Latest Design: Jellyfish Tailored Shirt

Our latest design has the cutest name— Jellyfish Tailored Shirt. The name was inspired by my favorite design element on this shirt, the high side seam slits with ties! The long side ties remind me of a jellyfish floating around the ocean.

​Did you know? Jellyfish is a symbol of love, acceptance, and balance. If it appears before you, it means you should have faith in your heart and follow your instincts! That's exactly what I wanted to do with this design! 

Our shirt design was reverse drafted from a white tailored shirt I bought in Tokyo back in 2018. I am obsessed with the architectural look of how the hem falls and how the collar pulls back gently to reveal a bit of the neck. 

The pattern was drafted in 2019 while I taught a Reverse Pattern Drafting workshop at Maiwa School of Textiles. I was demoing the drafting steps during the workshop. Unfortunately, this year, my workshops were cancelled due to COVID-19, but you can still learn how to draft during this time through our live streaming lessons. Contact us to learn more. 

Fabric 

In late Feb, I visited Fabricana in Coquitlam with tailored shirts in mind. During this shopping trip, I picked up 3 fabrics in total. So far, 2/3 tailored shirts are complete! The Jellyfish Tailored Shirt and the Rainbow Faces Tailored Shirt. Check back for round 3!

Project Specs

• 1.7 M of striped linen fabric from Fabricana
• 0.3 M of white fusible interfacing
• 1 Spool of white thread​

• ​6 Self fabric covered buttons​
• 5 Hours of pattern drafting and​ 12 hours of cutting and sewing
• Fully sewn on a Janome SUV1108 

Design Elements

​Traditional tailoring techniques are all over this design. Below, I walk you through some of the stand out elements that make this shirt not so traditional.

Pull-over Front Placket

Traditionally, a front opening extends down to the hem with the left and right front to be separated. Having this design only extend down the center front midway provides a more casual feel. If the placket looks familiar, it is because it is a large version of a tower placket normally seen with a cuff. Instead of a pointed tower, we opted for a square finish.

Fabric Covered Buttons

You have seen this type of button with us before in many designs. I just couldn't find the right button or snap for this top, so no choice- fabric covered buttons for a perfect match.
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Love fabric covered buttons as much as us? Check-out the these blog posts:  Tear-Away Jumpsuit, Plaid Button-Up Skirt, and Plaid Button-Up Dress.

Side Seam Ties

This is what I believe makes the design unique! The lack of side seams (only 2 " from armpit) allows for mobility and the playfulness of a fabric tie. It is also the ties that inspired the name for this shirt-- Jellyfish Tailored Shirt.

Final Design

Cuff rolled-up or cuff rolled-down? Tie or no tie? Button-up or button-down? So many options!!! One of the reasons I love this design so much is it’s versatility. There are so many different ways to wear this shirt depending on how you want to style it. I think it looks best with a high waisted pant!

How would you style our Jellyfish Tailored Shirt?  Let us know in the comments.

​New Addition (Feb 2021)

Yes you are seeing double! We had leftover fabric from our Beach Vibes Tailored Shirt. Just enough to make another Jellyfish shirt. We are fairly certain many more versions are to come over the next few years. Floral perhaps?! Follow us on Instagram to keep up to date with our designs.

​If you would like to learn how to draft and construct a tailored shirt, contact us to book lessons. 
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Happy Sewing!
​Designed, photographed and written by Sheila Wong Studios.