Pattern Review: Bruna Shirt in Hand-Painted Linen

FS Bruna Shirt

I’ve been wanting to experiment with hand-painted fabric for a while now, and once I decided to try it out, the next step was finding the perfect base pattern. Enter: the Bruna Shirt.

I tried out this pattern collection a couple years ago and was immediately impressed. It’s simple, yet thoughtful details make the finished piece feel polished – from the darted elbows in view C to the special cuffs in view A. With so many fun details and view options, it really feels like a pattern that keeps on giving.

FS Bruna Shirt

This time around, I sewed up view B in a lovely white linen from Linen Lab. As I fall under the size chart, I went with size 2 and made a few adjustments: shortening the sleeves, body, and placket length, and adding a subtle curve to the neck collar points for a softer look.

FS Bruna Shirt

The partial button placket instructions made insertion a breeze, which I am very thankful for. It’s always a bit nerve-wracking when you’re working on a specific feature of a pattern that will be displayed front and center (literally) and you want to make sure it looks perfect.

FS Bruna Shirt

Once sewn up, I mapped out my designs directly onto the shirt with a heat-erasable pen before committing with fabric paint. Full disclosure: I wasn’t sure how the pen ink and fabric paint would interact, so this was a bit of an experiment. Thankfully, it all worked out! I let the paint air dry for 24 hours, then set and cured it using a hot iron with a protective cloth between the shirt and iron. At that point, the pen marks disappeared.

FS Bruna Shirt

The Bruna Shirt will always have a special place in my pattern library, and I can’t wait to try out the other views in the collection.