White Linen Deer and Doe Melilot

My much loved white shirt is starting to come to the end of its useful life.  It has an orange stain on one sleeve that is better hidden beneath a jacket.  It is also a little warm for spring except for the coolest of days because it contains a polyester content that is I think larger than I first was led to believe.  The demise was a good excuse to try a different pattern.  It was also bumped further up my sewing list by the acquisition of two different linens from the remnant bin at The Fabric Store.  I bought these linens on different occasions and only recently discovered that they are the same weight and identical colour white.

I was intending to make Grainline Archer again, but my recent foray into Deer and Doe patterns had me delving a little deeper and I was drawn to the Melilot shirt.  This style is very similar to Closet Case Kalle Shirt which I have already made twice but is a little less boxy.  After weighing up the pros and cons of adding yet another pattern to my collection, the ability to adapt this pattern to other styles pushed me over the line.

I have to say, this was an extremely quick sew!  The only alteration I made was to square up the collar to a more traditional shirt shape.  I love the way the front bands come together.  There is no faffing about with cutting extra bands which would have been an extra bonus if I was working with a print that needed matching.  

I love the finished shirt.  I like the relaxed shape that still retains a hint of waist shaping.  I also love that it includes bust darts which is a must in my opinion if you are a B Cup or bigger.  I am a C and really don't like the folds that inevitably show up when the darts are not included.   I can see this pattern being used over and over many times and could also be used as a scrap busting pattern although I don't haven any particular scrap busting project in mind at this point.  I do however have another hack percolating that I may just have to put into action really soon!