Archer Button-Up Sew-Along

Ready to sew a button-up? This tutorial series breaks the Archer into clear, manageable lessons, from cutting your fabric to sewing the last buttonhole. Along the way you'll learn yoke construction, continuous sleeve plackets, and how to attach a collar and cuffs. View A has a back box pleat and angled cuffs, while View B has a gathered lower back and straight cuffs.

Lesson 1

Introduction, Fabric & Supplies

Woman in a plaid shirt holding the Archer Button-Up pattern beside its envelope showing front and back technical sketches

Meet the Archer Button-Up and get ready to sew. We'll go over the pattern details and both views, walk through the supplies and tools that make shirtmaking easier, and look at finished Archers in a range of fabrics, from flannel and linen to rayon and silk.

Everyday Woven Fabrics

The Archer works in a wide range of everyday wovens. We'll look at finished shirts in flannel, linen, soft and sturdy chambrays, and cotton shirtings from lightweight to crisp to brushed, so you can see how each weight and weave moves once it's sewn.

Drapey and Fine Fabrics

Rayon, silks, and lawns all make beautiful Archers, but some are trickier to sew than others. We'll share which fabrics are best saved for after your first Archer, plus an idea for color blocking down the road.

Can I Use Quilting Cotton?

It's one of the questions we hear most about the Archer. We'll explain why most quilting cottons aren't the best fit for a button-up, and the exception that makes some of them worth considering.

Get Started

Lesson 2

Taking Your Measurements & Choosing a Size

Woman waving beside an overhead view of hands marking an Archer shirt front pattern piece along a clear ruler.

Getting a good fit takes more than choosing a size and cutting. We'll cover taking accurate measurements, blending between sizes, and lengthening or shortening the body and sleeves, then walk through full and small bust adjustments using the method we use in the studio.

Taking Your Measurements & Choosing a Size

Bust, waist, and hip are the three measurements you'll need, but the Archer's straight fit through the waist means bust and hip matter most. This section covers measuring accurately, reading the size chart, and what to do when your measurements land in different sizes.

Blending Between Sizes

Blending lets you move from one size at the bust to another at the hip. This section shows where the transition belongs and which Archer pattern pieces follow each size.

Length Adjustments

The Archer can be lengthened or shortened through the body, at the hem, and at the sleeve. This section also covers raising or lowering the View B gathered back panel, and why sleeve changes happen at the elbow.

Bust Adjustments

The 0–18 size range is drafted for a B cup and the 14–32 for a D cup, so if your sewing cup size differs, a full or small bust adjustment can fine-tune the fit. This section covers finding your adjustment amount, marking your apex, and carrying the change through to the back and button band.

Choose Your Size

Lesson 3

Cutting Your Fabric

Woman waving beside an overhead view of hands marking an Archer shirt front pattern piece along a clear ruler.

With your pattern ready, it's time to cut. We'll cover pre-washing and pressing, finding the right side of your fabric, and laying out and tracing your pieces on grain, along with tips for directional prints, stripes, and plaids, including when to cut the yoke on the bias.

Preparing Your Fabric

Pre-washing, pressing, and finding the right side of your fabric all happen before you cut. This section covers washing your yardage the way you'll wash the finished shirt, a trick for pressing wrinkly linen, and clues for telling the right side from the wrong side.

Stripes, Plaids, and Directional Prints

Stripes and plaids open up lots of design choices on a shirt with this many pieces. We'll show how to line up horizontal stripes across the body and sleeves, how View A and View B handle vertical stripes, and when cutting pieces on the bias or cross grain makes matching easier.

Laying Out, Tracing, and Cutting

The Archer's two front pieces aren't identical, so they're cut together in a specific way depending on which version of the pattern you own. This section covers the cutting diagrams, getting pieces on grain, tracing and marking, clipping notches, and the leftover piece you'll want to discard right away.

