Floral Lawn Cheyenne Tunic

For both of these sewing projects I opened buttonholes, stitched in the ditch, edgestitched and topstitched, and graded seams.

Let’s talk about the pattern. I pinned a chambray henley on pinterest years ago. When I go up the courage to want to make something similar, I couldn’t find a pattern. I hacked other patterns and was never happy with the result. Eventually the Mila Shirt and the Cheyenne tunic* came out about the same time. Finally! A pattern I was looking for. The Mila has gathers above the bust which I didn’t want, but it does have a collar. The Cheyenne Henley version had no gathers, but it didn’t have a collar. I had a hard time deciding between the two, but eventually decided on the Cheyenne mainly for the no gathers. I wanted a really clean look that a flat front provides. I’m hoping to figure out how to add a collar on a future version.
Anyway, I love this pattern. I took a risk and didn’t sew a muslin! I just trust Hey June patterns. The shirt was time consuming for all the details, but it wasn’t hard to sew. I accidentally cut the front not on the fold (#pregnancybrain) and had to make it work. I sewed a tiny seam down the front and had to work with the placket a little bit to make it work. Luckily, the print is so busy that nobody can see my mistake!
I made a size small which is probably a little tight at the moment, but it still fits and will fit better in a couple of months. This is the perfect nursing shirt. I feel comfortable and slightly dressed up, but it has easy and quick nursing access. I can even tuck it into a skirt and still have nursing access.
I used some floral cotton lawn that I got during Joann’s Black Friday sale last year (here’s a link to a different colorway*). It’s really soft and will be great on hot summer days, but I also love wearing this shirt with one of my long cardigans. I used simple white buttons that blend right in. Here’s how to open a buttonhole.

Learn How to Sew Your Own Clothes

1. If you want to learn how to sew your own clothing you need to start somewhere. These are the Things I Wish I Could Tell Myself Before I Started Sewing. They will help any beginner who wants to learn how to sew.
2. Then you can read some Tips to Start Sewing Clothing.
3. Once you start you’ll get better at using a sewing machine, but you’ll make clothing that you might not wear or love. I made every mistake and this is How to Sew Clothing You’ll Love. (Avoid my mistakes!)
4. As you get better and better you’ll need to learn How to Choose Fabric for Sewing Clothes and the Best Fabrics for Sewing Clothing. I recommend fabrics that I love, but you’ll find the fabric you love the best.
5. You can use paper patterns which are great to buy on sale or you can use PDF patterns which are great for instant gratification. There are lots of Different Ways to Assemble PDF Patterns so you need to find what works for you.
6. Lastly, when you are sewing your own clothing and you are drawn to lots of different printed fabric, you need to learn How to Make a Versatile Handmade Wardrobe + Free Printable so that all the items in your wardrobe can coordinate with another item of clothing and be worn!