Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the Fitted Shirt City… ahem…in other words, I finalized my button-down shirt design!!

Designing a fitted button-down is what started me down the path of self-drafting over 3 years ago. It was a long process, with so much learned along the way. My first versions, fraught with the difficulty of ignorance, took weeks to perfect. And they were far from perfect.

But once I learned what I was doing, I drafted a whole new design the proper way, with much greater success. I’ve toyed with the collar a bit and tweaked the yoke, and now I can happily say the design is finished!

The new feature I tried in this version involves the center back pleat under the yoke. Last time I folded it outward; this time it faces in. It’s a simple change, but it alters the appearance of the back. With the pleat facing in, the shirt back conforms to my real back instead of billowing out.

My big concern with this pattern was obtaining a fitted silhouette while maintaining comfort and my range of motion. Adding the back pleat helped improve both. I have no trouble moving around, lifting, or reaching things.

I also added pintucks to the collar, because why not. If you missed it, check out my pintuck tutorial for how to add tucks to a collar!

The fabric is a cotton by Lewis & Irene called Metallic Tiger Face, which I purchased locally. I’m a sucker for metallic prints over a dark background, so this one lured me in. The little tigers are so fierce! Rawr!

I’m really digging this pattern and plan on making some more. One of my go-to outfits in the winter is a button-down shirt under a big sweater, so they will get worn!

Thanks for reading <3