Heartless

 So.

Continuing the Shirt Sewing Mode, I dove into making view 3 of Simplicity 5803 (1973)

 from a pale gray solid.

Everything went downhill from  there.

The first thing you may notice is the lack of view 3's primary feature: the heart pockets.

I did intend to make them!  I tried!  They're constructed by sewing two of the same shape right-sides together then turning, to create a smoothly finished edge.

In theory.

In practice, their 5/8" seam allowances meant the top divots were kind of lost in the sewing process. (If I attempt them in the future, I'm redrafting the pattern piece to have ¼" seam allowances.)  I probably should have doubled the number of notches I made in the seam allowances around the convex curves.

but

the kicker

was that pressing the hearts revealed, in the most damaging way, that this fabric

contains synthetic fibers.

I probably would have figured that out anyway, but I started with the hearts, so that's when I realized that things were melting--ever so slightly--and also when I noticed that weird spongy thickness that polycotton blends can have, and all the other issues that come with working with polyester blends. (And! This is before the consideration if what happens when I, in particular, wear synthetics, especially in summer.)

I thought about abandoning the project completely, but, the next morning, spite drove me to finish it.

There were no further unpleasant surprises in the pattern drafting or assembly.

I even managed to gather the sleeve caps the exact amount on the first try with the ruffler foot.

I tried keeping to my usual standards by edge stitching and top stitching, even though the pattern calls only for top stitching.

Or, at least, the envelope illustration shows top stitching only.  I...didn't actually read any of the instructions.

I could have made more of an effort to align things where the bottom hem meets the front top stitching, and the curve contours are terrible, but...uh...spite and polyester.

Then it was time for buttons!  I always wait until it's time to make buttonholes to choose buttons, because I trust the depths of my button stash will have something appropriate.

Yeah.

I had no gray buttons in the size the pattern called for, and I was not going to use nice metal(lic) buttons on this project.  I eventually settled on these, slightly larger than called for, and of which I had the exact amount needed.  They match the top stitching.

And, while I admit, the result is kinda cute?  It still felt like Pure Polyester 1970s when I tried it on.

I'm going to give it a while, then try it on again, because I know that, sometimes, the irritation incurred while making a project will subside with time.

But.

The polyester content won't.