Deer and Doe Bruyere Upcycle, yo!

I have an upcycle project for yall today.  PLUS sewed up a new pattern for my upcycle
I love Deer and Doe sewing patterns.  I have a few of their patterns: Bleuet, Datura, Plantain, and now Bruyere.




















The Bruyere shirt pattern was released last fall (October, maybe??). When I received the release email from Deer and Doe, my jaw dropped with excitement.  I started chatting with my dear friend Autumn asking where she thought I could find the pattern stateside.  She recommended me to call Modern Domestic in Portland to see when they would get it in. I called.  MD had received the patterns in the mail the previous day!  Lucky me! Of course I ordered it and they mailed it to me immediately.  Awesome customer service. Thank ya very much!


Then Ms. Bruyere sat on my shelf for 5 months.  I even ordered a great flannel to make it with.  But no, the pattern and fabric just sat waiting and begging for attention.

I recently wrapped up some of my outside obligations and I'm ready to grow my blog.  Naturally, the Bruyere was on the top of my to-do list once I loosen my tie.
The hubby gave me 4 of his long sleeve wool shirts that the sleeves were too short.
This is a 100% virgin wool Filson men's shirt size large.

Despite how large the shirt is, I wasn't able to cut out all the pieces just from the shirt.  I did everything I could to get as many pieces out of the wool as possible.  Literally had tiny scraps left over. I paired denim I had on hand.  Bit of a country vibe.

Bruyere is a very feminine collared button up shirt.  The yoke and bodice are a normal button up style but the skirt portion has box pleats on the front and back. The length is perfect to wear leggings with.  Personally, it's too short as is to not wear bottoms with.  It would be adorable to length to appropriate dress length.
Sleeved or sleeveless.  Your choice.  The back of the pattern sleeve shows the sleeveless option, but buyer beware, there are no actual instructions for the sleeveless version.  Simple enough solution, I explain my arm cycle binding below.

The front bodice has 4 darts and the back has two darts.  I cut a size 38 and got a pretty perfect fit.  I might take in the waist a bit next time, but it's really not necessary.  The only adjustment I made was narrowed the hips and thighs of the skirt to size 36.  That was it!  Really great fit out of the box.

If you follow Lladybird, and you should be, she reviewed Bruyere not long ago.  Her shirt is amazing, as usual, as well as her plaid matching abilities.
I took some of her ideas.  I interfaced the waistband and button placket.  Since I used denim for the collar, I only interfaced one of the collar pieces.  Glad I only interfaced one with my thicker fabric.
She also recommends to interface the cuffs, which I would definitely do if I had sewn sleeves.

My next Bruyere will be with this beautiful flannel I purchased.

I will copy Lauren with the flat felted seams on my flannel version.  However, for this wool and denim Bruyere, I used french seams everywhere except the side seams. I just sewed and serged those.

I was torn at what step to add my arm cycle binding.  Before or after sewing the side seams?  So I did one of each.  I cut two pieces of bias tape 1.5" by 22" (22" was too long for me, I did have to cut off some excess). On one side, I sewed the binding to the right side of the bodice before sewing up the side seams and left it like that because I needed to add the facing in later.  Once I sewed the side seam and added the facing, then I folded the binding over and stitched.  On the other arm hole, I waiting until after the side seams, facing and back yoke were complete, then sewed the binding to the right side of the bodice, folded over to the inside and stitched.  Both ways worked well.  I have no preference on one way or the other.  If I did it again, I'd probably pick the first way. Sounds more difficult but give a very clean finish.

My sewing machine flipped the FREAK out on the buttonholes.  I easily sewed 20 buttonholes and ripped half of them out just to get 10 half way decent buttonholes.  I have NEVER had issues sewing buttonholes with my machine.  Long story short, don't look too closely at my buttonholes.  I should have used snaps.  My top button will never button.  I'm ok with that.

Skill level:  Intermediate. You need to be familiar and comfortable sewing women's clothing.  98% of the time, women's clothing needs to be altered.  So be prepared to make adjustments on the pattern pieces and on your final product.

Time: Expect to spend several hours on this, especially if matching stripes or plaids.  It's worth it to slow down, take your time and be 100% satisfied. 

Final thoughts:  I love the Bruyere.  I love the style. I love the fit.  The instruction book is a quick and easy 7 pages.  Very easy to understand and follow directions. I'm a paper pattern lover.