So today I’m sharing my version of the Phen Shirt by Pattern Fantastique.

Although I’ve admired the cool minimalist, well-detailed, big-sleeve vibe of Pattern Fantastique for quite a while, this was my first time acting on that urge and sewing one of their patterns.

Now, I already have no less than 15 me-made buttoned shirts, but I was still attracted to trying a new one with the Phen Shirt.

I liked the available collar options, as well as the tie sleeves. I liked the oversized arms. I really liked the promise that it is designed for perfect tucking in. Let’s be honest, trying to make everything look right when tucking in shirts is a constant battle – get it right and you look effortless. Get it wrong, and, well, you just look like the frazzled, tired, middle-aged working mum you actually are.

So, let me take you through my experience with the Phen Shirt.

My Phen Shirt

My Phen Shirt is made in a lightweight cotton I purchased from the Fabric Store in Adelaide during my visit home in May. I actually bought this fabric as a “consolation prize” when I decided to do the “right” thing by putting several fabrics back. To make myself feel better about my responsible choice, I decided to buy just one more cheap fabric instead.

It’s a very lightweight breezy fabric which works really well for the Phen Shirt.

My Phen Shirt is size 16. I sewed it with the traditional collar and using the tie wrist cuff option.

The Phen Shirt caters for a maximum bust size of 131 cm (51 inches) and maximum hip size of 138 cm (54 inches).

Cutting out the Phen Shirt

I have to say that I found working with the pattern a bit challenging.

There were just little things that meant that things took longer than they needed to. For example, the three collar options: collar stand only, tie collar and “regular” collar are referred to in the instructions as options A, B and C, but none of the diagrams that accompany the pattern actually label which collar is A, which is B and which is C. It’s easy enough to figure out: the collar stand only uses two piece As, so it must be collar A, the tie collar uses piece B and piece A, so it must be collar B, and the regular collar uses pieces C and A, so it must be collar C. But some simple labelling of the options would have made this clearer.

I also found some of the language on the pattern pieces themselves confusing. The back piece (E) says “cut 1 pair on fold”, which implies that you need to end up with two separate back pieces (i.e. one pair of them). Since this didn’t seem to make sense, I had to scour the instructions before cutting the pattern to make sure that my instincts were right and that I indeed only needed one back piece!

I thought that I was missing piece H for a while but realised that I had it all along, it was just called piece H in the instructions but did not actually have the label H on the pattern piece.

Piece J also confused me. On the one hand, entirely my own fault, I couldn’t find it for a while (it’s small and had been caught up in my rubbish pile!). But the piece itself says to cut 1, but when you are actually in the process of sewing, you realise you need to cut it our four more times to act as the bias binding for the sleeve vent. If that’s the case why doesn’t it just say cut 5 on the pattern piece itself?

There was also one piece (B) where the way the size 16 line was marked was inexplicably different from the line used for all the other pieces.

Now, I know I am being nit-picking. And none of these single issues with the markings of the patterns are deal-breakers. You can definitely muddle your way though it.

But, cumulatively, it just made the beginning of this pattern feel more complicated than it needed to be. And I think the instructions could definitely have done with a list of pattern pieces – when a pattern is a bit more complex and contains multiple options, I find a list/inventory of pattern pieces really helpful to satisfy me that I have cut out everything I need (and nothing I don’t need)!

Sewing the Phen Shirt

The instructions for the Phen Shirt were set out in way which was quite different from a lot of indie sewing patterns.

It is set out in a list-type format. There are some diagrams, but definitely not diagrams to accompany every single step. The instructions are comprehensive, but the way it is formatted definitely made me feel as thought it wasn’t “holding my hand every step of the way”. I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed these instructions as a more beginner sewist.

Actually, not going to lie, I still didn’t really like them and I largely set them aside and preferred to sew without them. Having said that, I want to be clear that there was nothing actually wrong with them and I think my aversion has more to do with the manner in which we all process information differently and have different preferences for how we prefer information to be communicated.

So, since I have sewed plenty of shirts in my life, I just sewed it my own way and used the instructions if I needed to verify something.

The one piece of tangible advice I would offer is to first baste the side seam of the shirt. I found that if I sewed the shirt all the way to the recommended notch, it was too tight on me at the hips. So I needed to end my side seam about 1.5 inches earlier in order to get the finish I needed and the right fit around the hip. So keep an eye out for that!

Now, despite this definitely being a project that I had to stay awake for and pay attention to detail, I really like the finished product.

It is a really interesting shirt. The minimalist collar as great. The use of top-stitching in the pattern gives it a great finish. The cuff tie option is just awesome. And it is does make for good tucking in. I especially love the way it looks in a half-tuck

I really like a number of Pattern Fantastique’s designs. They are unlike anything else out there in the indie sewing world. They have an edge and a unique aesthetic to them.

So I am willing to endure a little bit of effort for this kind of end result. And I would make it clear that apart from the fact that it wasn’t as user friendly as it could have been, the pattern itself had no issues and seemed very well done, at a technical level. All notches matched up and it used my beloved 1cm seam allowances most of the time!

On a practical level, I would highlight that this design really does have a lot of room around the arms and underarms. So I think that you definitely have to stick with very lightweight fabrics to make the most of this pattern.

But in the right fabric, I think the Phen Shirt is an amazing design, so much so that I have already sewn it again!

Phen Shirt No. 2

So my second version is basically unchanged from the first version, except that I only cut the back yoke out once as I didn’t have enough fabric for two. So the insides are less pretty this time.

But I think the pretty outside more than makes up for it – don’t you think? I adore this

I also tried out collar B, the tie collar, and I love it. I think it’s such a cute detail, together with the cuffs.

I even enjoyed sewing the Phen Shirt more the second time around. Since the part I found most challenging was cutting out the pattern pieces, this was already done and I could just skip straight to the good stuff this time!

Like making this crazy beauty of a shirt!

The fabric is cotton from Stragier in Belgium in the Gauguin print. It’s a tad heavier than the ultra lightweight polka dot above but still works well for this pattern.

I’m not gonna lie, I kind of love this one. It’s bright and out there and makes me smile!

And what more can we ask of our garments?

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