. . . and Zen

Since I had the pattern out to sew up the Sewing Workshop Now Shirt, I couldn't put it away without making a stab at the Now's companion pattern, the Zen Shirt.  A comparison of the pattern tissues revealed that the basic body and sleeve pieces were essentially identical, with various changes for the differing design elements.  In that regard, the Zen has a double collar (rather than the tube collar of the Now), a back pleat and a covered button placket with a single exposed button and loop closure at the top.  Since the basic bodies were nearly the same,  I traced the same Large through the shoulders and armscyes, extending to an XL through the body as I did for the Now.  I also again shortened the sleeve length.  As designed, the Zen is drafted with a longer length through the body, and I left that as is.  The pattern instructions for both shirts are very good (as is the usual case with Sewing Workshop patterns) and the sewing is fairly simple in execution.  I used a textured rayon from Emma OneSock in a color she called "Cinnamon."

I have to find a better location to photograph things.  We don't have much natural light in our current place, and the interior lights give everything a kind of golden glow--this fabric is slightly less orangey than appears here.

The next time I make the Zen pattern (and I do believe there will be a next time) I will play around with the placement of the upper button loop.  The instructions have you sandwich the loop between the two collars when they are topstitched together.  This placement keeps the collars sitting very close to the neck when buttoned.  I want to see if it is possible to place the loop slightly lower, so as to let the collars spread open just a little bit more than they do.  I think it can be done, with a little strategic hidden hand stitching.