Start Cutting

Grab the Archer Button-Up Patterns

Lesson 4

Cutting and Fusing Your Interfacing

Woman seated beside striped fabric swatches and hands placing an interfacing strip on a striped front band.

Interfacing is what gives the Archer's collar, collar stand, cuffs, and button bands their structure. We'll cover choosing an interfacing that works with your fabric, cutting it on grain, an easy method for cutting the long button band strips, and how to fuse each piece securely.

Choosing Your Interfacing

Interfacing comes in many types and weights, and the one you choose affects how your finished shirt hangs. This section compares woven, tricot, and bonded interfacings on shirting and linen so you can see the difference in drape for yourself.

Cutting Your Interfacing

Interfacing has a grain line just like your fabric. We'll cover laying it out, cutting the collar, collar stand, and cuffs, and a measuring trick that makes the long, narrow button band strips much easier to cut.

Applying Your Interfacing

Pressing rather than ironing keeps your interfacing from shifting as it fuses. This section covers protecting your iron and ironing board, fusing the smaller pieces, and where the interfacing belongs on each front band.

Prep Your Interfacing

Lesson 5

Sewing the Darts

Woman smiling over striped fabric beside two striped linen shirt fronts with finished button bands hanging on a white wall

Each side of the Archer's front gets its own style of button band, one folded from the shirt front and one sewn on separately. We'll put both together, grade the seam allowance, and use a simple pressing trick to make sure your stitching catches the back.

Start Sewing

Lesson 6

Creating and Attaching the Pockets

Woman pressing striped pocket pieces beside hands folding fabric around a paper Archer pocket template

The pockets sit front and center on your shirt, so it's worth taking your time with them. We'll share two ways to press them, including a simple jig that helps them match, then show you how to stitch reinforced triangle corners in one continuous line.

Add the Pockets

Lesson 7

Assembling the Backs

Woman holding an olive Archer shirt on a hanger beside a printed View B back with a gathered lower panel

This lesson covers the back of both Archer views. View A comes together quickly with an inverted box pleat, while View B takes a little more prep, with tips for gathering the lower panel evenly and finishing the seam so it stays in place as you wear it.

View A Back Pleat

View A's inverted box pleat comes from the Archer's menswear roots, but you can reverse it into a traditional box pleat if you prefer. This section shows both versions, plus an easy way to anchor the pleat so there's nothing to remove later.

View B Gathered Lower Back

Gathering the lower back panel takes a little prep, but it's worth it. We'll explain where to place your gathering stitches and why, how to distribute the gathers evenly, and why sewing with the gathers facing down makes the process easier.

Create the Back

Lesson 8

Yoke Method One

Woman holding up a gingham Archer front beside hands smoothing a gingham yoke over an ironing board

Depending on which version of the pattern you own, your instructions may show this yoke method or the burrito method. This one uses two separate seams for more control, and we'll also cover grading, topstitching, and directional basting at the neckline.

Attach the Yoke

Lesson 9

Yoke Method Two

Woman at a table with striped Archer pieces beside hands smoothing a rolled shirt body wrapped inside a striped yoke

Whether it's in your instructions or you're just curious to try it, the burrito method is easier than its reputation suggests. Our approach keeps every piece facing the right way the first time, and we'll also cover grading, gentle pressing, and topstitching.

Learn the Burrito Method

Lesson 10

Inserting Your Sleeve Plackets

Woman holding up a striped linen sleeve beside hands smoothing a finished blue sleeve placket on striped fabric

Sleeve plackets can feel intimidating, but they're easier than they look. We'll share the tips we've picked up from years of teaching the Archer, including how to make sure you end up with two opposite sleeves and how to finish the placket without a pucker.

Insert the Plackets

Lesson 11

Setting Your Sleeves

Woman holding up a striped Archer body with pockets beside hands smoothing a set-in striped sleeve on a wood table

This is the step where your Archer really starts to look like a shirt. We'll show how to read the sleeve cap notches, ease the cap into the armhole without puckers, and why sewing with the sleeve facing down helps, then finish and lightly press the seam.

