at the neck this is visible which is really annoying, but short of a huge and fiddly unpicking job I can’t see how I can fix it. I’m hoping it isn’t really noticeable (what do you think?).

Lengthening the body actually means that the flounce sits lower on my hips than it was intended to, so I would rethink that if I make it again. To be honest I think it sits right on the widest part of my hips and rather emphasizes them but I still like the flounce so much in this soft fabric that I decided not to care. I think this version is a bit dressier for work – I have worn it with a skirt and with trousers. I have only really worn my first Archer at weekends with jeans but I can see myself wearing this one a lot.

I am really pleased how this one turned out and I already want another like this – expect to see a lot more of it in Me-Made-May!