Velverie™ | Elegant Long Sleeve Blouse

A drawn scene on a shirt, laid out so the seams don't cut through the middle of it.

An illustration on a shirt is not a repeat — it is a picture, and pictures have a right way up and a right place to sit. Print one on a garment graded from a smaller block and the composition goes with the panel: the subject drifts off centre, a seam lands through the middle of it, and the sleeves get whatever happened to be at the edge of the file. The second problem is the sleeves themselves. Cut from the same block as the body, they run narrow at the upper arm, which means you cannot push them up — so on a warm day you either keep them down and overheat, or you force them and end up with a band biting above the elbow.

Velverie is laid out as one drawing across the whole shirt. The cats, the yellow and pink shapes and the small flowers are placed across the body and carry onto the sleeves and around the back, so there is no edge where the picture stops and filler begins. The sleeves are cut wide at the upper arm with a contrast cuff meant to be turned back and left there, and the button placket runs well past the chest before it ends.

Why it works

• One illustration laid across the whole shirt: the scene carries onto the sleeves and round the back instead of stopping at the side seam.
• Sleeves cut wide at the upper arm: enough room to roll them back and leave them rolled, with a contrast cuff that shows when you do.
• Button placket running well past the chest: no single fastening carrying the opening across the fullest part.
• Dropped shoulder seams: meant to sit out on the arm, so a size chosen for your chest still hangs straight.
• Curved high-low hem: longer at the centre front and back, shorter at the sides.
• Soft oatmeal ground: warm rather than stark white, so the drawing sits on it instead of shouting off it.

Fit note

Boxy and generous — take your usual size. The pale ground is a fine weave and lets light through at the hem; a cami underneath if you'd rather it weren't see-through. The sleeves are made to be worn turned back to the contrast cuff. Sizes M to 4XL.