Set the Sleeves

Lesson 12

Sewing the Side Seams

Woman holding up a striped Archer with sleeves beside hands pinning a striped side and underarm seam with yellow pins.

This is a quick lesson before the collar, and by the end you'll have a shirt you can try on. We'll sew each side seam in one pass, in an order that keeps the seam allowances facing the right way, then press and topstitch it all the way into the sleeve.

Sew Up the Sides

Lesson 13

Assembling & Attaching the Collar

Woman smiling and holding up a gray and white striped Archer shirt with its collar attached, beside an iron

While the collar has a lot of steps and can seem overwhelming, none of them are hard on their own. We'll put the collar and collar stand together, then attach them to the shirt with tips for sharp collar points, keeping seam lines hidden, and maintaining smooth curves at the front of the stand.

Assembling the Collar

You may notice that the undercollar is cut on the bias and drafted slightly smaller than the top collar, both details that help you achieve a more professional looking collar. This section covers sewing the collar, a small stitching trick for better points, and pressing so the seam line rolls to the underside.

Adding the Collar Stand

Instead of notching the curved seam allowances of the collar stand, we trim them close, a technique borrowed from ready-to-wear. We'll explain why that gives you a smoother curve and show how to press each side for a clean finish.

Attaching the Collar to the Shirt

Pinning a nearly straight collar stand to a curved neckline may look like it won't work, but we promise, the seam lines do match up. We'll show where the stand should meet the button band, how to get clean corners at the front, and how to finish the stand with edgestitching.

Add the Collar

Lesson 14

Assembling & Attaching the Cuffs

Woman smiling and holding up the end of a striped linen Archer sleeve to show the attached cuff.

Your Tamarack Jacket is almost wearable! This lesson covers binding the sleeve hems, setting the sleeves using notch matching and the walking foot to handle all those layers, then sewing up the side and underarm seams in one continuous pass. After this lesson you'll have a complete jacket body ready for closures.

Finish the Sleeves

Lesson 15

Hemming Your Shirt

Woman smiling over striped fabric beside hands smoothing the curved shirttail hem of a navy and white striped Archer.

Due to the Archer's curved shirttail hem there’s a bit more fabric at the cut edge than at the fold, which can lead to puckers. We'll share two methods for a smooth, flat hem, one that works on any sewing machine and one that uses your serger's differential feed.

Double-Fold Hem

This narrow hem is the one used in the pattern instructions, and it can be sewn on any machine. We'll show a guide stitch that makes the first fold easier, how to ease the extra fabric around the curve, and a quick way to reduce bulk where the hem meets the button bands.

Serger Differential Feed Hem

If your serger has an adjustable differential feed, it can gently draw in the curved edge so the hem presses up flat without small tucks. This method is especially helpful for shifty fabrics like linen, and we'll cover testing your settings before you start.

Finish the Hem

Lesson 16

Buttons & Buttonholes

Woman smiling and wearing a finished gray and white striped Archer shirt, standing behind a wood table.

Buttonholes can feel nerve-wracking on a finished shirt, but a little testing beforehand takes the stress out of it. We'll cover testing and sewing buttonholes, opening them safely with a chisel, marking buttons so your bands line up, and sewing buttons on by machine or by hand.

Testing and Sewing Buttonholes

A test buttonhole on the same layers as your button band shows you exactly how your machine will perform. This section covers checking the size against your button, placement on the button band, cuffs, and collar stand, and why we open buttonholes with a chisel.

Marking Button Placement

The buttons go on after the buttonholes have been sewn and where you mark them does make a difference. We'll explain why centering a button in its buttonhole can leave the tops of your button bands uneven, and how to mark placement so everything lines up.

Sewing Your Buttons On

Buttons can be sewn on by machine with a button sew-on foot or by hand. We'll show both methods, including how to create a thread shank so the buttonhole sits flat around each button.

Finish Your Archer